Disney College Program participant dies after lightning strike

Matthew Eric Jenkins, 20, of Shelby Township, Michigan, died Tuesday after being found unresponsive near downtown Celebration, Florida, following a lightning strike. His father said he had moved to Central Florida a week earlier to begin the Disney College Program.

A 20-year-old man who had moved to Florida a week earlier to start the Disney College Program died Tuesday evening after a lightning strike near downtown Celebration.

The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office identified him Wednesday as Matthew Eric Jenkins of Shelby Township, Michigan.

His father told WESH that Jenkins had relocated to Central Florida last week to begin the program.

What happened

Witnesses were taking shelter from rain near a walking path behind a hotel on Bloom Street when lightning struck nearby.

Moments later, people noticed a man had collapsed, and one of them started CPR.

Jenkins was taken to Celebration Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the sheriff’s office.

Detectives are awaiting the medical examiner’s determination of the exact cause of death, according to the sheriff’s office.

The sheriff’s office has described the death as following a lightning strike, and Jenkins was found unresponsive shortly after lightning hit nearby. The formal ruling has not been released.

Jenkins’ father said the family is grateful to everyone who came to his son’s aid.

Where is Celebration?

Celebration is the master-planned town Disney developed in the 1990s on land adjacent to Walt Disney World, and it remains a common place for College Program participants and cast members to live and spend time.

The strike occurred in the downtown area, not on Disney park property. Disney has not issued a public statement.

What the Disney College Program is

The program brings college students to Walt Disney World and Disneyland for paid internships lasting several months, combining work in the parks and resorts with coursework and housing.

Thousands of students participate each year. For many, it is a first extended stay away from home, and participants typically arrive in groups at the start of each session.

Jenkins had been in Florida for roughly a week.

Florida and lightning

Florida records more lightning strikes than any other state, and Central Florida sees near-daily thunderstorms through the late summer months. National Weather Service guidance holds that no location outdoors is safe during a thunderstorm, and that shelter should be a substantial building or a hard-topped vehicle.

Our sincerest condolences to Jenkins’ family and friends.

Article compiled with the help of the Pirates & Princesses newsroom.

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Hat Tips:

• WESH 2 via Hearst Television (September 9, 2026), Brandon Hogan and Pattrik Perez’s reporting, the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office identification, the account from Jenkins’ father, and the interview with Felipe Costa
• Osceola County Sheriff’s Office (September 9, 2026), the identification and the pending medical examiner determination
• National Weather Service, the lightning safety guidance

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