Mikayla Holmgren has already made history and hopes to do it again.
The 26-year-old became the first woman with Down syndrome to compete in a Miss USA contest in 2017, when she entered the Minnesota competition. But Holmgren now hopes to cross another barrier by becoming the first female model with Down syndrome to be presented at the Sports illustrated Swimsuit.
Holmgren hopes to be an inspiration to many people who suffer from this disease. About one in 700 people in the United States are born with Down syndrome, which occurs when an individual is born with an extra copy of chromosome 21, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 6,000 babies in the United States are born with the chromosomal condition each year.
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“We tell all of our people that they have special needs or Down syndrome, go ahead and do that,” Holmgren told Gretchen Carlson in Friday’s episode of PEOPLE (the TV show!). “Just follow your dreams and then get things done.”
Holmgren recently sent his audition tape to Sports illustrated and is waiting for an answer – but she is not nervous about the answer.
“I just wait and see,” she says, “and fingers crossed.”
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Whether she succeeds or not, Holmgren says she will continue to spread her message of inclusion.
“Just bring awareness and be more inclusive,” she says. “Just spread the world. And does it even matter? No matter what happens, it’s from the inside out. It’s following your dream of going and doing it.”