The First Woman With Down Syndrome To Compete For Miss USA

A beautiful and impressive young woman named Mikayla Holmgren was the first person ever with Down’s Syndrome to compete in a Miss USA pageant.   When the twenty-two year old made her way across the stage in her stunning blue dress at the Miss Minnesota pageant, she achieved something that had never before been done.
 
She won two prizes, the Director’s Award as well as the Spirit of Miss USA. Mikalya burst into tears when her name was announced, and she was clearly full of emotion.  In 2015, she won the Junior Miss Amazing competition, a pageant for people with a variety of disabilities.  That’s when she decided to follow her heart and make her dream come true by entering the Miss Minnesota USA pageant.
 
Mikayla had already been dancing for the past sixteen years and had even done gymnastics at the Special Olympics. She worked very hard to make sure she was ready for the competition and went in with full confidence.
 
Although Mikayla didn’t win the competition overall, she was given a standing ovation and had the entire audience in tears.  She currently has her eye on competing in more pageants and at the same time also raise more awareness about her condition. An inspiration to us all.