1st Woman With Down Syndrome To Compete In Miss USA State Pageant

TWIN CITIES, MN — A young woman named Mikayla Holmgren applied to the Miss Minnesota USA Pageant wholly unsure of her chances of getting in. Holmgren applied "not knowing if I would be accepted. And, that is all I want...to be accepted," the 22-year-old wrote on her GoFundMe page. "Well, I am in."

Holmgren has Down syndrome. In November, she will be the first woman with Down syndrome to compete in a Miss USA state pageant, officials told the newspaper.

Holmgren, who is from a small Minnesota town called "Marine on St. Croix," is now raising money to help fund the costs for competing in the pageant. "The cost was a little more than I was expecting," she wrote on GoFundMe. "The money raised will go towards the entrance fee, gown and other incidentals."

"I want the world to know that Down Syndrome does not define me. With your help, I can help break through walls."

Holmgren was born six and a half weeks early and needed multiple surgeries in the days after, according to a Facebook post by Ruby’s Rainbow, a non-profit that grants scholarships to people with Down syndrome:

Mikayla would say her first word at 9 months. She would start walking at 13 months. Again, doctors and therapists were amazed at how strong she was becoming. Dreams had been shattered when we were told Mikayla had Down Syndrome. But we were determined to make new dreams. After reading an article on the benefits of dancing for children with special needs, we decided to enroll her when she was in first grade. We thought, if nothing else, it would be a good social activity for her to be with other children.

Now, Holmgren says she loves being on stage and choreographs her own dances. She has spoken to the Minnesota Legislature on policies regarding Trisomies.

In 2016, Holmgren received a scholarship from Ruby’s Rainbow and now attends Bethel University in Minnesota. If she becomes Miss Minnesota in November, she would move on to compete in the Miss USA competition. The Miss USA winner then competes in the Miss Universe competition.

Image via GoFundMe