Mia Peterson is a budding journalist. She said she enjoys editing more than reporting, but her favorite part is writing a column for The Community Advocacy Press.

Peterson is not a typical 24-year-old. The Webster City native has done numerous public-speaking engagements and has been a member of professional boards both in Iowa and Cincinnati. She is an Iowa co-editor for the Advocacy Press, a newsletter that has more than 500 recipients on its mailing list.

She also has Mosaic Down Syndrome, a form of the genetic chromosomal disorder.

Peterson spoke to a classroom in Lagomarcino Hall Wednesday afternoon, sharing her academic accomplishments and advice on how to interact with people with disabilities.

“Let people with disabilities speak for themselves; don’t speak for them,” Peterson said. “We’re people, too. Don’t be afraid of them.”

Peterson said she realized early that she enjoyed writing and the humanities over math.

When she was put into a math class against her will in junior high, Peterson took matters into her own hands by writing a letter to the administration, asking them to let her take classes she would excel in and enjoy.

Despite her confessions that she was a “shy, quiet” young girl who chose to hide from people, Peterson developed into an assertive young woman who battled for even the little things, including a job at a Hy-Vee Food Store.

“Everything she ever got, she had to fight for,” said Jana Peterson, who accompanied her older sister at the presentation.

Peterson eventually started taking additional upper-level courses in high school.

One of her class projects included speaking to other Down Syndrome teenagers about how they are treated.

She said she sympathized with the participants’ feelings of only being comfortable when talking with their family and friends.

Even though Peterson is now an accomplished speaker, she said she could relate to the sentiment.

“[Family and friends] understand you more, and they know how to listen,” Peterson said. “That’s important.”

Peterson advanced to other types of work, including editing a newsletter for disabled persons out of her home in Webster City and working in day care centers.

She was “discovered” at a convention for persons with Down Syndrome, and from then on has been active in helping disabled persons find their voices.

Since then, she has spoken to large crowds, some of which totaled 2,000 people, on various issues within her community. Peterson admits she rarely gets nervous anymore.

She also has moved to Cincinnati, where she now works and lives alone.

Peterson said she remains very optimistic and upbeat and refuses to criticize former teachers who did not take her seriously.

But she has written columns on discrimination and shared an incident that occurred in a San Antonio airport when she was alone.

She said airport escorts followed her during the entire layover.

“I felt like a dog,” Peterson said.

Becoming a public relations person is just one of the many dreams Peterson said she would like to make into a reality.

She also said she is looking forward to returning to Iowa to work closer to her family and community.

Another milestone in Peterson’s life included her admittance to college, where she will take a public speaking course this fall at Xavier University in Cincinnati.

“My whole family has been in college, and I’ve been waiting for this for a long time,” she said.