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East Mecklenburg High School freshman Jasmine Bell, 15, earned an invitation to the Disney Dreamers Academy in Orlando, Florida.

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Jasmine Bell is a dreamer.

The freshman at East Mecklenburg High School is one of 100 students from across the nation participating in the 12th annual Disney Dreamers Academy at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. From March 21-24, students will experience not only the theme parks, but also mentoring experiences through discussions with industry giants like Steve Harvey, who co-presents DDA along with Essence magazine. Students will also engage in deep dives in his or her field of interest. For Bell, that means exploring the culinary world of Disney.

“Jasmine is a dreamer,” said her mother, Sherritta Bell. “No matter what she is doing, she is always coming up with something that is for ‘next: where I want to go to school, what restaurant I want to open, what TV show, cookbooks,’ whatever it is. I felt like [DDA] was the perfect opportunity for her to go learn and grow.”

Bell and her father, Norman Bell, listen to “The Steve Harvey Morning Show” on the drive to school, which is how she learned about the program.

“The alumni from the Dreamers Academy will come back and tell their story on his TV show, or come back on his radio station, and [Jasmine] just seemed perfect for that particular opportunity, because she dreams big,” Norman Bell said.

Some of the dreamers have already begun interacting through social media, counting down the days until they fly to Disney.

“I am just excited about the friends that I will make, and the experiences and knowledge that I will gain from all the people who will be speaking to us, and the workshops [we will attend],” Jasmine Bell said. “I’m just excited to gain as much as I can from this experience. I’m also just really excited to go and experience Disney World again.”

Bell finished in the top five of “Top Chef Junior” in 2017, appeared on “MasterChef Junior,” and dreams of opening her own restaurant in Los Angeles, which she’d call Brunch at Jasmine’s. Before that, she wants to attend Johnson & Wales University, which could allow her to stay in the Charlotte area, but hasn’t decided which location or what to study yet.

Said Norman Bell: “It is kind of amazing, the stuff she has been through already, but she is still dreaming bigger dreams versus, ‘OK, I’ve done some national TV shows, and I’m content with that,’ but she’s not content with that. She wants to do bigger and better things. We continue to push her so she is able to fulfill those dreams.”

Her love for competitive cooking is largely due to her relationship with her older brother, Jon, a senior at Phillip O. Berry Academy.

“It all started with my brother,” Jasmine said. “We had competitions about everything. We still have cooking competitions now.”

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