A young woman with Down syndrome graduates with honors: her father's words are full of pride

by Alison Forde

May 14, 2021

A young woman with Down syndrome graduates with honors: her father's words are full of pride
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Those with Down syndrome have a much more difficult path to follow than other people; This is well known by both the people affected and the families of these people with special needs; in fact it is no secret that the contemporary society in which we are all living does not always facilitate the actualization of the ambitions of these very special people, who may have a dream, a talent but who find it difficult to realize it. The story we want to tell you today, however, has a happy ending and fortunately proves the opposite ...

via People

The protagonist of this moving story of personal fulfillment is called Rachel Handlin, a talented and portentous 24-year-old woman who has Down syndrome and who despite everything managed to graduate from the prestigious California Institute of Arts, a paradise for all those in America who aspire to pursuing a career in the name of art, photography, fashion and so on ...

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A spectacular milestone that 61-year-old father Jay Handlin wanted to celebrate on his Twitter profile with strong, indelible, moving words, which rightly made the rounds of the web immediately: "This is my daughter, Rachel Handlin. Tonight, she achieved full degree in multimedia photography from the prestigious California Institute of the Arts. Rachel has Down syndrome. I am officially the proudest father on the planet!"

Rachel's achievement in obtaining an artistic degree is a spectacular and symbolic step forward for all those young people with Down syndrome who find it difficult to realize their dreams and goals; Jay has known this for 24 years, and for this reason he knows very well that he is celebrating the milestone of his talented daughter and also speaking a little on behalf of all those families who have a member affected by this condition: "This is a very approximate calculation, but of all the people with Down syndrome in the world, those who have a regular degree are literally about one in a million. Not because they are the only ones who could. They are the ones whose families have refused to let the future of their children be denied, that they fought against unfair odds, social prejudices, low expectations and a system which fails them, and have somehow managed to win! " 

Now, Rachel Handlin has a bright future as a photographer ahead of her, and her parents know perfectly well that she will finally be able to realize all the dreams she has cherished; now, there is nothing and no one who can stop her!

Go, Rachel!

 

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