By Isabelle Chiu
Online Sports Editor
Junior Ronald Clinton will be going to Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando to make his lifelong goal to become a surgeon a reality with the magic of Disney.
Clinton was accepted into the Disney Dreamers Academy in partnership with Steve Harvey and ESSENCE Magazine. The roster for the class of 2016 was released on Dec. 10, 2015. He was one of the 100 high school students selected among thousands of people from across the country.
“I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that he got in, as the odds aren’t great,” Ronald’s mother, Malissa Clinton said. “I think he has a compelling story, and as my son, I am proud of him.”
The academy is held at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando from March 3-6 2016, and all expenses are paid. At this academy, students will have the chance to explore their future career paths. Ronald Clinton will have the opportunity to listen to inspirational guest speakers and attend career workshops, and explore networking opportunities. Students are matched up with professionals in their fields.
“My mom is the one one who suggested this idea to me,” Ronald Clinton said. “I remember watching the video of the Disney Dreamers class of 2015 and feeling really inspired and captivated. I thought it would be a really fun experience.”
Through this academy, Ronald Clinton wants to discover the best way to become a successful surgeon. He will speak with professionals and ask about their experiences in medical school and beyond. Ronald Clinton wishes to know first hand how they succeeded, how strenuous medical school is and whether they feel content with their life choices.
“I don’t want to spend 12 years in medical school studying for something I don’t want to do,” Ronald Clinton said. “I want this experience to really help me decide what I want to be and whether medical school is really the right choice for me.”
Ronald Clinton has wanted to have become a doctor ever since he was in fifth grade because he enjoyed learning math and science. It wasn’t until after completing AP Biology he realized that he wanted to be a surgeon.
“It wasn’t until then that I found my true passion for biology and medicine,” Ronald Clinton said. “I realized I wanted to go into the field of biomedicine, and I want to follow this dream.”
Ronald Clinton is looking forward to meeting Steve Harvey, who is an American comedian and television host known for The Steve Harvey Morning Show and Family Feud. Ronald Clinton wishes to talk to Harvey about his story and learn how he succeeded.
“Happiness to me comes with success, and he is a very successful person,” Ronald Clinton said. “If I can learn from his techniques it can be easier for me to succeed when college comes and gets even harder to compete against kids across the nation.”
According to disneydreamersacademy.com, the academy chooses intellectually curious, compassionate and courageous leaders each year. Ronald Clinton planned to demonstrate these qualities in the field of science. He plans to take all of the AP science courses at Costa, and has already taken AP Biology, AP Environmental Science and is currently enrolled in AP Chemistry.
“I’ve been trying to keep my achievements science focused to show colleges what I’m really interested in,” Clinton said. “I am confident the academy will give me the tools I need to follow my dream.”
Clinton has been a member of the Science Olympiad team since his sophomore year. Last year he competed at regionals and placed first in cell biology. Over the summer of his junior year, he did an internship at UCLA in nanotechnology, and he plans to do an internship at a biomedical research institute this summer.
“Science Olympiad was the first time in my life I could study science as much as I want to do, and I loved being around intellectually stimulating kids,” Clinton said. There’s a lot of creativity, as well as a future, in science.”
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