Luke Tschumperlin - NMU Blog

My college decision was very difficult and I did not decide to come to NMU until 3 weeks before move in. My top two choices were either a college in Florida or Northern. Northern became an option for me because ever since I was 5 years old I have wanted to work for the Walt Disney Company as my future career. I got a mailing from NMU that had an article about an alumni who now works for Pixar. Right off the bat, I was incredibly interested and toured campus. It was immediately warm and friendly despite being in the coldest location of all my choices. When it was getting to the time when I had to make a final decision, I decided to have a phone call with the Digital Cinema professor and right after the phone call, I knew Northern was where I was going to be cared for, and given the tools, connections, and resources, to thrive and pursue my dreams.

Ever since I was 5, I knew I wanted to work in the film industry for the Walt Disney Company. So since then, I knew that I wanted to pursue a major in Digital Cinema. When I thought about my future career more, I found that a video producer for the Disney Parks and Experiences would be a dream job that would fit my skills, goals, and aspirations perfectly. Throughout all of my previous work experience, I have learned that I absolutely love working with guests to fill needs and make their experience as best as it can be. The Walt Disney Company has an incredibly high standard of guest experience and I have known that I have wanted to be a part of it. That is why the Hospitality Systems minor was intriguing to me and something I want to pair with my Digital Cinema major to diversify my resume and skillset. I had a meeting with the Hospitality advisor, Loganne Glendenning, and she was the best resource and assured me that this was the minor for me. Now, just a couple weeks ago I have fulfilled my dreams of becoming a Disney cast member by getting accepted into the Fall 2022 term for the Disney College Program. This has been a dream of mine for the past 10 years so I am incredibly excited to finally being able to do it after so many years. Doing this program was a must do for me when I toured schools and I needed a school that would allow me to do it and work with me to still graduate on time. With my Hospitality Systems minor, Northern has worked with me to receive credit for the program and still be a full time student this fall semester when I do the program. I am incredibly thankful Northern has helped me to achieve my goals and excited for the journey I have this fall in the Disney College Program.

I am currently in Digital Cinema 212 and we have been able to do some super exciting things in this class. Within a couple weeks of the class starting, we have gone into the film studio and began filming films as a crew. I was shocked but excited about the organization and professional standards we were helped to in this setting. I was able to see our whole class working together and using each others strengths to benefit the group. I could not contain my smile throughout our shoot as I realized that this is what I get to do for the rest of my career. I am thankful Northern has given me the opportunity to experience that at such an early stage.

I am involved in many things across campus and off of campus. I was in the Freshman Fellowship program last year and worked with Gabrielle McNally, the Digital Cinema professor, to create social media videos for many things across campus including the DeVos Art Museum. This program helped me to build a close relationship with my professor already in my freshman year. I am also a part of the Honors Program. I am currently in the Student Leader Fellowship Program and am in the middle of planning my community service internship for next year. Also, I became president of Campus Cinema the second semester of my freshman year so it has been a fun opportunity to build relationships and be able to provide entertainment for all of the campus community. It has also been exciting to collaborate with many different clubs and organizations across campus. Another big part of my involvement is my work experience. I currently have three jobs, one of them being off campus and the other two being on campus. I am a Campus Visit Program Assistant in the Admissions office and I absolutely love being able to share my Northern experience with potential students and being able to provide a top notch campus visit experience. I am also a Videographer for the Center for Student Enrichment which has been very exciting. This has been the first time this position has been filled so I have done lots of work figuring out what that entails. I have created multiple videos for campus including the Make A Difference Day video. Another job opportunity I have is thanks to my Hospitality Systems minor and advisor Loganne Glendenning. Although every experience I have been in at Northern has been worthwhile, this has been the most rewarding. In one of my Hospitality classes, we had the Executive Director of Travel Marquette come and speak to us. After class, I went up to speak with her and I shared my love for their photography and videography and mentioned that I was interested in possibly contributing to that. Now, I am a Video Producer for Travel Marquette and create multiple social media videos for their TikTok and Instagram that have been seen by over 50,000 people. This experience has helped me to understand why my future career will look like and the standards I should strive for. It also has allowed me to experience new things that I would have never done before like going to the Ishpeming Ski Jumping Tournament.

To me, be Northern means that you have the mindset and confidence to never give up, utilize your resources, and strive to pursue your goals. Northern has so many resources on campus with professors, organizations, and others that are there for you to use. It is up to you as a student to have the confidence to use those for your development. For me, I have used my professors to guide me through the experience of applying to the Disney College Program and they have been one of my greatest supporters in that journey and I could not be thankful enough for them.

I just want to thank Northern for the opportunities and resources it has given me to advance my career but also develop myself as a person. Since coming to Northern and using the resources that it offers, I have been able to grow my confidence and collaboration skills. I find myself a lot more confident in my ideas and it is easier to communicate them with the world because of Northern.

I was fortunate enough to fulfill a lifelong dream of mine of doing the Disney College Program the fall semester of 2022. I am incredibly thankful that hospitality professor, Loganne Glendening, was there for me every step of the way. I was working in one of the largest tourism destinations in the world and it was neat to see how I was applying things I learned in the classroom at NMU while on the other side of the country. For example, in my Introduction to the Hospitality Industry course, we learned about all the different segments of hospitality and I was able to see and work in them at Walt Disney World. At Northern, I learned about how to interact with people from all walks of life and backgrounds and in the Disney College Program, I had the opportunity to execute those skills to make it a welcoming environment for every individual despite differences. In my hospitality courses, we also focused a lot on the importance of networking and how to facilitate those conversations. When I was in Walt Disney World, I was able to exercise that ability and meet with Disney executives, graphic designers, and even the video producer for Disney Parks which is my dream career. The focus on professional development that the hospitality program at Northern has taught me, made these experiences possible and I am thankful NMU gave me the tools and resources to fulfill my dream. 

Introduction to the Hospitality Industry has been so beneficial and influential in my time at NMU thus far even though it is just an introductory level course. Of course we did learn about the hospitality industry today and how large it truly is, but we were able to focus a lot on our professional development and how we should be marketing ourselves, which I was very happy to see in a 100 level course. Professor Loganne Glendening focused a lot on professional development where we did weeks of resume reviews and interview tips. It was fantastic to see this information being taught so early on during my time at NMU because it helped to develop a successful resume that you can use while you are still in college. For example, the resume I built in that class is the one that got me accepted into the Disney College Program. It was great to see these important skills being taught so early on and I have used those skills and abilities countless times so far at Northern. 

I am finishing up my junior year here at Northern so I am preparing for what I will be doing after graduation. NMU has opened my eyes to so many different opportunities and experiences I can do with my degree and I am so thankful for that. Eventually, I want to be back working for Disney Parks and Resorts in Media and Video Production so the fact I was able to do the Disney College Program while earning my degree was incredibly beneficial. It was a great way to get Disney on my resume and get my foot in the door. Upon graduation, I want to use that to my advantage and participate in a Video Production Disney Professional Internship. Another opportunity I am interested in stems from my love of Northern and the photo and video work they create. One day working for NMU in a photography and videography field is another career path I am interested in pursuing. Although I may not know exactly what I am doing upon graduation, I am confident that Northern has given me the resources, tools, and abilities to be successful wherever I go.