Gathered in a circle under a statue of Buzz Lightyear at Hollywood Studios, Kiana Lee (11) and 20 other students of the Disney Dreamers Academy talked to their future selves, March 27.

“Dear future dreamer,” each of them started, staring into a camera and surrounded by a film crew. They described the dreams they hoped to achieve in the video, helping them to articulate their visions.

Disney Dreamers Academy is a leadership program held at Walt Disney World in Florida that selects 100 high-schoolers from across the United States each year to learn from accomplished mentors such as Disney actors, authors, and influencers. Through hearing speakers, working on projects, and rotating through business panels, the dreamers develop plans for how they will work towards their own career goals.

“I got to meet with all these people and walked through their journey and [hear] advice for kids who have a dream and are trying to get to that goal,” Lee said. “These people essentially taught us [about] how we can take small moments and grow them really big. [They emphasized how] there are certain opportunities that don’t come naturally, so when you have an opportunity, you [take it].”

Lee said that being at the academy helped her focus on pursuing opportunities for what she wants to do instead of solely for what is academically strong.

“A lot of programs I see now are very academic-focused or competitive,” she said. “It can be overwhelming when you’re constantly battling for your grades or competing with other people for opportunities, but when I went to the leadership academy, it was not like that at all. It was passion, and everybody having a dream that they’re really striving to reach that was connecting everyone. It was eye-opening to see this community of kids who are really passionate about what they want to do or what initiatives they want to take and how they bring that back to their community.”

For Lee,  as a deaf person herself, that meant helping disabled voices be heard. Growing up without much deaf representation, Lee said that it is important to help disabled people be seen to show them the futures they can have. She hopes to do so through her upcoming internship with Dolby, the corporation behind much of Disney’s sound production.

“When I was growing up, I didn’t have a deaf community to be there to support me,” she said. “I didn’t see myself being a researcher or going to Disney Dreamers or becoming a musician or an athlete. I didn’t see myself in those roles, and that’s why I didn’t think I had a voice. When I came into high school and I figured out where my community and roles are, I didn’t want to continue with that pattern of hiding away, but rather, I wanted to step up and spread awareness. My dream is to share disabled people’s stories and develop new technology for disabled individuals, so I’ll be working in [Dolby’s] accessibility unit and learning how accommodations can be made for disabled people and what we can do to support them when they’re on a Disney ride or if they’re watching a movie.”

Lee said that she felt her voice and story recognized by the academy through her acceptance to the program.

“When I first found out that I got accepted into the Disney Dreamers Academy, I think that shifted my mindset,” she said. “It’s cool that there’s a team of people, especially at a well-known company like Disney, who saw my story and wanted me. Within the disabled community, there are so many barriers that make us want to not use our voices, and having our voices heard is something that we struggle with. This work that I’ve been doing with advocacy and learning to use my voice to elevate our disabled community that’s usually hidden [let the] team seeing my essays see that passion and think, ‘This is who we need at this academy.’ That really [helped me] see that my voice is powerful.”

Lee said that she hoped to share her experience and visions as a deaf person with others at the academy.

“[The Disney Dreamers Academy] is not only an opportunity for me to reach my goals and learn as much as I can about advocacy and accessibility and awareness in general, but it’s also an opportunity for [mentors] to get a perspective that’s not very well acknowledged right now,” she said. “Disney Dreamers was a really cool step in my journey to reaching my dreams.”