MILWAUKEE (WDJT) — A recently crowned hometown pageant queen uses her platform to spread disability awareness.
“I was born with cerebral palsy,” Rayquetta Lawrence said.
Lawrence, a 2016 graduate from the Milwaukee High School of Arts, says that she has always been the only person in her life with a disability. Despite her disorder impeding her ability to walk, she goes through life her way.
“I’m a very independent person,” she explained. “I’ve been living on my own since I was about 18, and I’ve been working a job since I was about 16. So, I was trying to beat the odds. I always try to do the best possible even in my situation.”
She had always known she wanted to be a model, and that fire was fueled when she saw people in wheelchairs participate in a local pageant.
“I was so empowered by like all the women that were in chairs, and they were so empowered and still strong. They had all this motivation and drive to succeed, and I just knew, ‘I want to do that.’ That’s what I want to be. I want the world to be able to look at me as an influence for other people in wheelchairs,” Lawrence said.