Walt Disney World invited me to attend the 2022 Disney Dreamers Academy as hosted media. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.
Last week, I attended the 2022 Disney Dreamer Academy as a media guest of The Walt Disney World Resort. (Click here to see all of my video highlights from the experience.) My takeaways: Dream Bigger and Discover the Possibilities!
I spent 4 days on assignment covering the landmark 15th year of this program. And while I went expecting to experience the Class of 2022 Disney Dreamers get inspired, I ended up leaving with a renewed sense of purpose on my own! Before I share all that we learned, first here is a quick background into the Disney Dreamers Academy.
What is the Disney Dreamers Academy?
The Disney Dreamers Academy is an educational mentorship program created and hosted by Walt Disney World Resort. It seeks to broaden career awareness and create exclusive opportunities for students and teens from underrepresented communities across America.
Each year since its inception in 2008, the Disney Dreamers Academy hand selects 100 outstanding high school students from across the country out of thousands of applicants. Each student (along with their guardian) gets an all-expense paid trip to The Walt Disney World Resort. The team flies them to Orlando and they spend 4 days being directly mentored by the Walt Disney World team and a host of celebrity mentors who are committed to inspiring the next generation.
Meet the 2022 Class of the Disney Dreamers Academy
This year’s class of Dreamers consist of 100 students, representing 26 states and a variety of educational experiences and career goals. In their youth, they are already scientists, entrepreneurs, non-profit owners, and more. And they all have one common goal — they dream BIG!
These students are simply amazing. Meet Mikey, who is the author of the Amazon best selling children’s book “Mikey Learns about Business.” Maya, from North Carolina, is a budding scientist who wants to “be remembered for inspiring future generations to hope.
I also met with a few of the Disney Dreamers from Alabama, and they were both so beautifully poised and intelligent. Ava, from Fairhope, is a champion sailor who plans to study design engineering. And Jaynie, from Helena, currently studies cosmetology and aspires to be a movie director and producer.
The Disney Dreamers Academy Experience
During the 4 day event, the Dreamers engaged in a wide variety of experiences at Walt Disney World.
They worked side-by-side with and hearing inspirational stories from community and
business leaders, Disney cast members, celebrities and other special guests.
Dreamers were taught valuable life tools such as leadership skills, effective communication
techniques and networking strategies.
Next, the Disney team hosts in-depth career workshops in a variety of disciplines aligned with the Dreamers’ goals. These workshops introduce The Dreamers to diverse career paths within business, entertainment and sciences, including career opportunities within The Walt Disney Company.
One of my personal favorite parks of watching this experience was to see the Dreamers create special bonds that will last for a lifetime. At the beginning of the experience, students were split up into five groups. Team Truth, Team Soul, Team Purpose, Team Heart, and Team Pride. Each group was led by a Dreamer alumni and was created to foster community. They even participated in a social media challenge throughout the course of the week. Team Truth came out victorious!
Of course, the Dreamers also had a blast in the parks! They got front-of-the-line access to some of the hottest attractions in the theme parks. Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, Avatar’s Flight of Passage, and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Smuggler’s Run were some of the favorites! And to kick off the week’s festivities, the Dreamers were featured in special parade in Magic Kingdom. It was led by Drum Major Mickey and this year’s celebrity Ambassador Kelly Rowland.
Dream bigger and discover the possibilities!
It is impossible for the students and parents to leave the Disney Dreamers Academy without feeling an overwhelming sense of inspiration. Understandably so, after a week being poured into by mentors, uplifted by Disney Cast Members, and being prayed over by those in attendance. But what I didn’t expect was to leave challenged to go after my own dreams! Somehow the reach of the program managed to extends beyond the 2022 class and impact us all. At the commencement ceremony, I don’t believe there was a dry eye in the room.
As a dreamer in my own right, I felt challenged to examine every area of my life where I’ve been letting my dreams lay stagnant. Life moves so quickly, I often let doubt creep in I feel renewed and ready to continue to push towards all that I know that God has for me. I’m a wife, a mom, a blogger, a teacher, and yes — I will never stop being a dreamer! Thank you, Disney Dreamers Academy for that ever-so-timely reminder!
Stay tuned for more about the Disney Dreamers Academy! Have questions? Leave them in the comment section below and I’ll answer them in a follow-up post.
Make sure to follow along on Instagram where I’ll keep you updated on all announcements and let you know when the 2023 applications go live.
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