For most people, giving back to the community happens in places like soup kitchens, hospitals and homeless shelters. We associate the most selfless acts with those venues. On the other hand, when we think of vacation spots like Walt Disney World, we imagine exhilarating rides, the Magic Kingdom and Mickey Mouse ears. In places like Disney World, we are able to leave our everyday lives behind and indulge in what, in many ways, is a selfish experience. But these associations do not hold true for Steven Wong '13, who has a very special connection with Disney World. Wong has gone to the theme park in Orlando, Fla. with his mother every year but one since 1997. He says that he has been there so often mostly because his mother was "deprived as a child," so she decided to bring her children there as often as possible.

Last semester, Wong had the chance to spend even more time at Disney World when he took a leave of absence to embark on an internship at the famed theme park. Wong spent his semester in sunny Florida as an employee of Hollywood Studios.

During winter 2009, Wong sat at his home with his family in Boston watching a special on the Home and Garden Television Network about how Disney World decorates its theme parks for the holidays-one of its busiest times of the year. The program describes how the artists manage to construct decorations outside of the park and then put them up after hours.

As someone with a passion for the arts who is considering a Fine Arts major, Wong found the program fascinating. Knowing he had the skill and motivation to help out those who work at the park, he decided to do some research.

Wong's motivation to work at Disney was by no means selfish. While he did make a minimum-wage salary, Wong's longtime connection with Disney World and his desire to "give back" motivated him to pursue this opportunity.

"The guest services there are amazing. ... They are way too nice, way too polite, and they are real and genuine. They just want you to have a good time, ... so I thought I could give back to the people who visit the park," Wong says.

After some research in the days after watching the television show, Wong discovered that Disney World offers the Disney College Program, which was designed to offer students a chance to work in the theme park and take classes in business and marketing at the same time.

While Wong's father was not supportive of the idea because he did not want his son to leave the state for such an extended period of time, his mother fully backed his plan, partly because of her love for Disney World.

When he returned to campus in spring 2010, Wong went to his academic adviser to further explore the idea. While the classes in the Disney College Program would not count for credit at Brandeis, he nonetheless elected to take a leave of absence for fall 2010.

As a result, Wong must now take five classes every semester in order to graduate on time, in addition to participating in the five Waltham Group volunteer services in which he takes part, as well as the Photography Club and Business Club. Needless to say, the rest of his Brandeis career will be no walk in the park.

Learning how to work at Disney World was by no means a simple process. Famous for its stellar guest services, the park requires a training session for all its workers. Wong described the training for his job as intense but manageable. "It was overwhelming the first day, but after a few weeks you get used to it," Wong says.

To prepare for his work at Hollywood Studios, Wong woke up at the crack of dawn and boarded a bus that traveled behind Magic Kingdom-a place far removed from the public eye, where "no one who visits the park ever goes," Wong says.

His training included a class called "Traditions," in which participants learn the history of the theme park and the origins of Mickey Mouse.

Eventually, Wong's training became more specialized. He had other training sessions in which he learned how to operate the cash register and count change "the Disney way," he says. Employees at Disney World must say "19, 20, here's your change," instead of simply "2 dollars." According to Wong, this manner of counting change is more "formal," and thus Disney insists on it.

Once he started his work at the park, Wong began each day by boarding a free shuttle to the theme park. Once at the park, Wong had to walk behind the scenes to the costume department, described by Wong as a "Home Depot of clothes."

Wong was required to wear a white-collar dress shirt, black pants and black sneakers. In addition to this strict dress code, employees are not allowed to have facial hair, must cover up their tattoos and cannot let their hair go below their earlobes.

After receiving his outfit, Wong made his way over to the casting department, where he received his assignment each day. Most of the time, his day-to-day responsibilities included merchandising, checking inventory, working the cash register, stocking merchandise and helping at guest services. Wong was also able to take advantage of one particular perk of the job: access to free rides. He rode Space Mountain, one of his favorites, at least 30 times.

But Wong thought the part of his day when he gained the most was interacting with the visitors to the park. The task of interacting with customers was totally new to him. His lack of experience resulted in a few embarrassing encounters.

"I embarrassed myself in front of an English guest. He asked me a question in an English accent ... and for some reason I responded in an English accent. As I was walking back, I thought to myself, 'Shoot. I didn't mean to do a fake accent.'"

Wong pursued his internship at Disney in order to help with the artistic creations in the park. When he arrived, though, he found that there was not much for him to do in the way of art. However, this did not take away from his experience.

"You get into the swing of things. ... I did get to do some artwork at the end, ... so I wasn't too disappointed," he says.

While Wong's passion lies in the arts, many of his nonartistic experiences proved the most memorable.

"Just to see a kid's face when he sees a picture of Mickey Mouse is ... mind-blowing," he says.

A self-described quiet individual, Wong says that Disney World allowed him to discover himself. Before his experience at Disney, Wong says that he was less outgoing and more reserved.

Now, however, Wong plans on going into a career that involves customer service. While Disney World no doubt provides great memories for the average visitor, the experience of working at Disney proved transformative for at least one of its employees.