Mia Peterson

When Mia Peterson was born with Down Syndrome in 1973, schools called children like her “trainable, not educable.” Mia proved them wrong.

Growing up in Webster City, she learned to read before kindergarten and joined her high school cross country team after writing a three-page letter titled “Never Give Up.” Her coach kept that letter for years, calling her “one of the most determined athletes and most successful people I ever coached.”

At 24, Mia moved to Cincinnati to work as a writer and advocate. She carried an Olympic torch, became the first person with Down syndrome to address the National Down Syndrome Congress and serve on its board, and testified before Congress on the Americans with Disabilities Act. She founded her own business, Aiming High, traveling the country with a simple message: “Let people with disabilities speak for themselves.”

After Mia’s passing in 2021, the Iowa Developmental Disabilities Council created the Mia Peterson Self-Advocacy Award. The National Down Syndrome Society established a permanent board seat in her name—reserved for a woman with Down syndrome who mentors others.

Her legacy: “If I can do it, you can do it.”