Staff Report
HOLLYWOOD — Aisha Louis, a Hollywood resident and 17-year-old junior from Archbishop Curley Notre Dame Prep is one of the three South Florida students who were selected to participate in the Disney Dreamers Academy with comedian Steve Harvey and Essence magazine.
Now in its sixth year, the program took place March 7 – 10, 2013 at the Walt Disney World Resort.
From 5,000 applications, Aisha was among the 100 selected students from all over the country who have demonstrated that, with hard work and a blessing, dreams can come true.
Although she knew that the winners had been announced, Aisha hesitated before looking at the Disney Dreamers Academy website. “Earlier that day I read that the list had been posted, but I was so nervous to look at it,” Aisha said.
“Finally, while in second period, I went on my iPad and looked at the list. Once I saw my name, I was elated and thanked God that I was one of the one hundred chosen for this honor. I could not stop smiling and I was so grateful to have won this once in a lifetime opportunity.”
Aisha is a self-motivated student who aspires to study at Columbia University and become an obstetrician-gynecologist. She heard about the program while watching the Dinner: Impossible show on the Food Network and immediately went online and looked for more information.
Aisha’s AP English Teacher, Beth Love, offered guidance on how to tell her story and express her passions and dreams – something that Aisha needed to demonstrate in the three required essays.
“I’ve always had a love for infants and new life and I knew that I wanted to pursue that as a career,” Aisha said. “When doing research for a profession, I found that an obstetrician-gynecologist was the perfect fit for me. I looked up schools too and found that Columbia University has a great OB-GYN program along with being an amazing, top ranked school and so I decided that that’s where I want to go.”
Disney Dreamers Academy students will engage in multiple activities including interaction with a range of industry professional to an immersive introduction to various career paths. Academy students participate in workshops on a variety of subjects including entertainment, entrepreneurship, the medical field, culinary arts and creative inspiration from Walt Disney Imagineering, the creative gurus behind Disney Parks’ theme parks and attractions.
“Disney Dreamers Academy will be very beneficial to me because it will offer me exposure and inspiration,” Aisha said. “Many times, people have dreams but don’t have the motivation or education needed to pursue them.
“This program will give me the chance to receive valuable lessons and information from people who have risen above their circumstances and have become great, as we all have the power to do.”
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