LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL. – On day two of the Disney Dreamers Academy, the 100 students who were selected for the prestigious week-long academy, and their parents and guardians, were assembled in one of the large rooms at Disney’s Contemporary Resort. It was time for the official welcome and start of the group workshops and mentor presentations.
Throughout the week, the Dreamers will have received plenty of motivation from Disney staff, special guests, and, of course, from their families and friends. But some things said during the welcome rally might be bookmarked in their minds long after this experience is over.
Here are some highlights: “You are not the future, you are, in fact, what we need right now,” DDA alumnus Princeton Parker said.
“Today, you join a powerful legacy,” said Disney Chief Opportunity & Inclusion Officer Tinisha Agramonte.
“When something is in your way, don’t run from it. It’s a speedbump, go over it,” WNBA superstar A’ja Wilson, one of the celebrity mentors, said.
For Georgia Dreamers, Fiffy Abiodun-Findo, Kenia Gonzalez-Chavez, and Claire Jefferson, those words of encouragement were fuel to their fires.
Jefferson, a junior at Houston County High School in Warner Robins, has plenty of motivation in her home. She is here following in the footsteps of her mother, Tanisha Jefferson (then Simpson), Disney Dreamers Academy Class of 1997, and brother, Solomon Jefferson, Disney Dreamers Academy Class of 2024.
“I want to keep the generational run going,” the youngest Jefferson joked.
Disney is in her blood. Interested in acting, Jefferson played Princess Tiana in last year’s Houston County Christmas Parade.
“I love the theater and the fine arts, Jefferson said. “You have to have that creativity, and I enjoy that.”
Jefferson is also interested in mechanical engineering and has tentative plans to attend Georgia Tech in Atlanta after high school. She also wants to apply for the Disney College Program. She said she believes in taking full advantage of opportunities like these.
“I want to take these experiences and see how I can shape the rest of my life,” said Jefferson.
The daughter of Nigerian parents, Abiodun-Findo, wants to be an OBGYN for a very good reason. She wants to help Black women get the health care and medical compassion they deserve and need.
“I think women of color’s pain isn’t properly recognized due to stereotypes, and I want to do something about it,” said Abiodun-Findo, 17, a junior at Whitewater High School in Fayetteville.
When she found out there would be 10 Georgia Dreamers in her class, she was impressed. “That says a lot about Georgia,” she said. “It’s been cool to meet different people from Georgia.”
Calling the Disney Dreamers Academy experience “really big” and “larger than myself,” Abiodun-Findo said it has also felt surreal at times.
“It feels like I should be at school right now, going through third period,” she joked.
Asked if she would do it again, Abiodun-Findo, smiling brightly, quickly answered, “In a heartbeat.”
A first-generation American of Salvadoran parents, Gonzalez-Chavez also wants to change the world, but she plans to do her work from the courtrooms of Georgia. Gonzalez-Chavez, 16, is a sophomore at Cedar Shoals High School in Athens. Her dream is to become an attorney so she can help bridge the divide between native Spanish speakers and the state’s legal system.
“From the things I see in my own community, I believe I could help a lot of people by running a bilingual law firm,” she said.
Gonzalez-Chavez shared that her mother didn’t complete high school, so opportunities like Disney Dreamers Academy have been a God-send for her and her family.
“To be here with so many talented and smart people is awesome,” Gonzalez-Chavez said. “I have been able to network with kids and adults.”
She wants to study at Emory University in Atlanta after high school. Along with being a leader in the classroom, Gonzalez-Chavez is involved with Youth Lead Georgia, an organization run by the J.W. Fanning Institute at the University of Georgia.
“I just try to take advantage of these opportunities,” she said. “But mostly I want to be able to network with people my age and adults. I would like to continue talking to these people in the future.”
The post Disney Dreamers Academy day 3: Big Dreams call for Bigger Dreamers appeared first on The Atlanta Voice.