Mila Simeunovic, 17, was selected to participate in the Global Down Syndrome Foundation’s Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show event on Nov. 7 in Denver, Colorado. “I’m so proud and I can’t wait to see her on a big prestigious stage, embracing her down syndrome and just advocating for it,” says sister Stella Simeunovic. Mila Simeunovic had to strut her stuff during a virtual audition, judged by her peers, explains mom Lidia D’Alimonte. “(Mila) has idols she looks up to the Down syndrome community like Madison Tevlin, Ellie Goldstein and Ruby from Ruby’s Rainbow,” D’Alimonte says. “She said to me, ‘Mom! I made it. I’m part of the group.’ Simeunovic, a Holy Names High School student, will travel with her family to the event which is also an important fundraiser. D’Alimonte says they are raising money for Down syndrome research. “Down syndrome is a genetic condition in which Mila and everyone with Down syndrome has an extra copy of the 21st chromosome. And because of that, they have a radically different disease spectrum,” D’Alimonte says. “They have a higher incidence of Alzheimer’s disease, autoimmune conditions, and heart disease. So, they’re really researching why and what is the connection with the 21st chromosome.”
