COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) ― Both Juliana Gray and Ava Shahbahrami have Down syndrome.
Now, the two young women are enrolling in a program designed to offer those with intellectual and developmental disabilities an opportunity to pursue a college education. The two will be attending University of South Carolina in Aiken.
There are only 12 students accepted each year into the USC Aiken’s pacer LIFE Program and Juliana’s mom said she’s thankful both of the girls get to go together.
The mothers told me knowing the girls are going to USC Aiken is comforting because they’ve spent their whole lives unsure of their children’s next steps.
The two friends became inseparable quickly and joined an occupational program at their high school to teach them how to be independent and responsible.
They’ve worked at the front office, cafeteria, and beverage carts alongside other school administrators to learn about money and useful daily tasks that can help them prepare for their next steps in life.
Karen Allen taught Juliana and now teaches Ava at Lexington high school. She said the girls are an example of what overcoming adversity looks like.
“These are your everyday kids, these are your kids that have challenges and do have successes and I think that’s the best part about them,” she said. “It’s not somebody who’s untouchable ― these are your kids that, you know, fight adversity every day, and do well in spite of that.”
“They bring such a unique opportunity that they can show younger children with disabilities and families with disabilities what anyone is capable of.”
Allen said school programs like Pacer LIFE haven’t been around for long, and this opportunity will give the girls a chance to develop life skills, like handling money and tools for independent living.
“College programs for our students … are just really starting to be prominent now, so the fact that these two have kind of gotten in on the front end speaks very highly of both of them,” she said. “They have excellent work ethics, they work for our school stores, our school-wide recycling. There’s not a job I can’t ask them to do that they won’t try their best at and are excellent at.”
As excited as the girls are, Juliana said she’s worried about how much she has to pack.
“When I move out for college, I have to bring my stuff — packing, I need to bring my blanket, my art stuff, and I’m going to bring my school iPad.”
Both Juliana Gray and Ava Shahbahrami love to go bowling, paint, go to concerts and enjoy time together.
Their parents told WIS News 10 that they finish each others sentences and many school administrators described them as having a dynamic of an “old married couple”
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