F our Central Jersey college students are getting a close-up look at the magic of Disney industries.
PHOTOS BY GARY KRUEGER/DISNEY ENTERPRISES INC. The Rowan University team, Vincent Logozio (l-r), Elissa Hogan, David Lester and Raymond Scanlon, received the award for Best in Show at the 2009 ImagiNations Design Competition, sponsored by Walt Disney Imagineering. They may even be making a little magic of their own.
David Lester and Raymond Scanlon of Monroe, Vincent Logozio of the Fords section of Woodbridge, and Elissa Hogan of Summit are each enjoying a dream internship at Walt Disney Imagineering in Glendale, Calif., after winning the 18th annual Walt Disney Imagineering ImagiNations Design Competition.
Walt Disney Imagineering is the organization that creates, from concept through construction, all Disney theme parks, resorts and cruise ships. The ImagiNation Design Competition was started to encourage university students to consider careers in creative and technical fields such as digital arts, engineering and architecture. The competition challenges participants to use their artistic and technical skills to create their own rides, lands, hotels or attractions. They are encouraged to present their projects using storyboards, videos, models and computer designs.
Elissa Hogan (l-r), David Lester, Imagineer and mentor Daniel Joseph, Raymond Scanlon and Vincent Logozio represent Rowan University. The team was among three finalists in the 18th Walt Disney Imagineering ImagiNations Design Competition. Lester, Scanlon, Logozio and Hogan, comprising the Rowan University team, were up against tough competition in the form of 130 other teams from around the world. Their project, “Disney’s Spaceport,” won first prize and “Best in Show.” “Disney’s Spaceport” is a complete and highly interactive theme park set in the mid-28th century. The students made up an entirely original storyline and characters.
“It’s really a parallel universe,” said Scanlon. “Visitors travel hand in hand with the characters and every visit is different.”
“We bounced around a lot of ideas, but kept coming back to outer space and the themes of a new frontier and exploration,” said Logozio, a junior majoring in mechanical engineering at Rutgers University, with a concentration in energy systems.
The group started the project a year ago, eventually developing a model exterior, making CAD (computer-aided drafting) illustrations and building robot characters.
“We even created a park map and newspaper,” said Lester, the team leader.
Lester is a junior in the electrical and computer engineering program at Rowan University, the team’s host. Hogan is a junior majoring in art education at the College of New Jersey, and Scanlon is a junior majoring in electrical and computer engineering with a minor in philosophy at Rutgers University.
This summer, the four are enjoying their internships at Disneyland and their stay in California. The friends have visited Santa Monica Beach and have been spending time exploring Hollywood.
“Every day is an adventure,” Lester said.
“We are all in different departments,” Hogan added. “The environment is supportive and creative. Everyone works together.”
Logozio has thought about working for Disney since he was 7 years old and went to Epcot in Orlando, Fla. on a family vacation. “I definitely want to maintain my ties here,” he said.
The team members are all very grateful to their family and friends.
“Everybody was delighted that we were doing this. My grandparents let us use their basement, and then we moved everything to Dave’s parent’s garage,” said Scanlon.
“We could not have done this project without all the support and help of our family and friends. We really want to thank them,” Logozio said.
“Oh,” Lester added with a laugh, “and sorry to Ray’s grandparents for all the banging.”
Perhaps it not surprising that the four made such a great team. They are good friends and have all been doing a bit of “Imagineering” on their own for quite a while. Scanlon’s hobbies include computer and board game design, filmmaking and graphic design. He is looking forward to studying robotics and artificial intelligence.
Lester is co-owner, concept designer and electrical and computer designer of IdeaQuest Studios. In his spare time, he enjoys microcontroller and electronic system design. He is the recipient of the 200 Club Honors Scholarship and Rowan University Trustee Scholarship.
Hogan creates her own artwork and is an installer at her school’s gallery. She is the recipient of an Edward J. Bloustein Scholarship.
And Logozio — who with Lester graduated high school from the Middlesex County Academy For Math, Engineering and Science Technology in Edison — works at the physics lab on the Rutgers campus, building and fixing demonstration experiments for professors to use during their lectures. He was also a contest winner in the “Engineering Superhero” category for the Engineering Education Service Center 2005 Poster Contest.
Hogan summed up the sentiment on the minds of all four team members.
“This experience has really been inspiring,” Hogan said. “It encompasses our values and the belief that if you can dream something, you can do it.”