Participants included:

• Rilous Carter, Vice President of Disney’s Hollywood Studios™
• Tracey Walters, Director of Disney Parks and Resorts, Theme Park & Resort Pricing
• Reggie Jarrett, Director, Show Development & Production

It is obvious that Mr. Glover is a proud dad.  He shared more about Darius’ accident and optimistic attitude with me.  He could only remember one day (his 16th birthday) that Darius ever allowed himself to be “down” regarding his motor cross biking accident that currently has him in a wheelchair.  Rather, Darius has been an example and an inspiration to those around him.  He hasn’t complained as he has underwent two surgeries resulting in 4 rods and 18 screws in his back.  His upbeat attitude has even caused other teen paraplegics to expect more of themselves.  Darius does everything - school, work and therapy with a grace and a smile.  As he says, “I’m not handicapped.  I just can’t walk.”

As a parent, I asked Mr. Glover how he felt when he received the call about Darius’ accident.  He started to “well up” as he went back to that time mentally.  What was amazing to me was that it was tears of gratitude. (The apple really doesn’t fall far from the tree!  Mr. Glover and Darius’ mom Cynthia - whom I met briefly - are both grateful, positive people.)  Darius was at a biking competition away from home when he was hurt.  As one of only a few African American riders, Darius’ impact on his fellow riders was apparent after his accident.  When Mr. Glover arrived at the hospital, he couldn’t find Darius initially because a “sea” of White parents and kids from the biking competition surrounded him.  Mr. Glover was so grateful regarding the care that the group showed his son.  He acknowledged that his son had taught him to take people as they are and not be caught in the cautious “old school” way of looking at race.  (Those same families still keep in touch with Darius though his online activity including this YouTube video.

Disney’s attentive care of Darius over the last few days also moved Mr. Glover.  He kept using the term “indescribable” to talk about the Dreamers Academy. He was happy to be able to expose his child to so many powerful, imaginative people. He couldn’t fathom how the program could have possibly given the teens and/or their chaperones more of an incentive to dream.  He appreciated the care that was obviously taken in pulling every aspect of the event together.  He was especially thankful because he felt that Darius’ selection, as a participant, was a testament to how special Darius is as a person.  I agree.  After meeting his wonderful parents though, I would also add that Darius being chosen is a testimony to the care that Darius’ parents have shown in raising him!  To end, Mr. Glover shared that he ultimately thought that this event would propel the student Dreamers to even higher levels of future success.  I agree and am confident that it will.

As a final treat, several members of the cast from Disney’s “Festival of the Lion King” show performed The Circle of Life.  As the 2009 session of Disney’s Dreamers Academy with Steve Harvey came to an end, the students were left with the following message:

“If you can dream it, you can do it.” - Walt Disney

From the start, Judge Mathis expressed that this Dreamers event was all about training the teens to pursue their dreams.  He encouraged them to not only learn from everyone whom they had met at Disney, but also to look around them in their daily lives for more examples of people achieving their dreams.  One of the reasons that I think the Dreamers were so positively impacted by this speech was that the judge is convinced that they are part of the greatest generation of people that the world has ever seen.  Why?  The majority of young people are doing the right thing: going to school, church and work.  They are more technology-savvy than their parents.  (”This is the first generation that needs to teach their parents something…” )  He also stressed how young people are leading in every sector of the world from athletics to culture to politics.  LeBron James, Tiger Woods, Miley Cyrus, Little Wayne, Beyonce and Diddy’s Sean John clothing line were all used as examples of how young people are the top talents of today’s society.  The ultimate example was President Barack Obama, one of the youngest Presidents ever, who worked hard and overcame obstacles in order to become the most powerful person in the nation.  The judge challenged the Dreamers with the responsibility to find out what they wanted to do with their lives and to believe that they were created for a purpose and are equipped with every tool that they need to succeed.

Judge Mathis urged the teens to have a “privileged life” mindset.  No matter what cards life had dealt them, they were gifted with the most privileged life.  If they are living in an adverse environment / having to struggle form the bottom, that’s still privileged!  It strengthens people and helps them to develop a “hustler” / survival mentality (which is hard to teach.)

Judge Mathis then went on to share the following four achievement tips.

1. Believe in yourself and have confidence that no “hater” can break.  Growing up in the projects of Detroit around many destructive elements never caused him to doubt himself because he was confident.  He always aspired to be the best at whatever he was doing.  Trying to be the “best” hustler caused the future judge to end up in juvenile hall and jail. His mom died after his first three months in college and he didn’t know his dad.  Yet, he chose to believe that he was as good as anyone else.  He shared that knowing and believing in your self are necessary tools to help stay on the right path.  The judge also mentioned that there is always going to be “haters” who have something negative to say when you’re trying to do something great.  He counseled the students to answer the “He thinks that he’s too good to (fill in the blank)” criticism by responding, “Yes, I am too good to do anything that will destroy my future/get in the way of me achieving my dreams.”

2. Find out and develop your talent.  Judge Mathis shared how he was confused regarding his talent as a young man.  At college, he initially took a variety of science and math courses because he thought that engineering and business were two good career options.  His awful grades in those subjects revealed that he was going along the wrong career path.  After taking a career assessment test from a book, he decided to be a lawyer (the “biggest” thing on the list of careers that fit his strengths).  He encouraged the students to find out what they were good at.  He let the teens know that is wasn’t all about academic smarts - some people are good at different things (i.e. fixing things), but they can still use their skills to uplift themselves and others.  In order to develop their talents, the judge urged the Dreamers to do their best at everything.  By doing so, their talents will “jump out”.   He reminded them that one of the reasons for going to school is to develop your talent - to figure out what you do well so that can be the focus.

3. Work hard at every level.  Once talents are determined, they need to be put to work.  Knowing is not enough.  It is necessary to use your talents and that takes hard work and long hours.    To help the Dreamers understand this concept better, Judge Mathis described how hard people like Steve Harvey, Little Wayne and athletes work.  Many times, people just see the final product.  They don’t realize the focused training it takes to execute in various professions.

4. Don’t allow obstacles to destroy you.  Obstacles and mistakes are a part of everyone’s life.  Whether they are intentional/self-created or a result of being afraid to fight back against life circumstances that have been created by others does not matter.  The judge used the example of a “diamond in the rough” as a visual example regarding how obstacles can make you grow stronger and present an opportunity for you to shine.  When dug up, rough diamonds are covered with dirt.  They are then exposed to the heaviest pressure possible/hot fire for processing.  At the end of the process, a valuable, glistening diamond appears.  Judge Mathis then shared again how life’s processing is what caused him to shine.  After passing the legal Bar Exam, he was not allowed to practice law because of his juvenile and jail background.  He had to fight all of the way to the Michigan Supreme Court to win the right to practice law…and he did.  Later, when he was running for a judge position, his criminal background was ‘leaked” to the media in an attempt to destroy his chances.  Fortunately “God had his own plan”.  Information that people had used in an effort to destroy him ended up lifting him up!  As he prepared to leave the stage, Judge Greg Mathis gave the Dreamers the final call to shine like glistening diamonds.