Disney Dreamer Alumni Chat: April Breedlove, Class of 2019
The path to our dreams is never a straight line. More often than not, there's a lot of movement in and out of the path that we've created for ourselves, and we must try more than once to reach a milestone in our goals. I am excited to introduce April Breedlove, Disney Dreamers Academy (DDA) Class of 2019, from Georgia. Our entire conversation was refreshing and I loved hearing about her journey from DDA to Dream job. April and I met in 2022 when I covered DDA, when she had returned as an alum mentor.
Disclaimer: I am a 2024 planDisney panelist and am compensated for my participation. My experiences shared with Disney Dreamers Academy have been through previous hosted experiences in 2018, 2022, and 2023. My thoughts do not reflect the thoughts of The Walt Disney Company or its affiliates. All articles written by me are solely from my perspective and experience.
Life before DDA
We chatted about how she learned of DDA and her process for applying. Like many Dreamers accepted, April applied to DDA before being invited in 2019. Back in 2016, April had heard of DDA through a couple at a family friend's party. Their daughter was a DDA alum and the whole experience sounded fun, and one that would benefit April in working towards her goals.
Unfortunately, the 2017 deadline passed before she knew about DDA, so when the time came, she applied to the class of 2018. She wrote and rewrote her essays for weeks and finally submitted her application right before it closed. She was so excited to submit her application, confident that she'd be accepted. She waited and waited, but she never heard anything back. She was crushed, sharing that it was one of her top 5 disappointments in life.
“Never let fear stop you from doing what you want because you don’t know what you might be missing out on.”
Thankfully, her story with DDA doesn't end there. When the class of 2019 applications opened and she reviewed the bios from previous years, she almost convinced herself that she wasn't going to be good enough to be accepted if she tried again. However it wasn't until the last week or two of the 2019 class deadline that her mindset shifted. She told herself, "If I don't apply, I'd be wondering my whole life if I didn't get in." Her mom always says "Never let fear stop you from doing what you want because you don't know what you might be missing out on." So, she applied, writing for hours and days, but this time her mindset was submit and forget. She submitted her application on the last day, October 31 and knew that if it was meant for her to go, she'd be invited.
During the week of Christmas, she came home and there was a UPS envelope sitting on the table. Once she opened it and saw that it was for Disney Dreamers Academy she screamed and cried with excitement. The moment of receiving that acceptance letter was definitely in her top 5 most exciting moments!
Reminder for you folks currently reading this during an application window, if it's not October 31 yet, there's still time to apply or nominate a high schooler!
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Reminder for you folks currently reading this during an application window, if it's not October 31 yet, there's still time to apply or nominate a high schooler! 〰️
Deep Dive Experience
The interest in science and technology has always been there for April. Growing up she would tell people she wanted to be an astronaut or do something with science. It makes sense as her older brother was in computer science and she kind of followed in his footsteps. April took her first coding class in 8th grade; her mom would sign her up for coding workshops like Girls Who Code, Black Girls Code, and 100 Girls Code.
One of the fun parts of DDA is picking your Deep Dive, which is the career path at the time of application. When you're accepted you are placed in groups with other Dreamers who share similar dreams and desired career industries. April participated in the technology deep dive. Her initial dream going into DDA was to start a nonprofit to combine computer science and community into one organization, to teach students computer science.
Mentors for the deep dive were D'yanna Craighead, Senior Technology Manager at Disney Cruise Line, and Disney software engineers. The team gave Dreamers hands-on experiences working with Magic Band technology. Being a Disney software engineer wasn't on her radar, but after her deep dive, she left with a new dream.
L-R: Halle Bailey, April Breedlove, Chloe Bailey
Favorite DDA Moments
April reminisced about the special time when they brought all the girls into a space filled with purple lights, pillows, and bean bags. One of the alums, Kayla, encouraged her to sit in the front row because there was going to be a special guest. DDA Speaker and mentor, Mikki Taylor introduced music artists, Chloe and Halle Bailey! The girls screamed and were suprised. April recalls her mantra was to be present mentally the entire time at DDA, but laughed as she said that was the first time she blacked out. She just remembers them coming on stage and then walking off.
Another memorable moment would be the commencement ceremony on the final day. She loved seeing the Circle of Life costumes and it was a special moment when she received her DDA class ring.
From Disney Dreamer to Disney Professional Intern
Graduating from DDA gives opportunities for its alumni to stay connected with their Disney mentors and peers. Sometimes these connections can turn into opportunities to advance their education and careers.
In April's case, she stayed in touch with her mentor and when she decided to apply for an internship on the tech team, she shared her goal with D'yanna and she supported her by reviewing her resume and cover letter, along with passing it along to the right people. It's not always who you know though, it’s about who knows you. The hiring manager said that April was a standout Dreamer and the team was impressed by her in 2019. She earned a spot on the team and became a professional intern with Disney. That experience allowed her to work on a team and see how it would be working for Disney. She saw herself doing this work as a profession and enjoyed meeting and working alongside the team, and growing in her skills through hands-on learning.
Support to Follow a Dream
One of the questions I always ask Dreamers and the mentors that attend DDA is about feeling supported in pursuing their dreams and what that community looks like for them. Every household is different; not all Dreamers or mentors share their support is from their parents.
For April, she's always had the support of her mom. She shared that it was easy to get into a comparison mode when you entered the DDA space, and perhaps even consider yourself as being behind in life. Her mom was reassuring her that she was on the right path and where she was on her journey was perfectly fine and on time. Her support encouraged confidence and a sureness of herself.
Dreams take Flight
At the time of our interview, April was a senior at Kennesaw St. University and had accepted a position with the same software team at The Walt Disney Company. She began her cast member journey at the end of summer 2023! I know April is extremely proud of herself, and I can only imagine how exciting this next chapter will be.
