A 22-year-old Minnesota woman made pageant history by being the first contestant with Down Syndrome to compete in the Miss Minnesota pageant.
Mikayla Holmgren, of Stillwater, Minnesota, won the “Spirit of Miss USA” on Sunday.
“I want to do this on my own,” she told CBS Minnesota earlier this year. “I’m really, really proud of myself.”
The Bethel University student is a Special Olympics gold medalist and was crowned Minnesota Junior Miss Amazing in 2015.
Holmgren has been dancing since she was 6 years old and currently dances for Bethel University’s dance team.
“I hope to continue dancing,” she wrote in a Facebook post. “I want to teach art to young children. And would love to model. I want to live independently and continue to be an advocate for inclusion. I want to be a light shining for acceptance.”
