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Seattle teen invited to White House

Devon Adelman has been chosen to attend Michelle Obama's "Beating the Odds" summit, part of the "Reach Higher" initiative.
Devon Adelman recently graduated from Nathan Hale High School in Seattle and plans to study Marine Biology at Highline College.

An 18-year-old from Seattle has been selected to attend Michelle Obama's "Beating the Odds" summit at the White House on July 23 as part of the "Reach Higher" initiative.

Devon Adelman has Down Syndrome, but that hasn't stopped her from achieving all her goals. Adelman recently graduated from Nathan Hale High School in Seattle and plans to study marine biology at Highline College in Des Moines, Washington.

"I think she has determination like no one else and when she sets her mind to something she's going to accomplish it," said Devon's mom, Susan Adelman.

Adelman said that Devon has had a very busy year advocating for the differently abled individuals, but she believes that this will be the pinnacle.

"We're really excited that the White House has extended their definition of diversity to include differently abled individuals," Adelman said.

Devon received the offer to attend from the Global Down Syndrome Foundation, which offered up one of the spots to her when she attended the National Down Syndrome Congress Annual Convention in Arizona.

"It's like the White House, it's at the White House, it's amazing," she said. "To have that opportunity to go to the White House and hopefully meet Michelle Obama is really cool."

The Reach Higher initiative is the First Lady's effort to inspire every student in America to take charge of their future by completing their education past high school, whether at a professional training program, a community college, or a four-year college or university.

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