First Down Syndrome Law Graduate Inspires with Perseverance

Zacatecas, Mexico — Ana Victoria Espino de Santiago has become the first person with Down syndrome in the world to graduate with a law degree, earning her license at age 25 from the Autonomous University of Zacatecas.

She chose the legal profession to defend those who have been marginalized and to empower them. “I feel very proud to have graduated in law. I help people with disabilities to succeed, to be warriors, and to never forget that the limit is the sky and it never ends,” said Ana Victoria.

The path was not easy. Her mother, Marisol, pursued a degree in Education to tutor her, acting as a shadow teacher at the university. She studied alongside her daughter and prepared her days in advance so she could keep pace with her classmates.

“There were many difficulties along the way,” recalled Marisol De Santiago, Ana Victoria’s mother. “Yes, she experienced a lot of discrimination in the treatment from some teachers, but she was also very strong. I remember one day I told her, ‘Enough, Ana Victoria…’ She told me, ‘No, I am going to be a lawyer, and if this, enduring this from these teachers, is the path, the goal is very clear: I want to be a lawyer and this is just the way.'”

For this reason, Ana Victoria asks for support for the less fortunate: “Do not discriminate against people, because we are good people, and be empowerment, be an unbreakable woman.”

After achieving one of her life goals, she continues to update her knowledge in law. Simultaneously, she has focused her efforts on the arts with the intention of becoming a recognized painter under the pseudonym Tory. Her perseverance has earned her multiple recognitions. “I paint pictures, I have exhibited in Mexico City at the Chamber of Deputies, the Senate of the Mexican Republic, and I am very happy painting, and I like law and painting… I am very happy!” she expressed.

The support of her parents and siblings was key from an early age for her to achieve the goals she set for herself.