Hospitality Management alum Madeleine Comeaux turned her childhood dream into a magical career

Written byAshley McClure-French

鈥淕uests will often say, 鈥業 don鈥檛 know how you deal with people like us all day,鈥 but honestly this is my passion. I like to help people enjoy their day.鈥

Madeleine Comeaux is a hospitality management alum who works at Disney.
Madeleine Comeaux
Graduation Year
Class of 2018
Major
Hospitality Management
Hometown
Scott, La.

Where I'm From

I came to UL Lafayette to stay close to home in Scott, La.

Where I Am

I鈥檓 a Disney cast member making the most out of every situation given to me.

Where I'm Going

I am going to take every opportunity to work my way up to guest service leadership at Disney.

Working at Disney has been a lifelong dream for Madeleine R. Comeaux. UL Lafayette helped her achieve that dream.

鈥淎fter about a year at UL Lafayette, I knew that hospitality management and my Disney dream were a perfect match,鈥 she said. 鈥淎s a 13-year-old, I never imagined that I would be living my dream and making a career out of it, but here I am living my dream and absolutely loving it.鈥

Making Magic

Madeleine started her career through the in Fall 2016. After graduation, she returned for the Spring 2019 program as a front desk concierge, an experience that allowed her to become a guest relations hostess at the Magic Kingdom at The Walt Disney World Resort. She started as a professional intern in Fall 2019 and stayed on as a full-time temporary assignment cast member. 

鈥淒uring my time as a guest relations hostess, I was suited in a fun plaid vest working in either City Hall, at Park Entry, or at the Guest Relations Window outside of the Magic Kingdom,鈥 she said. 鈥淲e do a myriad of things, from selling tickets, to itinerary planning, to service recovery.

鈥淲orking in hospitality, you have the opportunity to 鈥榤ake magic,鈥 as it is often coined when working for The Walt Disney Company,鈥 she said. 

鈥淎s hospitality management professionals, it is our job to create an experience for our guests and it is our responsibility to make things right when we fall short in our promise,鈥 she explained. 

Madeleine Comeaux is a 欧美三级片 hospitality management alum who started her career at Disney through her internship.

Working with people and creating experiences for them is an extremely rewarding career for Madeleine. Sometimes there are challenges, but she sees these as opportunities for growth.

鈥淭here are moments I will never forget, like a mother bowing her head to cry tears of gratitude,鈥 she said. 

鈥淭hen after being sent on her way to enjoy her renewed day, being so excited to point to me from across the way to her daughter to say, 鈥楾hat is the lady who helped us!鈥 as she continues to mouth the words 鈥榯hank you鈥 from across the room,鈥 she said. 

鈥淚 receive a fair mix of it all,鈥 she said. 鈥淕uests will often say, 鈥業 don鈥檛 know how you deal with people like us all day,鈥 but honestly this is my passion. I like to help people enjoy their day.鈥

Learning the Importance of Teamwork

Madeleine鈥檚 experiences at UL Lafayette prepared her to work in guest services.

鈥淭he number one thing that I learned through our hospitality program at UL Lafayette is the importance of each and every member on a team and how everyone鈥檚 job, no matter how big or small, makes a difference in running a successful operation,鈥 she said. 

鈥淩unning an operation is about more than just being nice to the guest and knowing how to recover their experience,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t is about ensuring that your fellow cast/team members are taken care of, it is about ensuring that your facility is in operative condition. 

鈥淚t is knowing who to call when an air conditioning unit is no longer working or appreciating your dishwashers in the kitchen who are just as vital to your operation as the servers who are interacting with the guests,鈥 she said. 

Hospitality Management alum Madeleine Comeaux from the 欧美三级片 taking a group photo with her Disney coworkers.

鈥淗ospitality management is not only about how you treat your guests but about how you treat the people that you work with,鈥 she said.

Through her courses, Madeleine got a lot of hands-on experience. One of the capstone courses in the Department of Management required her to run a restaurant with her classmates at . 

鈥淭hrough courses leading up to this one, we spend time crafting our menu, finding recipes, and portioning out food costs,鈥 she said. 鈥淎fter all is said and done, we have a course devoted to bringing those plans to life and running a real restaurant. 

鈥淲e rotate through the different restaurant positions,鈥 she said. 鈥淲e each take a turn at being the managers, the cooks, the servers, and the dishwashers. It was humbling in many ways to be able to experience all roles within a kitchen and experience how each role brings value and importance to an operation.鈥

While her passion lies outside of food service, this experience still taught her valuable lessons about hospitality.  

鈥淲e will be challenged in our careers to do things that we may not think we are capable of doing, but that should never be the reason that we shy away from challenging ourselves to grow,鈥 she said. 

鈥淚 currently work for a company that is rich in opportunity, but sometimes heading those opportunities means stepping outside your comfort zone,鈥 she said.

Flexibility in Changing Circumstances

Due to COVID-19, Madeleine is now temporarily working in merchandising at World of Disney at Disney Springs. While her passion lies in guest services, she knows how significant her flexibility is under changing circumstances.

鈥淭he plans I had for today are not what they were a few months ago,鈥 she said. 鈥淭hat is something that everyone can agree on, given the current times. 

鈥淩ight now I am embracing every moment that I have at World of Disney as a merchandise hostess,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t is not where I expected to be when I created my short-term goals back in January, but it is where I am needed for this season of life that I am in and I have no doubt it will only help me in achieving my long term goals.鈥

Madeleine Comeaux wears her mask while working in merchandising at Disney during COVID-19.

With goals of getting back to guest relations 鈥 and working her way to a leadership position 鈥 Madeleine finds the opportunity to grow in every situation thrown at her.

鈥淩ight now I have my eyes set on one day becoming a guest experience manager, but the sky is the limit in terms of where I am willing to grow once I reach my potential within leadership,鈥 she said.

鈥淭hrough being flexible under the circumstances of the times, through building relationships with others in my career network, and through being the best cast member that I know how to be, one day I will achieve my long-term goals within leadership,鈥 she said. 

鈥淓very opportunity encountered along the way is merely an opportunity to grow and shape me for the leader I will someday become,鈥 she said.

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