Meet Noah Schmitt

My name is Noah. I come from York, Pennsylvania, and I love theme parks. All in all, I love themed entertainment. Every life-altering decision starts out with a story, and this one’s mine: I found out about our industry by hitting my head against a brick wall. Standing in the queue of Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland, I hit my head on that wall, took a step back and realized the role this structure had in setting the scene and telling the tale. I knew right then and there that I wanted to be part of the team that got to tell these stories from beginning to end, creating happiness and excitement for everyone who got to experience them.

My senior year of high school, I begged my parents to let me invite trick-or-treaters into our home for a mockup Haunted Mansion I created on the first floor and garage. Needless to say, my folks weren’t happy about the mess I made of the place, but it was worth it to see the look of delight on the kid's faces as they left.

Ever since then, I’ve been on a wild journey preparing myself to enter this industry professionally. Studying architecture at Penn State was just the start of this trip. Every class and every project I undertake revealed something fascinating about design work I never knew before. The experiences I’m most proud of is my involvement in over fifty-five theatrical productions. Whether I took on the role of actor, crew, director, or writer, the theatre has a special place in my heart. My experiences there have influenced the way I see entertainment and design forever. Everything else from joining TEA as a NextGen member, engaging in activities with my campus TPEG Chapter, and even taking classes here at TECWS has followed suit. Each has allowed me to gain more experience and insight into our industry, and I’m still learning more.

I’ve met so many creative and thoughtful people who continue to make this journey special and worthwhile. Their willingness to engage with the new generation of designers is one of my favorite aspects of this profession. They are truly the best in what this business has to offer and inspire countless stories for guests to experience for decades.

With each passing day, each learning experience I take on teaches me something new about the profession and about myself. I am optimistic about my future in the industry. For me, that includes show set design, or maybe even attraction writing. There’s just so many different disciplines to love in this industry, and I can’t wait to get started experiencing them all. I am well aware of the trials before me as it’s a difficult industry to break into. However, the more I prepare myself for the career path ahead of me, the more confident I grow every day. I want to spend my life telling these stories, making people happy, and bringing others into our growing industry.

I look forward to another year of new experiences, and a lifetime of dreaming and doing with some incredible people.