Mikayla Holmgren was 22 years old when she stepped onto the stage at the Ames Center in Burnsville, Minnesota.
She was the first woman with Down syndrome to compete in a state Miss USA pageant. A student at Bethel University, dancer, and athlete, she lives in Stillwater and had already won the title of Minnesota Junior Miss Amazing in 2015. But this year, she wanted to go further: she asked her mother, Sandi, if she could enter Miss Minnesota USA. Sandi got nervous because her daughter had chosen the pageant of pageants. Still, Mikayla practiced walking in heels and rehearsed mock interviews until she felt ready.
She didn’t win the crown or make it to the final round. She took home two awards: Director’s Award and Spirit of Miss USA, which the judges decide based on letters from family and friends. The letter that was read aloud was written by a friend from her dance classes. When Mikayla went up to receive them, the audience stood up. She told the local press, ““It’s my dream.”” The pageant’s co-director, Denise Wallace, described her as “magnetic”: everyone loved her.