Meet William Williams: Disney Dreamer 2017 Shares Two Words for His Childhood Bullies #ddaDisney

This is one memory from this past weekend at the Disney Dreamers Academy that I couldn’t wait to share! I finally saw this video surface on Steve Harvey’s Instagram page  (over 70K views in just three hours) and knew that I had to share it immediately here.

I was so glued to every word that I didn’t shoot one photo or take any video during the event.

Meet William Williams, now a 2017 Disney Dreamer Alumni.

William has a dream to close the gap and the divide in the black community. He also shared that his big dream is to become the future President of the United States.

On Saturday night, William shared with his classmates the pain he went through growing up with albinism. We had no idea what he was going to share. We had no idea what to expect. But by the time he had gotten started, we were wiping tears from our eyes. And by the time he finished, many of us almost lost it.

Watch William’s video in full:

During the commencement ceremony, there are always five awards given to five Dreamers who exhibit the 5 traits of a Dreamer: Constancy, Courage, Curiosity, Creativity and Confidence.

So it wasn’t a surprise to see that William won the Courage Award for the Disney Dreamers Class of 2017! Jonathan Sprinkles presented the award to him in such a special way.

Students who received awards during the commencement of Disney Dreamers Academy at Epcot in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. pose with Mickey Mouse and Tracey D. Powell, Disney executive champion of Disney Dreamers Academy. The students (l-r) DreShawn Spearman (Fayetteville, North Carolina), William Williams (Norfolk, Virginia), Keon Hanley (Bronx, New York), Rebecca Jean-Louis (Orlando, Fla.) and Cedric Beal (Madison, Mississippi) display their awards. Disney Dreamers Academy is a career-inspiration program for distinguished high school students across the U.S. (Todd Anderson, photographer)

He is a Dreamer!

I don’t know how many of us would be able to say “thank you” to our childhood bullies or even our haters as adults. But that’s exactly what William had to say.

Congratulations William! THANK YOU for showing us what it means to push past adversity and stand firm in your greatness.

THANK YOU for being courageous enough to share your story so that others might be healed.

THANK YOU for your honesty and your passion.

THANK YOU for giving me something more to share with my children so that they will know that while people can be mean, they can overcome and push past hatred.

THANK YOU for taking a stand against all bullies.

THANK YOU for showing us all what it means to truly be a Dreamer.

Future Mr. President Williams, we’ll be watching and rooting for you!

Disney Dreamer William Williams (Norfolk, Virginia) is acknowledged by speaker Jonathan Sprinkles after receiving the Courage award during the commencement of Disney Dreamers Academy at Epcot in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Disney Dreamers Academy is a career-inspiration program for distinguished high school students across the U.S. (Gregg Newton, photographer)

Disney Dreamers Academy is a power-packed, 4-day event held annually at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, in which 100 select high school students, ages 13-19, are inspired to dream big and get a jump-start on making those dreams come true! Students chosen to attend travel from every corner of the country to participate in a series of sessions and workshops held within the magical setting of Walt Disney World Resort, virtually turning the theme parks into vibrant classrooms where Dreamers can imagine bright futures, make exciting discoveries and learn how to put their goals into action. For more about the Disney Dreamers Academy, click here.


This visit to attend the Disney Dreamers Academy was sponsored by Walt Disney World. As always, the thoughts and opinions are my own.

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