"I learned so much. There's a lot more that goes into developing a theme park than people initially think," she said. "It's hard to describe the feeling working there. I've been passionate about theme parks for forever."

Her first internship brought her to the Facility Asset Management organization as a project management intern, where she oversaw supply chain and procurement for fixtures, furnishings, and equipment needed for the room renovations on Bay Lake Tower’s rooms at Disney's Contemporary Resort. She stepped behind-the-scenes to learn about the lifecycle of a project, including scope, schedule, and budget, project management insights which she believes every engineer should have.

"It (Facility and Asset Management) gave me huge insight into what it is like to maintain something that you didn't necessarily build," Johnson said. "It illuminated just how much goes into the creative aspects of even the smallest things at Disney. They're putting on a show, they're telling a story. It's all meticulously planned out."

She found her coursework at Rose-Hulman to be a treasure map to success, utilizing specific frameworks she had learned on campus in her internship, especially when unforeseen circumstances caused delays.

"In our coursework, we're taught a very specific way to solve problems: the Known, Find, Given," Johnson explained. "I found myself constantly resorting back to that method of problem solving. Sitting down and taking a second to really walk through that initial preparatory work of the problem was something I was really taught here that helped me keep a calm and cool head while solving problems, even if they weren't technical."

Rose-Hulman also paved a path to Disney in other ways. On campus, Johnson works as a Career Peer Advisor, reviewing resumes of other students and working closely with the Career Services staff. Career Services, via the campus career fairs, helped connect Johnson to her first two internships, which she completed at GE Appliances and Caterpillar.

At GE Appliances, she worked as a technology intern on the thermal systems team during a six-month co-op, improving airflow in a four-door refrigerator high-side system.

"One of the biggest things I learned there was how important iteration and collaboration are when working on real products. I worked with other engineers to test ideas, review results, and think through how design changes would affect the larger system," she said. "It showed me how much engineering relies on team discussions and different perspectives to move a project forward."

During her time at Caterpillar, she worked as a rapid product development and maintenance intern supporting the Medium Wheel Loader team, making CAD updates in Creo for production drawings and organizing parts for a full machine build used to test new engine efficiencies.

"That role gave me a lot of exposure to how large engineering teams coordinate around a single product. I worked with engineers across different groups to make sure design updates and documentation stayed consistent so manufacturing and testing teams had the right information."

These experiences became her magic wand at Disney, allowing her to stand out in the highly competitive selection process and enabling her to become invaluable to her projects. While with Facility Asset Management, Johnson made a point of connecting with people from across teams and disciplines to get a broad view of how their work fit together, which helped ease her transition to her second Disney internship as a project engineering intern at Walt Disney Imagineering. She helped Walt Disney World Resort enter the world of tomorrow and fantasy with her work on the expansion of Magic Kingdom, which is set to include attractions based on the Cars franchise and a land dedicated to Disney villains.

For Johnson, the work was a wish come true. Traveling to the Walt Disney World Resort with her family throughout her youth opened a whole new world of possibilities for her.

"I think it really sparked my curiosity for engineering," she said. "I really wanted to do something creative, and I also really liked robotics. It kind of came very naturally because (in) Imagineering, you could do both."

Johnson's family visited her a few times throughout her internships, moments made even more memorable by her connection to the company.

"My favorite memories were getting to share my fun year with my family," she said. "Imagineering is just so special because you're trying to do something at a scale that nobody has done before."

Now, Johnson makes magic on campus as one of the founding officers of Rose-Hulman Theme Park Engineering and Design (RHIT-TPED), a new competition team for students passionate about themed entertainment, including animatronics, roller coaster design, and attractions controls systems.

"Being able to start and create those opportunities here at Rose is something I'm super excited for," said Johnson. "What employers, especially in themed entertainment, are looking for are those hands-on projects, those unique experiences that show you know how to tell a story with the technology. That's part of the goal — to create a space where that is possible here at Rose."

Utilizing a concept she had learned during her time at Disney, Johnson encouraged RHIT-TPED to dream big during a "Blue Sky" brainstorming session at their first meeting. Disney uses the "Blue Sky" approach to encourage their Imagineers and other creative teams to look to infinity and beyond, envisioning what they would create if there were no constraints. RHIT-TPED used this technique to determine their strategic priorities, workshopping ideas to reimagine attractions or shows at theme parks across the country.

"One of the things that stood out to me about Imagineering is the mindset of not shutting ideas down, but instead focusing on how they can be made possible .'" Johnson said. She hopes to bring that same level of support to RHIT-TPED as their magic mirror to the themed entertainment industry, helping them through the recruitment and networking processes with her insights.

Johnson's impact on both the campus and the kingdom make her feel like she's living in a fantasyland. "Very few 22-year-olds get to say they've actually achieved one of their life goals," she smiled.

She is reaching out and finding her happily ever after, proving that every dream can come true with a little faith, trust, and Rose-Hulman pixie dust.