In mentoring lecture, Disney exec talks humanities

When the young Rich Ross took a picture with Tigger at Walt Disney World when he was 13 years old, he probably did not expect to be working for the company that created this iconic figure a number of years later.

Ross, a 1983 College graduate who double majored in International Relations and English, spoke about his experiences as the Chairman of Walt Disney Studios on Monday as part of the College Alumni Mentoring Series. Like many of the 250 students who attended the event in Houston Hall, Ross chose to major in a humanities discipline at Penn. He gave the English majors present a pep talk on the merits of their major.

Though Ross was told as a young student that a history-based course “would never help [him] in [his] career,” he said he gained valuable experience in writing and communicating from his classes. He added that anything else “was never going to be what [he] really wanted.” After giving a personal account of his experiences at the Fordham University School of Law, Ross went on to talk about his first job in television at Nickelodeon and said that he found that “standing out [was] about finding unique pathways.” While at Nickelodeon and Disney, Ross helped to create the first original shows produced by both television networks, and was instrumental in creating the singing and dancing sensation High School Musical.

After his move to The Walt Disney Studios — which he described as a moment when “everything [he] did became public” — Ross became the top executive of the studio that is responsible for the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Ross found that there is enough proof of the fact that“working in the entertainment field is a real profession,” he added.

College senior Brittney Pressley, who had also attended a Career Services lunch event that day with Ross,said the event was “very informative” and added that she “gained practical advice and information about the field” from Ross’ talk.

Other Penn students, such as College junior Adam-Alexander Hamilton, were similarly impressed by the event. It “was good to hear someone else’s success stories,” he said, especially because Penn “provides little career guidance for the creative industries.”

Towards the end of the talk, Ross said he has heard at least one success story from a student each year he has spoken at Penn. His Monday crowd seemed eager to keep his 20-year track record perfect.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.