Thanks to a change in University of Georgia policy, a 21-year-old man with Down syndrome is able to attend his dream school.
Jordan Huffman had wanted to go to the college since he was a youngster in middle school. A resident of the Atlanta suburbs, Huffman dreamed of one day being a Georgia Bulldog. He even watches and tracks every one of the school’s football and basketball games.
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Unfortunately, the school previously didn’t have any kind of program for students with Down syndrome. Much to his mother Kathryn Junod’s chagrin, this didn’t dissuade Huffman, who stayed in high school an extra year and refused to apply to any other schools because he desired to “to live on (his) own and also hang out with friends” if/when Georgia started a program.
Source: Kathryn Junod
When Georgia changed course last year and announced that they were launching a program for students with Down syndrome entitled Destination Dawgs, Huffman immediately applied. Despite the highly competitive nature of the application process, Junod said her son never gave up hope.
“He was just dead set that this was the school he wanted to go to. Once he gets onto something and puts his mind on it, he is dead set,” said Junod.
A requirement of the application involved spending a weekend at the school, which helped both mother and son. The former became even more enthusiastic about attending, while the latter was able to let go of some of her own fears.
“That weekend kind of helped me get over the anxiety. Just seeing how he was and how happy he was when I went to pick him up… that made me feel a lot better,” said Junod.
When her son’s letter arrived, Junod decided to film the whole thing and therefore was able to capture the moment of jubilation that occurred when his dreams came true.
For her part, Junod was ecstatic as well. “He was pleasantly surprised, I am so happy for him. I always told him that if you work really hard and you try and do your best, your dreams can happen.”
