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This year’s Disney Dreamers Academy weekend received a lot of special attention, largely due to the presence of The Little Mermaid star Halle Bailey, but the Disney Dreamers Academy event is always a massive milestone for many of its attendees. Now, four young innovators who experienced the Disney Dreamers Academy are sharing how they’ve expanded what they learned!
In an interview with Black Enterprise, four astonishingly-accomplished youngsters spoke about the businesses that they’ve created — all before the ripe old age of 18!
Hannah Hollings, a 15-year-old, has created a business called H3 Lemonade that sells a crowd-pleasing snack called the Lemonade Cookie (many of the proceeds are donated to charities, including Black Girls Code, Natural Rescue Mission, and a local STEM school for kids)!
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Hannah has also created a Youtube channel called Kids Building Businesses, which “educates students on how to build a business.”
“The Disney Dreamers Program was honestly made for us, so to be around so many people that look like me, they’re doing big things like me, it’s amazing,” Hannah said during the exciting weekend.
Another attendee, Miguel Coppedge, is a CEO and founder at 17! After learning more about his own “Trinidadian roots” and struggling to find hair products for his hair, the young man created “a natural hair company” (which is called Krulle) as well as a “curl creme/butter that embodies African heritage and the naturalness of Black coils.”
Miguel Coppedge Credit: Miguel Coppedge
“A lot of people get discouraged by their age. A lot of people don’t understand that you can be young and do anything. You can be old and do anything,” Miguel explained.
“I learned that dreams are never too big,” Miguel said when asked about his time in the Disney Dreamers Academy. Miguel also reportedly learned that “connections are very important”, and happily noticed that “there’s a lot of diversity” in the program.
Shane Mushambi is another Disney Dreamers Academy alum who has done great things — and tasty things, too! The young man has teamed up with his brother to create Two Brothers in the Kitchen, which is “a passion venture with layers of art and science.”
Shane and his brother Nigel have also published the book Beyond the Kitchen: How to Cook Up Success with Life’s Mistakes, which is meant to “encourage young people like themselves to reach seemingly impossible dreams.”
Shane Mushambi and his brother Nigel founded Two Brothers in the Kitchen. Credit: Two Brothers in the Kitchen on Facebook
“It feels great to be recognized for the work I’ve been putting in,” Shane enthused, adding that Disney really is “a magical place.”
Julian Morris is another Disney Dreamers Academy alum who has gone far (albeit in journalism, not in the kitchen)! Morris is the 15-year-old creator and editor-in-chief of SWAG Magazine, which is a magazine that is “for teens written by teens.”
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“A lot of decisions were being made for kids. For us kids, we didn’t really have a say in too much of what was happening to us and for us,” Morris said, describing the challenges of 2020.
“I started SWAG Magazine as a platform to give peers a voice so we can express ourselves without our voices being muffled.” Like Shane, Julian also pays it forward via after-school workshops, with his workshops focusing on “teaching middle schoolers all aspects of journalism.”
“To be one of the 100 [chosen for the Academy] is an amazing feeling,” Julian declared. Do you know anyone (such as this Good Morning America guest) who has been lucky enough to attend this inspiring Walt Disney Company academy at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and enjoyed Disney Parks like the Magic Kingdom Park during the magical (and motivational) career event?
