See GRINER on

Students get jumpstart on path to success at 15th Disney Dreamers Academy

By CYRIL JOSH BARKER

Amsterdam News Staff

The Walt Disney World Resort welcomed 100 teens selected to participate in the 2022 Disney Dreamers Academy (DDA) last week for four days of inspiration and empowerment from Thursday through Sunday.

The Academy marks its 15th year of helping youth from around the nation. More than 1,400 students have been through the program.

This year’s group traveled from 25 states for the all-expenses-paid trip to Disney World. They were selected from thousands of applicants nationwide. New York State had the highest representation with 10 students from the Empire State participating in DDA with four from the five boroughs.

Students at the event had interests in medical, engineering and entertainment careers. Several of them already run their own businesses or community organizations.

Four-time Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, actress and television executive producer Kelly Rowland was among the well-known celebrities participating. Rowland was the program’s celebrity ambassador and served as a mentor and advocate.

Speaking to the media at Disney’s Magic Kingdom theme park on Friday, Rowland said that while she hoped to inspire the students, seeing them inspired her as well.

“To watch all these big brilliant young minds come out here and have a focus and a goal, I’m honored to be among such incredible energy and share space with them,” Rowland said. “It’s one big thing to have a dream and to watch it unfold as you’re on this journey of finding and following your dream is truly a blessing.”

Six students in this year’s class were from the Tri-State area: Abibat Akinyele from the Bronx; Justin Alvarez from Manhattan; Darius Brown from Newark, N.J.; Alexis Halm from East Orange, N.J.; Michael Taggart from Jamaica, Queens; and Darcie Wu from Manhattan.

Disney Dreamers Academy Executive Champion Tracey Powell, who also works as Disney signature experiences vice president and Disney Dreamers Academy executive champion, said the Dreamers Academy allows Tri-State teens to explore their options for the future.

“For those students from the New York area, we really want them to enjoy the weekend and take in all of the opportunities, to be able to get to know people in the program and see that there’s options for them at the Walt Disney Resort to be able to actually have a career,” Powell said.

Entertainment reporter Kelly Carter spoke to the students during the event and hosted panel discussions. She said the Dreamers Academy encourages teens to take what they’ve learned back to their peers.

“I’m really hoping that they take something and put some good out in the world,” Carter said. “That’s really what it’s all about. Finding connections with people and networking, figuring out how to navigate the world outside of high school, college and their professional journey. I just want to see people come back and share their own stories the way that some of the alumni come and inspire the kids.”

Speakers for this year’s Dreamers Academy included Mikki Taylor; Essence CEO Caroline Wanga; motivational speaker Lisa Nichols; retired NBA player, Quentin “Que” Richardson; Bruce W. Smith and Ralph Farquhar, Disney+ executive producers and directors of “Proud Family”; Demi Singleton, who recently starred in the film “King Richard” playing the role of Serena Williams; and recording artist Mali Music.

Cheryl McKissack, president & CEO of McKissack & McKissack, the oldest minority- & woman-owned design and construction services firm in the nation, was also one of the speakers at this year’s Dreamers Academy. Attending the event for the first time, McKissack said she spoke with several teens about her work.

“The fact that I can teach them about construction in New York City, I think, has been very helpful to them and I’m just going to tell the world about these amazing young kids of color.”

Alumni Dreamers from previous classes also attended the event to offer their help and advice to attendees. Princeton Parker, who was a Disney Dreamer in 2011, was one of the hosts for the Dreamers Academy. He’s been involved with the program for 11 years.

“This program has absolutely changed my life,” Parker said. “I’m excited that it’s still going strong, that 100 more Dreamers get to experience what I did.”

Abibat Akinyele Yusifu, 15, from Mott Haven in the Bronx was selected to participate in this year’s Dreamers Academy. She hopes to be a CEO and wants to fuse her passion for technology with business.

“It’s great to see so many motivated kids around me just like me,” she said. “I never knew you could combine multiple interests into one. I was torn between technology and business, but the fact that it can be put together is perfect. I want to bring inspiration back to the community.”

The teens arrived at the Walt Disney World Resort Thursday, where they participated in a parade at Disney’s

(Cyril Josh Barker photo)

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Griner

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Russian state TV released a photograph of Griner on March 8—International Women’s Day—which showed Griner’s booking photo: she was holding a placard while in custody in the aftermath of her February arrest at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport. Griner was taken into custody after flying into Moscow from New York. During a search of her hand luggage, “the presence of vapes with specifically smelling liquid” were found, the Russian Federal Customs Service said in a statement: “an expert determined that the liquid was cannabis oil (hash oil), which is a narcotic substance.”

Griner faces a punishment of between 5 to 10 years in prison. She has already been detained for 3 weeks now and her exact location remains unknown.

Griner’s wife, Cherelle, posted a statement on Instagram calling for support to bring Brittney home: “Thank you to everyone who has reached out to me regarding my wife’s safe return from Russia. Your prayers and support are greatly appreciated. I love my wife wholeheartedly, so this message comes during one of the weakest moments of my life.”

The basketball star’s agent, Lindsay Kagawa Colas, has said that she is in contact with WNBA and NBA legal representatives, and that they are working to aid Griner.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who represents Griner’s hometown of Houston, Texas, is calling for the U.S. to bring Brittney Griner home. Russia has a noted violent and racist history against Black people and under Putin the LGBTQIA community has been under constant attack. Griner could face unspeakable deprivations in Putin’s Russia as he wages a desperate war in Ukraine. “The critical and urgent issue that I was able to raise with the president was the illegal arrest and detaining of Britney Griner,” Rep. Lee noted in a March 8 statement on Twitter. She said she “raised the need for her to be immediately released and for her to receive the help of the United States to demand and facilitate that release.

“It is clear that Putin chooses to use American citizens as pawns and has detained many other Americans on false charges. He is now waging a vile, evil, immoral, and vicious war of terrorism; and now maybe choosing to use the celebrity status of Griner to threaten the West and threaten the United States. Brittney Griner is a professional athlete at the top of her game who plays professionally in Russia and the United States. Frankly, Putin is a war criminal and should not be holding anyone. Griner should be released now along with other detained Americans. The United States government working with Congress should demand their release, and Putin should be tried as a war criminal! Enough is enough!”

Griner plays for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury where she earns a base salary of $227,900 annually. Like other WNBA players, she spends her offseason playing abroad where she can earn a higher income. Griner has played in the Euroleague since 2015, she is a member of the Russian UMMC Ekaterinburg team and has earned over $1 million per season for the last seven years.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee