ORLANDO, FL. – The dreams and goals of the young people assembled at Disney World for the annual Disney Dreamers Academy vary. There are high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors here who want to pursue studies in medicine, law, economics, and careers in the arts.
And then there are the future journalists.
Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice
For Georgia Disney Dreamers, Kyla Decambre and Riley Lacey, the craft of journalism is what they want to do in the future. Both students took time to talk to The Atlanta Voice about why they enjoy the time-honored traditions of broadcast journalism and what they hope to do with it in the future.
Decambre, a junior at the Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science & Technology, said she wants to be a broadcast journalist because it’s a part of her everyday life. She and her parents watch the local news every day, and on her own time, Decambre watches national and regional news online and via social media.
“Journalism is really important to me. It has had such a profound impact on my life,” Decambre, 17, said. “ I want to be that person who helps communicate what is going on.”
Decambre doesn’t have a go-to news broadcast that she watches. She said she likes to diversify her news coverage, or what she describes as her “news palate”.
“It’s so important to know the community around you,” she said.
Her journalism and life mentors include Howard University professor Dominic McKenzie, whom she met during a summer in D.C. through the HBCU’s “Voices of Tomorrow” program, which serves aspiring journalists while they are high school students. There are also her parents, who she said were her biggest support system.
Lacy, a junior at Woodward Academy in College Park, wants to be a sports broadcaster. He told The Atlanta Voice that he has always enjoyed watching sports and sometimes gets involved in a unique way when watching basketball and football on TV.
“I just really like sports, and sometimes when I watch I find myself commentating on the games,” Lacy, 17, said.
This past football season for the Eagles was a special one for Lacy, who joined the broadcast team for the first time. A competitive program at Woodward Academy, Lacy had to wait his turn to get in the booth for the school’s successful and popular football team. He counts the season of broadcasting as a major accomplishment and milestone.
“I think it’s important because you get more of the game from the inside,” Lacy said of sports journalism and broadcasting. “You can report the stories more than just what is in the box scores.”
Lacy is a fan of his hometown professional sports teams, including the Atlanta Hawks and Atlanta Falcons. He recently got into baseball and is looking forward to following the Atlanta Braves this season.
“If there’s a Hawks game on, I’ll just put it on, even if it’s just for background noise,” said Lacy, who said he has been enjoying the Disney Dreamers Academy experience. The last time he and his family were at Disney World was when he was three. “ I just love sports.”
Asked what they want to take away from the Disney Dreamers Academy experience, Decambre and Lacy said the relationships they are forming with the other Dreamers are at the top of their lists.
“I just want to make new friends and take full advantage of new opportunities,” Lacy said.
Cecambre said she has so many things she wants to take away from this week, “I want to say too much”, she joked.
“The leadership experiences,” Decambre said. “I love to learn from the people who want to make a change, so I can learn how to make an impact on people’s lives where I live.”