Innovative major draws student to Purdue University in Indianapolis
Carys George, a Purdue themed entertainment design student in Indianapolis, conducts a case study at The Children’s Museum in Indianapolis.
Strong industry connections and hands-on learning set Carys George up for success in themed entertainment design.
Industry internships, flexible class schedules and supportive professors are just a few of the things that Carys George, a Purdue themed entertainment design student in Indianapolis, loves about her major. Riding roller coasters as part of her education? That’s just a bonus.
An internship like no other
Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, opened in the late 1800s and is considered the second-oldest operating amusement park in the U.S. It’s home to 68 rides, including 18 world-class roller coasters. George has ridden them all.
“Last summer, I was a ride audit intern at Cedar Point working in the operations office,” she says. “There were just two auditing interns, so we were pretty busy.”
What exactly is a ride audit? It’s one of Cedar Point’s methods of making sure that rules and safety procedures are being followed. Every park in the Cedar Fair chain, which owns Cedar Point, is certified under a specific operations protocol. It was George’s job to help ensure the system was being followed.
“Checking seat belts, checking lap bars, announcing the rules to guests, it’s all part of it,” she says. “If employees don’t do it correctly every time, it’s ‘not compliant’ or ‘minimal compliance,’ and I would mark that down on the audit.”
Ride audits happen in two ways: in uniform and undercover.
I love the combination of technology with leadership, operations and creativity. It all comes together in themed entertainment.
Carys George Purdue themed entertainment design student in Indianapolis
“When you audit in uniform, it’s very obvious to everyone why you are there,” she explains. “For undercover audits, you dress up as a guest. Sunglasses. Wigs. Outfits. I had a drawer full of props that I would use. Sometimes we even had spy glasses with a camera in them.”
George’s duties in this role varied. Some days she would ride attractions as a guest and make note of any violations. At other times she used a fake pass, or even no pass, in the Fast Lane to see how employees would handle it. She also monitored alternate queues and elevators for guests who could not wait in line or needed assistance accessing a ride.
And, of course, riding all the attractions multiple times is how George collected that data. She admits to “not loving” auditing the spinning rides, but she does have a favorite coaster.
“My favorite ride has always been the Magnum XL 200. It’s a coaster from 1989, the first-ever coaster to top 200 feet; it’s also the first ride I learned about in my classes.”
Flexible schedules
George loved her summer internship at Cedar Point so much that she extended it into late October — something she was able to do while still taking classes full time because of the flexible nature of the themed entertainment design major.
“In August I realized I wanted to keep working at Cedar Point,” she says. “Because the themed entertainment design program is asynchronous, I was able to do all of my classwork from Ohio while still working 30 to 40 hours a week.”
Asynchronous learning allows students to set their own schedule within a certain time frame. They can access and complete lectures, readings, homework and other learning materials at the time that works best for them.
This is a perfect fit for George.
“I am really into schedules,” she says. “I have three different planners that keep me organized. I am a detail-oriented person, and so it was not difficult for me to set aside a specific chunk of time for my classes while still working.”
Dynamic learning
The themed entertainment design major brings together multiple disciplines, which is one of George’s favorite things about the program.
“I love the combination of technology with leadership, operations and creativity,” she says. “It all comes together in themed entertainment.”
She is attracted to the management side of the industry. Many of her classes feature project management tools like Trello and Monday.com; she also explores the design side, which means using Figma, Maya 3D animation software, Adobe’s creative suite and SketchUp 3D modeling software.
“We learn about things like taking a building and turning it into a schematic so that we can adjust spaces and change the flow of people,” she says. “We are learning how to be visual and spatial storytellers, and design obviously plays a big role in that.”
George also says that many of her courses involve group work, which has been an easy way to make friends, through both in-person gatherings with students living in Indianapolis and online meetups with those who are taking classes from farther away.
“The class group projects are really fun,” she says. “As I have gotten deeper into my classes, everyone is super passionate about what they’re doing.”
George also appreciates the variety of venues explored in her major.
“One day you could be designing a high-thrill coaster; the next you could be creating an educational exhibit for 8- to 12-year-olds,” she says.
George sometimes refers to her major as “edutainment” because it combines education with real-world entertainment experience. Case studies and hands-on learning that supplement class materials are a key aspect of the program.
This semester George has been able to conduct case studies in partnership with The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. She takes photos and videos and jots down notes from a guest perspective to explore the storytelling and design techniques being used.
“My professors say that you can’t create exhibits without first experiencing them yourself,” she explains.
Knowledgeable, caring professors
One of George’s professors, Christian Rogers, selected her to be project manager for the Children’s Museum work this semester, which reflects the extent to which professors understand the goals of their students.
“Dr. Rogers chose me to be project manager because he knows that I’m passionate about the operations and the leadership side of this work,” she says. “It’s nice to have that outreach and to know that my professors are looking out for me and my educational growth.”
George credits these types of resume-building leadership experiences with helping her secure industry internships.
She also points to her professors’ innovative approaches, which range from being flexible with students who have busy schedules or who live in different states to varying course content to match the interests of their students more closely.
“My professors have been super helpful guiding classwork toward my specific interests,” she says. “If I have a suggestion, they’ll keep it in mind and make changes based on what I need.”
Adjusting content based on students’ needs each semester contributes to success outside of the classroom.
My professors have been super helpful guiding classwork toward my specific interests. If I have a suggestion, they’ll keep it in mind and make changes based on what I need.
Carys George
Purdue themed entertainment design student in Indianapolis
“Having helpful, caring professors makes all the difference,” George says. “When I tell them about my internships, they are so excited for me.”
Purdue University in Indianapolis also has one of the largest student groups participating in the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) yearly conference.
The annual conference is often held in Orlando, Florida, so students can experience numerous parks together, as well as participate in the educational conference.
“It’s a lot of fun,” George says. “I had no idea how huge it was to go to the IAAPA Expo until my professors introduced it to me.”
The advantages of Indianapolis
As a themed entertainment design major, living in Indianapolis has helped George. Not only does the city have a variety of museums and performance venues, it also regularly hosts national exhibits and conventions.
“Experiences flood in and out of Indy,” she says. “And my friends and I love going to as many as we can.”
Whether it’s LEGO Brickworld or Jurassic Quest, there is always something to see and do.
“I like going to those experiences with my friends,” George explains, “and seeing how they set them up. What would we have done differently? What can we applaud them on? We have a different eye on them for sure.”
George says that being in the city has been a huge part of her experience as a student. She loves being able to encounter so many things, but the city itself factors in her learning.
“I love having everything accessible,” she says. “And I feel so inspired by Indianapolis.”
Next steps
George starts her next internship in May at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. And she can’t wait to get started.
“Previously I’ve only had experience working at amusement parks,” she says. “Dollywood is a theme park, so I will get to be part of the storytelling. And I am so excited.”
In addition to adding storytelling experience to her resume, George also will get to build on the operational skills she cultivated at Cedar Point.
“In my future career, I want to be working in compliance and ride operations,” she explains.
Maintaining the safety of attractions, monitoring how fast guests are loaded in and out of rides, and ensuring park security will likely be part of her Dollywood internship as well.
And when she graduates?
“I think I will probably return to Cedar Point. I know they need people like me, especially in the office, and I love that work,” she says.
It helps that this year the amusement park will be opening Top Thrill 2, the world’s tallest and fastest triple-launch strata coaster, which reaches speeds of 120 mph and a height of 420 feet.
“I think it will become my new favorite ride,” she says.
