the path he was on, Crist gathered up his courage, earned a GED and enrolled at Ohio State University. It turned out to be a rocky transition. He didn’t do as well as he had hoped and was again confronted with the question of what to do next.

One day, he spotted a recruitment flyer on campus. It was from Disney, which was looking for interns. Crist leapt at the opportunity and was invited to come down to Orlando.

As Crist puts it, this was a chance to hit the reset button on his life.

Over the next few years, Crist parlayed his internship into a full-time job. He worked as a concierge at exclusive attractions and later rose in the ranks in guest relations, attending to the needs of visitingVIPs.

Crist says exposure to the Disney culture was life-changing. He found a new self-confidence and learned about the importance of goal-setting.

When Crist decided it was time to go back to school, Disney was supportive. Crist chose Valencia based on its reputation for smaller class sizes and personalized attention.

He thrived.

Crist was steered toward honors-level classes by advisers who knew he wanted to pursue a career in law. He won leadership positions in some high-profile student organizations and maintained a 4.0 GPA while working in a job that demanded as many as 30 hours a week.

Mixed in with that were countless hours of informally advising other students on how to navigate the college and succeed in their studies.

Soon after arriving at Valencia, Crist told his advisers that he wanted to