Down syndrome dancer waltzes away with Miss Minnesota awards

Being a dancer with Down syndrome is no longer the most interesting thing about Mikayla Holmgren.

Not after she picked up two awards in the Miss Minnesota pageant.

The 22-year-old from Stillwater, Minnesota, won the Director’s Award and the Spirit of Miss USA Award — and much praise on social media. (The title Miss Minnesota went to Kalie Wright, a former Miss Idaho who was in the 2016 Miss America pageant.)

The umbrella Miss Universe Organization said Holmgren became the first woman with Down syndrome to compete in a Miss USA pageant nationwide.

“It is a lot of work,” she told BuzzFeed. “My mom and I were always shopping and then the mock interviews and getting ready and practicing everything and the makeup and hair. Just look at my face!”

Holmgren, dancing since she was 6, says: “Dancing is a good outlet for me. It’s how I express myself. It’s my talent and I want to show people what I can do and how I can give more.”

“I was super shocked; I was in tears,” Holmgren told Buzzfeed News. “I went from a special needs pageant to the biggest pageant in the world. It’s kind of crazy.”

Holmgren is studying inclusive learning and development at Bethel University in Minnesota and plans to graduate next year, Newsweek said.

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