Down syndrome ambassador wears a sash and reaches for the stars

TOPEKA (KSNT) – Our September 2024 honoree is a native Kansan, who keeps herself incredibly busy by leading youth fitness programs, participating in national and global beauty pageants, touring the country as a Down syndrome ambassador, and realizing her dream as a local business owner and operator.

Kayla Schadegg grew up in Olathe, and she was a serial entrepreneur from an early age. She was also drawn to music and acting.

"I started doing theater in the eighth grade, and carried that all the way through my senior year of high school," Schadegg said.

Kayla got a full ride scholarship to an art school, but turned it down to attend Emporia State University, the place she met her future husband, Kelly. She moved to Maryland to be with him two weeks after graduating.

"I had a Kansas teaching license, but Kansas and Maryland aren't reciprocal," she said. "And so while I was going to be pursuing my Maryland teachers license, I took a job working for a kids fitness center and ended up just falling in love with that line of work and have never left it since."

Along the way, the pair had two amazing kids, Kerrigan, who was diagnosed with Down syndrome at birth, and Knox. It was Kerrigan's diagnosis that pushed Kayla into becoming a beauty pageant contestant and Down syndrome advocate.

"I stepped on stage as a wife, as a mother of a freshly three-year-old little girl, and I wanted to find a platform to be able to advocate for my daughter and a better way I wanted to get my voice out there, and get my foot in the door to serve an advocate for the Down syndrome community," Schadegg said.

Kayla thought if she wore a shiny hat and a sash that said something important, maybe people would listen to her message better. She now has a paid role with a premier regional Down syndrome organization, and a national advocacy role where she travels to speak with doctors at medical conferences.

"I get to talk to them about Down syndrome, treating patients with Down syndrome, how to provide a diagnosis and to follow the guidelines," she said. "So my wild plan to get a crown and a sash really worked in my favor, and it's been a super fun journey."

In the pageantry world, women have a platform that describes their community service, and for Kayla, it's called Strong Over Wrong.

"It started off as me wanting to work with the medical community," Schadegg said. "We had a really negative diagnosis, and I wanted to shift that. I wanted to teach those healthcare professionals 'Here was my experience, let's collaborate, so I can explain to you the best possible way for you to deliver that news'."

In addition to competitions and advocacy, Kayla has a decade of experience teaching young children about physical fitness. This past year was spent at Capital Gymnastics and Athletics, but now she has the chance to do something unique in her own space called To The Stars, Play Cafe.

"We are going to be right off of Wanamaker, at 2120 SW Brandywine Lane, and we have two suites we've got about 2,200 feet," Schadegg said. "A lot of that is going to be play for the kiddos, so there's going to be a custom built climber with a slide. We're gonna have some small scale, gross motor, and tons of imaginative play."

It's a one-stop, fully inclusive facility truly catered for families with a planned opening this November.

"We'll have a fully functioning coffee counter as well," she said. 'So we have espresso, flavored fizzy beverages, snacks for grown-ups and kiddos, so that they truly can have a whole day where you just come and play, and you don't have to stop, and leave, and come back to go grab lunch or whatever. We're really, really excited to welcome the community through our doors."

And what about recognizing women across northeast Kansas.

"I think it's incredibly important. I think especially as a woman, as a mom, so much of what we do goes unnoticed,even by ourselves," Schadegg said. "I absolutely love that Topeka has such a community mindset of lifting that up and making it seen in a world where it's often not seen.

Here are a few notes to pass along since our interview. Kayla recently placed first runner up at the United World Pageant over Labor Day Weekend, the region's largest Down syndrome fundraiser is at Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday Oct. 5 and To The Stars, Play Café should open in the just a few weeks.

If you know a woman we should highlight in this segment -- *please go to ksnt.com -- and nominate them there. We feature these honorees -- during 27 news -- on the *last Tuesday of each month.

If you know a woman we should highlight in this segment, please go to ksnt.com and nominate them there. We feature these honorees, during 27 News, on the last Tuesday of each month.