Engineering Creativity

Like millions of students around the world in 2020, Gabby McMillan ’24 didn’t have an ideal start to her college journey due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, as a residential advisor that first year, she learned some great life lessons that she still applies today as an intern at Disney Live Entertainment in Los Angeles.

McMillan learned to adapt to different situations on the fly, finding ways for students to socialize safely and helping organizations bounce back after pandemic restrictions were lifted. “There were so many skills I learned working with others to generate solutions and not let roadblocks get in the way. There’s always an opportunity to pave another route,” she said.

“I firmly believe that I can create a stand-up comedy routine with the experiences I had!”

She came to Bradley to study industrial engineering, but she also wanted to be involved in theatre and the arts. As a member of BU Tech Crew, which runs sound and lighting for campus events, McMillan became friends with peers and faculty in the theatre department. There, she discovered opportunities to combine her interests, eventually minoring in theatre arts and management and leadership. 

“I started seeing more ways I could apply industrial engineering to entertainment, as it’s essentially finding efficient and cost-effective routes in a production,” she explained. She also got a crash course in event management and coordination through this experience.

She’s applying those trouble-shooting skills in her current role as a costume project analyst intern at Disney where she creates systems to transport costumes and manages inventory databases. “While this position is based in analytics, it relates to my major because I am analyzing and creating solutions for quality improvement,” McMillan explained.  

It was through her experience during the Hollywood Semester that she first became aware of internships at Disney. Initially she was offered a different position, but turned it down because she couldn’t afford to stay in Los Angeles at the time. Although she was disappointed, she landed another internship elsewhere and stayed in touch with the recruiter, who ended up calling on her again later.

When the second Disney internship opportunity arrived, she made it work. McMillan is currently sharing an apartment with another Bradley alum, who also works in the entertainment industry. In her free time, she volunteers with a group called “Happy to Be Here Club,” which performs at the Phantom Projects Theatre in nearby La Habra. It’s a nonprofit group of performers and crew members that volunteer their time for the fun of putting on productions.

In this role, she was working as a tech for a touring Rocky Horror Picture Show shadowcast, in which actors mimic scenes while the movie is projected behind them. “Before the tour began, I offered to learn the role of Rocky to give them more emergency cast alternatives. One thing led to another, and I became their main Rocky actor, having the pleasure of joining them on their tour,” McMillan explained. They performed with actor Barry Bostwick in several performances around Southern California 

McMillan is grateful for her experiences at Bradley—even the challenges she faced during the pandemic. “I learned to navigate unprecedented detours while taking multiple perspectives into consideration for the best result possible,” she said.

For now, she’ll bask in the sun and explore new opportunities while figuring out her next adventure. Bradley may have paved her way to LA, but she said, “The Hollywood Semester is what you make of it, and there is so much opportunity to make it more than you anticipate it to be.”

—Emily Potts