On January 28, 1999, a four-pound fighter entered the world at Brookwood Medical Center in Birmingham - barely breathing, yet still exceeding expectations.

Kari Balazs was taken away from her mother, Lisa, moments after she was born. All Balazs knew prior to labor was that she was having a girl. Not a girl with Down syndrome. Pediatricians examined Kari for heart defects, which is a common issue for those who have the genetic disorder.

But Kari's heart turned out to be strong. It was a moment that foreshadowed how Kari would accomplish many things in her life like graduating from Hoover High School with a 3.5 GPA. after completing the general education requirements to receive her diploma. During the school's graduation ceremony at UAB's Bartow Arena on Thursday night, Kari, now 19, walked across the stage after years of overcoming obstacles.

In Alabama, most students with Down syndrome take the more modified education plan called the Essential Pathway or the Alternate Achievement Standards Pathway to get their diplomas. But Kari took the same route as her classmates without disabilities and completed the requirements on the General Education Pathway. Kari will continue blazing down that route while attending a four-year college this fall.

She said some people have lowered their expectations of her after they notice her small stature, low muscle tone and other features often associated with Down syndrome. But Kari doesn't like others to predict her future based on the physical appearance and asks that parents stand up for their children just like her parents stood up for her.

"If you are a parent with Down syndrome children I would say fight for them," Kari said. "Put them in the same classes as the other kids because a lot of times people judge."

Lisa Balazs (left) and her daughter Kari (right)

'Look at what you can do'

Down Syndrome of Alabama Executive Director Sue Tolle only knows of three people with the disorder who have completed the general education track. While the coursework can be hard because Down syndrome affects intellectual development, those who have the potential to finish the curriculum are not being recognized at an early age, Tolle said. She said people generally assume students with special needs cannot do the work.

All students select a pathway for their diploma near the end of eighth grade. If the special-needs students aren't prepared and supported to take on the challenging courses in the lower grade levels, then they are not going to pursue the general education pathway.

"Students with Down syndrome cannot be generalized because there are diverse learning abilities in each person," Tolle said. "Recognizing potential and investing in the goals, interests, and talents of the students at a younger age, in the lower grades, will make things easier."

Creating a place where Kari would feel equal to the rest of the non-disabled world started the moment Balazs left the maternity ward and gazed into her daughter's big, grey eyes for the first time. Balazs had a son before Kari. But just giving birth to a child with a disability felt like she was becoming a first-time mother all over again. The only knowledge she had at the time was inside a book titled "How to Raise a Child with Down Syndrome."

It was a scary realization, she said. She didn't know if she was going to be a good mother or not, but she was blessed to live near a city that had a network of hospitals and organizations dedicated to children with Down syndrome. Kari quickly started physical and occupational therapy. But at four weeks old, she still had to fight stereotypes. Even within the special needs community.

When a speech therapist told Balazs that Kari may never talk, her family refused to believe the mindset. When Balazs read out loud to her oldest child, Kari was also in the room listening. She would sit her daughter in front of the mirror and they would make expressions together to strengthen Kari's facial muscles. Kari started riding horses when she was 3 because the movement stimulates nerves and muscles.

"Her dad and I both had that attitude that this young lady is going to get the opportunity to do the things she wants to do and that we were going to fight really hard for those things," Balazs said.

As Kari's personality began to bloom, the family could tell that Kari was determined, too. Down syndrome delays motor skills like crawling and walking, but Kari found her own way of navigating her environment. Before Kari learned how to crawl at 15 months, which is about five to nine months later than non-disabled babies, she rolled. Balazs laughed at how Kari steered herself all the way down the hallway and underneath their two-tiered coffee table. Kari would pull the puzzles off the lower tier so she could play with pieces.

After Kari learned to walk when she was two, Balazs said her daughter somehow got on the kitchen counter to dump a box of Cheerios on the ground. When Balazs walked into the kitchen, she found her daughter sitting on her own throne of cereal.

"I didn't know what to expect and that has actually made this journey very joyous," Balazs said. "Every time she would do something like that - which would be what you would expect every toddler to do with a box of Cheerios when they're hungry - I do a small happy dance, 'look at what you can do.'"

When Kari's parents started to explore options for schooling, they knew they wanted to put her in an environment where she could learn from the people speaking around her. When they first explored public school, Balazs said the special needs students were in separate rooms and they were not speaking. She was enrolled in a toddler program at Hilltop Montesorri School in Mt. Laurel, a school where Kari was included into the general student population and where every child receives an individualized education based on strengths and weaknesses.

Inclusive classroom environments can improve reading and verbal development. Balazs' mother said that while Kari did need a speech therapist for her vocal needs, she was able to read around the same time as her classmates. When Kari's time at Hilltop started to come to an end in fifth grade, her family wanted to keep the progression going.

They examined a private school through their own Catholic parish, but they were afraid Kari wouldn't receive the support services she needed. She was enrolled in Simmons Middle School in Hoover after Balazs talked to the administration about the accommodations Kari would need in order to access the classroom material. For example, Kari was able to use a calculator for math tests and was given extra time during exams because it is harder for people with Down syndrome to memorize adding and subtracting.

Her sixth-grade year, her family knew there would be adjustments. She went from being with one teacher throughout the school day at Hilltop to seven teachers during different time periods. So Kari had to learn to make an organized binder. Her glasses were broken when she was being bullied on the bus by an eighth grader. She had to adjust to the hours of studying for tests and homework, which were things they didn't have to deal with at her old school.

The family even had to make sure the teachers treated her the same as the rest of the students when it came to extracurricular activities. When Kari told her mom that she would be in a play that she didn't audition for, Balazs contacted the drama teacher to find out what happened. The instructor told Balazs joyfully that all students with Down syndrome are included in the play whether they auditioned or not. Balazs said her family didn't agree with Kari receiving any special treatment.

"If her dad and I want her to be treated just like an ordinary student at the school, then the expectation from everybody is that she should follow all those same rules," Balazs said. "She gets the same punishments when she breaks the rules and she will have to do the same work, like trying out for the play if she wants to be in it."

Kari Balazs, a 19-year-old who has Down Syndrome, has been riding horses since she was three years old. She will be attending Judson College, an all-female, four year school, in the fall to study equine science.

'Don't judge me based on my face'

After three years of getting used to the organizing and communicating with teachers, it was time for Kari to select the educational pathway for her high school diploma: general education, essentials or advanced standards. Balazs felt like Kari had been studying the same coursework as her peers, thus it didn't make sense to do the other two tracks.

Kari immediately faced some pushback in ninth grade from a math teacher who wouldn't let her use her calculator. Balazs said the teacher believed Kari should master adding, multiplying and other processes before learning Algebra 1, which was one of the general education math requirements Kari had to pass. Balazs believed that making her daughter focus on adding and subtracting instead of Algebra would hold her daughter back.

"I didn't argue that it wasn't important to have mastered those skills, which Kari has (remembered) now after so many years of seeing the right answers on the calculator," Balazs said. "But that was a skill set that should have been mastered years ago. That boat had sailed, and was no longer something we could continue to focus on. We needed to keep moving forward and she had shown in middle school that she could easily do the math processes with the calculator and multiplication chart for support."

Balazs was able to get the calculator approved for Kari. She received As, Bs and an occasional C in a subject Kari calls her "enemy." Balazs said there were always people who questioned their decisions throughout Kari's life. But Balazs believes you can't predict any child's future, whether they are disabled or not.

"So my answer always was, 'We are going to do it until it doesn't work.'" Balasz said. "'When it doesn't work, we will work to find the best answer when we get there.' For us, there was never a place where it didn't work."

Along with her academics, Kari decided to juggle other extracurricular activities. She joined the choir, drama club and the Dance Foundation during her ninth-grade year alone. She volunteered at a food pantry because she has a passion to help the homeless.

In tenth grade, Kari received a flyer about National American Miss Alabama. The pageant contest allows girls with disabilities to compete against their non-disabled peers. After doing an interview, Kari was invited to be a part of the pageant. Although she was disappointed about not winning her first year, she said she wiped her tears away and started practicing harder with her speech therapist. She would look in the mirror pretending there was a microphone in her hand and rehearsed how she will introduce herself to the crowd.

"Someday, I'm going to get this crown and I'm never giving up," Kari said she told herself. "I want the crown that badly."

Kari received three awards within three years, including Miss Personality and the Spirit award. Earlier this year, she became Alabama Miss Amazing Teen and will be representing the state during the national Miss Amazing competition in Chicago in August.

Kari always becomes a little nervous whenever she walks on stage during a pageant because she said she really wants people to see her as she sees herself.

"I want them to see the strong independent woman I can be. Don't judge me based on my face," Kari said.

Never give up

During her junior year, Kari's parents asked her what life after high school would look like. Kari said she wanted to go to college not far from home to study fashion and design. Universities across the nation are now crafting programs for people with disabilities. Auburn University will be launching the Education to Accomplish Growth in Life Experiences for Success program, or EAGLES, in the fall.

The family considered Mississippi State's ACCESS and Appalachian State's Scholars with Diverse Abilities Program. Although both programs offered fashion design, Kari didn't feel comfortable with how the programs were structured. Along with the academic requirements, the programs also focus on building life skills and Kari was afraid of being seen as a child who had to be told what to do.

Even with all the inclusion she has embraced, Kari is still afraid of being separated from the public, Balazs said.

"Kari feels like her face announces to the world that she has Down syndrome," Balazs said "Once they see that, there are a bunch of things that they automatically expect and she doesn't want the world to feel like she's less competent or less smart than she actually is."

To Kari, college is a place where she can assert her independence. So the family stopped considering the special needs programs and started applying to smaller colleges that were closer to home. She was accepted into Jefferson State Community College, Brenau University in Gainesville, Georgia and Judson College, a women's college in Marion that Kari ultimately settled on. She will pursue her passion for horses by studying equine science.

Kari has been proving to her parents that she is ready for the big move to campus. During orientation, Kari ventured off on her own to register for classes and asked to join the choir. They are working to get her a tutor for her classes just in case. Luckily, she doesn't have to take any math classes for her major, Kari said with a smile. She still becomes shy when she stutters. But she remembers what all she has learned during her journey so far.

"I need to make sure to speak up and be a self advocate," Kari said. "I need to be able to speak for myself because my parents aren't always there. I have learned that I am strong and capable. It has taught me never to give up."

There is a sense of nervousness watching her daughter leave home, Balazs said. Kari now has a permit. One day, she will be driving herself to campus. It is unknown what will go wrong or right, but Balazs said they will face the uncertainty the same way they have been for a long time: determination, persistence and hope in Kari and the community that surrounds her.