Earning the Ears

BY ELISE TECCO EARNING THE EARS

The Most Magical Place On Earth — for many people, it’s a vacation, but for some, it’s where they go to work!

Kendall Mainzer is a passionate and thoughtful storyteller, and if you’ve ever been interested in working for Disney, or just need some inspiration sprinkled into your life, there’s no better person to learn from than her. Prior to being named Director of Student Engagement for the College of Arts & Architecture at Penn State, Mainzer worked at Disney World theme parks for four years. Now she teaches courses that give Penn State students a closer look at the inner workings of The Most Magical Place on Earth.

Growing up in Northern California, Mainzer watched Disney movies and has always had a love for the characters. But it was not until Mainzer visited Disneyland for the first time that she realized just how connected she felt to this make-believe world.

“I’ll never forget the feeling of walking in [to the theme park] and feeling calm,” says Mainzer. “I knew a little bit more of who I was the second I stepped in that place, and it stayed with me throughout my life.”

Seven-year-old Mainzer turned to her mom that day and said she wanted to be the president of Disneyland, not even understanding it was a real job, but knowing she wanted it in her heart.

Later, struggling to find her passion while attending UC Davis, Mainzer considered her “North Star.” The “North Star,” she explains, is the thing that would make you most happy. This is when she discovered the Disney College Program (DCP). After applying and getting into the competitive program, Mainzer was given a merchandising role in Magic Kingdom. She would have preferred a role in Attractions or PhotoPass, but getting a role she didn’t necessarily want was more helpful than she could have imagined. “It’s impossible not to grow as a person in that experience,” says Mainzer about the DCP. “It transformed my work ethic, my sense of community and my sense of collaboration. It was life altering.” Not getting her dream role didn’t matter, she explained, because she took the role she was given and made it her own dream.

After graduating from UC Davis, Mainzer wasn’t sure where her life was headed next. With her ultimate Disney dream in mind, Mainzer decided to earn her law degree. She tried new things, like working as a public defender for kids, and didn’t worry where they would take her because every choice led her to grow. “As scary as that was,” she says, “it gets less scary the more you do it.”

In 2009, Mainzer made a bold move and returned to Florida. Determined to get a job at Walt Disney World, she was hired part-time as an Attractions cast member in EPCOT at SpaceShip Earth. “Here I was with a fancy education saying ‘Watch your step, time travelers!’” Mainzer says, laughing.

But the Disney College Program had given her the insight to network with fellow employees about their own journeys. Mainzer told every one of them she wanted to become the president of Disneyland — which she says sounds odd but was the smartest thing she could have done. She understood that some of the best leaders in Disney started out as frontline workers. Mainzer took on 11 diverse roles in her four years there, from facilitating youth education workshops (now called Disney Imagination Campus) to being the Executive Events Coordinator. Although the coordinator role was underpaid and “backstage” she got to hold CEO Bob Iger’s jacket at one event and meet Jane Goodall at another. Mainzer said yes to every opportunity.

One of Mainzer’s favorite roles was being a Disney VIP Tour Guide. “It was the honor of my life,” says Mainzer, who had to become an expert on the entire Walt Disney World Resort.

Mainzer emphasizes that none of her coolest roles would have happened if she had not accepted the wildly underpaid and unpopular ones.

“It got me in the room, and whenever I was in a room, I made use of it.”

Although Mainzer loved working for Walt Disney World, life took her on a different path. She describes this next stage with a “Tangled” metaphor, when Flynn Rider told Rapunzel that she could find a “new dream” after she experienced seeing the floating lights.

While working 60-80 hours a week for Disney, her husband was accepted to pursue his PhD at Penn State. Coming to State College in 2014, Mainzer says, allowed them as a couple to focus on being a family — they are now the parents of two children.

She thought that she would only be at Penn State for a short amount of time but realized that what she was doing at the university felt like dream-making too.

Mainzer found her way to the Stuckeman School at Penn State and noticed that there weren’t enough student services, which led her to become the first Director of Student Engagement for the College of Arts and Architecture. She wanted to create a place for students to go when they felt lost — because that’s how she felt in college.

Mainzer also came up with the idea to teach classes centered around Disney, which took years to get approved. In the Arts and Architecture course, Mainzer taught students the history of Disney theme park design, along with Disney fun facts and special stories from Mainzer’s work experiences.

Hannah Martin, a junior studying Recreation Park and Tourism Management, took Mainzer’s class during Fall 2021. “[Her] class was a breath of fresh air. It never failed to stand out as the bright spot of my school day,” says Martin, who described how Mainzer showed the class how to think about design like Disney Imagineers do. “She often called these design days ‘blue sky’ activities’ and there was never a moment where I left class uninspired.”

Now participating in the DCP for the Spring 2022 semester, Martin works as a concierge at the Polynesian Village Resort.

“Though it’s only been a month into my magical journey, and there are always ups and downs within any adventure — I firmly believe that I will emerge from my program professionally enriched, with lifelong bonds and with a twinkle in my eye,” says Martin.

Through her roles in student engagement and teaching her classes, Mainzer wants to help students find their WHY, even if it sounds “silly.” Mainzer is proof that life doesn’t end after college — in fact, she encourages people to appreciate every stage of the journey and know there is always “brightness ahead.”

“Even though I am not YET the President of Disneyland, it remains my North Star,” Mainzer says as she describes what she hopes for the future. “It’s the thing that helps me recenter myself, to remind myself why I do what I do now.”

As for now, Mainzer is planning to pursue graduate studies in educational psychology at Penn State, then return to Disney at some point where she can help shape their educational program.

Mainzer’s magical journey teaches us that it is never too late, or too early, to go after your dream. And no dream is too big or scary to pursue. “Working for Disney is about being kind to the people around you,” Mainzer says, then sprinkles in another bit of advice: “Be open to possibilities and tell people your dreams. Don’t be afraid to be afraid.”