Student With Down Syndrome Set To Compete In Miss Clemson University Scholarship Pageant

Clemson University campus is gearing for their pageant and this year, it would be different because one of the contestants is a student with Down syndrome. This is a first for the Miss Clemson University Scholarship Pageant.

The student is identified as Sydney Davis. She usually works at the bowling alley in Clemson University campus or is listening to songs from her favorite band, One Direction. However, Davis is now busier than ever as she is preparing for her very first pageant.

WYFF 4 News reported Davis is now practicing her skills in public speaking, ballroom dancing and the gestures of beauty queens. Davis shared in a statement regarding her joining the Miss Clemson University Scholarship Pageant, "I represent all girls with disabilities. They will be proud of me, and I know my friends will."

Davis is currently a sophomore in the ClemsonLIFE program and she revealed with ABC 6 that she is not nervous about the competition. Her mother, howver, is on the edge.

Mom Patti revealed sending a child with special needs off to college is difficult , let alone have her compete in a beauty pageant. She knows, however, that this will be the best thing for her daughter. She believes she will get through it.

Patti continued to say her daughter is an unbelievable girl. She thinks a lot of children with disabilities can do what her daughter does but they are not given the credit to try.

The ClemsonLIFE program is designed specifically for students with disabilities. She is living in a dorm with two roommates and works at the Underground Recreation Center. She revealed attending college made her learn how to cook and she's more confident speaking to other people.

Davis wants her mother, boyfriend and aunt to be proud of her for joining the pageant. Davis continued to say she is thankful to her family and friends who will be there to support her.

Davis is now being mentored by Rachel Wyatt, the first runner up for this year's Miss America. The pageant is set to take place this Saturday at 6 p.m. at the Brooks Center at Clemson University.