On the heels of applications launching today for the 2025 Disney Dreamers Academy, one of the academy’s recent graduates – aspiring entrepreneur Te’Lario Watkins II of Ohio – experienced a dream come true moment as a result of his participation in the Walt Disney World Resort mentoring program.
What’s Happening:
- Watkins, 16, recently spent an afternoon on the set of ABC’s hit show Shark Tank as the personal guest of investor Daymond John, who was inspired to supercharge Watkins’ entrepreneur dreams after interacting with him during the 2024 Disney Dreamers Academy at Walt Disney World this spring.
- John, who was one of several celebrity mentors at the Disney event this year, was impressed by Watkins’ story of running his own mushroom farm, Tiger Mushroom Farms, since he was seven years old and starting his own non-profit, Garden Club Project, to address food insecurity in his community.
- Walt Disney World arranged to fly Watkins and his father from their home in Blacklick, Ohio to Los Angeles, California where John gave Watkins an exclusive, behind-the-scenes tour of the show’s set, connected him with other entrepreneurs and introduced him to the show’s other “Sharks.’’
- The highlight for Watkins was having the opportunity to learn business strategies from John, gain entrepreneurial insights, and acquire general life lessons.
- These experiences helped John become one of his generation's most well-known, self-made millionaires—and Disney Dreamers Academy gave him yet another opportunity to share them forward.
- Watkins was just one of several teens from this year’s Disney mentoring program who had an experience-of-a-lifetime following their involvement in the event. Elijah Moore of Norfolk, VA., an aspiring producer and musician, was flown to Los Angeles where he received a special tour of Dolby Studios and Walt Disney Studios to name a few. And Orlando Ecung of Los Angeles, who dreams of being a business executive, attended the world premiere of the movie Inside Out 2 as a special guest of Walt Disney Studios.
What They’re Saying:
- Te’Lario Watkins II: “Being able to meet Daymond John again was super exciting to me. I wouldn’t be here without going to DDA. To high school students: applying to DDA would be one of the greatest decisions you’ve ever made in your life.”
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