Drum Major Mickey Mouse leads a celebratory parade Thursday with 100 students at Magic Kingdom Park during Disney Dreamers Academy at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Charlene Morrison, photographer)
ORLANDO, Fla. - Five Atlanta-area high school students have been selected for a once-in-a-lifetime mentoring program at Walt Disney World.
Pamela Musungu, Ava Flanigan, Ava Adams, Jordan Adeyemi, and Dylan Jones were chosen out of thousands of nationwide applicants to be part of the 100 students named this year's participants in the Disney Dreamer's Academy.
The teens will spend the next few days participating in a four-day program that features career-oriented workshops and leadership seminars.
Disney held a parade at the Magic Kingdom Park to kick things off with special guest Halle Bailey, who will play Ariel in the upcoming live-action remake of "The Little Mermaid."
This is the 16th year for the Dreamers Academy, which started to create opportunities for Black high school students and teens.
As part of the program, the students and a parent or guardian receive an all-expense-paid tip to Walt Disney World and get to hear presentations by celebrity guests, community leaders, and Disney executives.