Recent Bellisario College graduate is building influence at Disney

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Family and friends of recent Penn State graduate Talia Whipple know one rule when eating in a restaurant with her — “the phone eats first.” Basically, don’t touch the meal until she takes a photo. The adage not only reflects a love of food, but also Whipple’s passion for social media.

Since the days of hiding Facebook from her mother because she was too young to have an account, social media has been a big part of Whipple’s life.

“I know every major social media platform like the back of my hand,” she said. “Anything that is social media related, I'm into it.”

Since graduating in May from the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, Whipple has been the one doing the influencing. She is currently in the middle of a six-month internship working as an influencer communications professional at Disney. Her role is to identify social media influencers that “fit into Disney’s vision.” Her team then starts building collaborations between the company and the influencer.

These social media personalities are typically fans of Disney and/or its other divisions, like Marvel or Pixar. Disney invites the influencer to visit one of its locations where they work with Whipple’s team on creating Disney-related content for their followers.

“If it's at Disneyland, the cruise line, the resorts or anything like that, we want to make the influencer’s followers feel like they are here with them,” Whipple said of the content she makes with the influencers. “Then hopefully the followers want to come, too, and say, ‘I saw this influencer. They came here and I would like to experience what they experienced.’”

For example, Whipple said, if they choose a fitness influencer, her team may invite the person to Disney World and create social media content showing the influencer running a 5K with Donald Duck or doing yoga with Goofy.

“We want to make sure the content is organic,” Whipple said. “We want to unlock a childhood memory so the fans will want to have that experience again or want their children to have that experience.”

There is a vetting process. Naturally, Disney wants to work with kid-friendly collaborators who showcase its brand in the best light. These team-ups also need to be mutually beneficial, and Whipple said they spend a lot of time quadruple-checking potential partnerships.

“We go through a very thorough checklist,” she said of the vetting process. “We want to make sure, ‘OK, how many followers do they have? Is their engagement really high? How often do they post? What platforms do they use?’ Obviously, ‘Is it appropriate?’”

I’m going to Disney World!

Whipple said working for Disney has been a dream come true. The story of the internship began during her senior year as a communications and media studies major in the Bellisario College. She knew Disney offered professional internships, so its employment site was one of her first stops during the job search.

“I didn’t realize how extensive it was. There are all types of positions and roles in any department,” she said. “Obviously, everyone wants to work for Disney. I had my hopes up for a hot minute.”

Whipple got the first call in March, and over the following months participated in a couple of exploratory interviews. Then she was invited to join a “get to know you” discussion. Finally, she got the call. 

“At first, it was like a checkup. Could I work remote? Do I have transportation? Bits and pieces,” Whipple said. “And then they asked, ‘How would you feel working as an influencer communications professional for the summer and fall?’ I freaked. I was crying.”

She immediately started preparing. Originally from Miami, the move back home to Florida would be easy. That gave Whipple time to study influencers, their strategies and what makes them successful. Plus, she wanted to learn what made an influencer Disney-ready.

This area of study wasn’t new for Whipple. She has had several internships during her Penn State career focused on social media and marketing. Over that time, however, she noticed the relevance of influencers growing within the industry. What better place to learn about that power than the second biggest entertainment company in the world?

“Just being able to say that I work for Disney makes me super, super proud,” Whipple said. “Having the opportunity now and, hopefully, over the next few years, is exciting. To say that this is how I started, and this is where it began for me, it’s amazing.”

A foundation of leadership

The Bellisario College offered resources and support that helped Whipple establish many skills. During the spring semester of 2021, she joined the T. Howard Foundation, an organization that seeks to increase diversity in the media industry. She learned about the opportunity through Bellisario College channels, and it set the stage for the career experiences and leadership development that followed.

Even though a large portion of her Penn State career was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, Whipple took advantage of many opportunities that boosted her career and strengthened her leadership skills. She participated in the Black Caucus and contributed to student publications like HerCampus and Sovereign Magazine.

Whipple also was a member of the Delta Gamma sorority, which she credits as being a particularly significant experience. Within a year, she became its vice president for communications. She said the work she did with her sorority sisters improved the internal communications within the chapter and the organization.

Among her several internships, Whipple worked as a public relations and distribution intern at the Game Show Network during the summer of 2021. She wrote pitches to local journalists in target markets and assisted in creating social media content ideas and strategy. The position was remote due to pandemic restrictions. It was a challenge, but it served as a major steppingstone.

“Talia was a wonderfully enthusiastic and intuitive intern,” said Melissa Roozbeh, publicity and social content manager at Game Show Network. “I felt Talia’s internship term was particularly challenging as she was an intern during the work from home/remote COVID period. However, Talia was incredibly engaged, hardworking and a joy to work with.”

The Game Show Network was Whipple’s first major experience in the entertainment industry, which she dreams of working in as a career. Armed with her love of entertainment, her passion for social media and a talent for leadership, the sky is the limit.

“I expect nothing but the best,” Roozbeh said. “I think Talia will be successful in whatever and wherever she puts her mind to. Any future employer is lucky to have her.”

Whipple said, “All you can do is take the leap and go for it. I'm here for a reason and I've been chosen for a reason. I want to make an impact on everyone that I meet … and even on myself. I’m just going to keep going and that’s how you make it to where you want to be.”