Internships Lead to Full-Time Gigs With Disney, Cybersecurity Firms

Maison Anderson ’23 refers to his job at Disney+ as “the perfect balance” between his major, finance, and his passion: TV and movies.

UT Grads Land Gigs With Disney, Cybersecurity Firms Maison Anderson ’23 secured a job with Disney+ following graduation. Photo by Caroline Schmidt

In about two weeks, he will transition from intern to full-time employee on the distribution planning analysis team, which handles the streaming side of Disney, including Disney+ and Hulu.

“I always loved TV and movies, and I never thought about what goes on in the background,” he said.

Anderson is on the team that decides which titles to keep on the platform and which to license to others.

He also works to improve processes at the company, which entails automating spreadsheets.

Previously, when someone would check to see if Disney had the rights to a title in a specific location, they would have to check more than one spreadsheet. With Anderson’s help, that information was able to be consolidated.

“I really like data and working with data, and I don’t like when that data is boring,” he said.

Prior to joining the Disney team, Anderson interned with NBC Universal on the finance team. His job entailed financial planning and analysis to forecast how much money each movie would make.

Anderson said that knowing a full summer ahead of time that he would be continuing his role with the company was a “ton of relief.”

His advice to other students is to schedule informational interviews with people who have careers you’re interested in or experiences you find interesting.

“Networking doesn’t have to be as intimidating as it seems,” he said.

“It was huge in my ability to get a job.”

Anderson is one of the more than 1,800 students who are part of UT's 156th commencement, which takes place this Saturday, May 6, during two separate ceremonies at the Expo Hall at the Florida State Fairgrounds.

Mackenzie Casey ’23 is another. Casey was also hired at the company where she was an intern. The cybersecurity major began in 2021 as a summer intern with Fellsway Group, which helps organizations manage cyber as a business risk.

Mackenzie Casey ’23 began in 2021 as a summer intern with Fellsway Group and has been hired as a security analyst within product development. Photo courtesy of Mackenzie Casey

Though she will miss her professors and the resources UT had to offer, she said, “I have been working with this company for almost two years and was full-time this semester with school and work, so I am ready to make my job my primary focus.”

Casey began doing policy reviews and edits for the company, and she worked her way up to security analyst within product development.

In this role, she works directly under the vice president of product and assists her with writing requirements, managing customers’ third-party risk management and product development.

“I am known within my company as the platform expert, so within my role, I have to demo our platform to customers almost daily, fix bugs with our developers, and constantly test the platform to make sure nothing is broken or there are any bugs,” she said.

Every day, she makes sure the platform is up and running in order to allow for a proper workday within her company.

Casey said she landed the position because she met the president of the company while working at a prestigious golf club.

After getting to know her and her work ethic, he offered her an interview for a summer internship.

Casey’s advice is to network and get involved with different organizations on campus and attend job and career fairs.

“Communicate with your peers and classmates, as many companies are hiring recent graduates, and other students could recommend that you work for the companies they have already accepted offers from,” she said.

Have a story idea? Contact Brianna Kwasnik, Digital Content Editor/Writer
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