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A good friend makes everything better, and the prospect of moving away from home is much less intimidating with a friend by your side. Many young people hope and plan to go off to school with their best pals when the time comes.
For two teenage friends, this hope came true, as they will head to college together this fall in a program with a special focus.
Ava Shahbahrami and Juliana Gray, who both have Down syndrome, have been best friends since first grade. They are looking forward to starting college together in August in a special program at the University of South Carolina Aiken.
Every day exciting
They will take part in Pacer LIFE, a two-year program designed to offer students with disabilities the opportunity to pursue a college education. According to their website, Pacer LIFE “serves students with intellectual disabilities, provides individual support and services, focuses on academic and social inclusion, provides access and skills for gainful employment, integrates person-centered planning, and offers a meaningful credential.”
Only 12 students are accepted each year into the USC Aiken Pacer LIFE Program, which makes it even more special that the friends will be attending together.
“They have an enthusiasm about life," Ava's mom, Patricia Gates, told PEOPLE. "They look at every day as exciting.”
Karen Allen, a special education teacher at the girls’ high school who has taught both of them, told WIS10, “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. 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.”
These girls are a great example of how capable young people can be, even with different abilities. You can watch an ABC News story about Ava and Juliana here:
We are wishing these friends all the best on their educational journeys and in everything beyond!
