20-Year-Old Disney College Program Participant Dies After Suspected Lightning Strike in Florida

A young man who had moved to Central Florida just days earlier to begin a new chapter at Walt Disney World has died after a suspected lightning strike.

Matthew Eric Jenkins, 20, of Shelby Township, Michigan, was in Celebration, Florida, on the evening of September 8, 2026, when a thunderstorm moved through the area.

Jenkins had relocated to Central Florida only about a week earlier to take part in the Disney College Program.

During the storm, Jenkins was walking along a path near a hotel when witnesses reported seeing lightning strike nearby. Shortly afterward, he was found unconscious.

Bystanders immediately began performing CPR while waiting for emergency responders to arrive. Jenkins was transported to Celebration Hospital, but despite efforts to save him, he did not survive.

His death has left family, friends and those connected to the Disney College Program mourning a young man whose time in Florida had only just begun.

For Jenkins, the move to Central Florida was supposed to mark the beginning of an exciting new experience. Instead, just days after arriving, his life was tragically cut short during a sudden thunderstorm.

The circumstances surrounding the incident remain under investigation, and further details about what happened have not been released.

A young man who came to Florida to pursue an opportunity and make new memories is now being remembered far too soon.

Source: WMUR