Spending a summer in Orlando selling Mickey Mouse memorabilia and receiving discounted admission prices to Disney’s amusement parks isn’t usually considered an educational experience.

But participants in the Walt Disney World College Program can earn college credit while working for the well-known company during the four- to six-month internship.

Disney recruiters will be on campus Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the Molecular Biology Auditorium to inform students about opportunities in the program.

The internships are open to all undergraduate students in any major who have completed at least one semester of college, said Lana Hollenberg, campus representative.

Currently more than 20 ISU students are participating in the Disney College Program internship, said Hollenberg, senior in advertising.

Holly Steig, sophomore in hotel, restaurant and institution management, participated in the program during the summer and fall semesters working as a cashier at Disney’s Port Orleans River Side Resort.

“What they taught me was valuable information,” she said. “I can learn so much in class, but I have to be directly in the work force to apply it.”

In addition to workforce development, students can take classes to advance their own interests, said Abby Friedmeyer, campus representative and senior in advertising.

Susanne McKinney, senior in marketing, participated in the internship and took a course on organizational leadership.

“It focused on individuals in the classroom in a way that made each person look at who they are,” she said. “The [class] made me think about who I want to be, where I want to be in the future, how I am going to get there and want I want to accomplish in my life.”

Classes at Disney are developed to help students apply their work experience to their course work.

“We apply what they are learning by explaining that this is how a business runs and how it works in the real world,” said Pete Blank, an instructor with the program.

When students take classes in college they can’t apply the information right away, which is what makes the Disney classes different, Blank said. The students take the information directly from the classroom and apply it through their role with the company.

“Not only can College Program participants learn from professionals in a classroom environment, but they also have an opportunity to network with experts who work in their area of study,” Friedmeyer said.

The experience students gain at the Disney College Program can help them get jobs after graduation, said Ronda Cerling, internship participant and senior in horticulture.

“Everybody knows the reputation Disney has as being outstanding,” she said.

“If you have a good reference from Disney, you can hardly beat that.”