Anna Mutter – Northern Virginia Community College–Loudoun College Steps (Roger Boatman Scholarship Award)

Anna is a three-time Rockin’ Recipient and this year’s recipient of the Ruby’s Rainbow Roger Boatman Scholarship Award. She will begin her third year this fall in the College Steps program at Northern Virginia Community College–Loudoun (NOVA), where she is pursuing an Associate’s degree with a General Studies focus. Some of her favorite classes so far have been Greek Mythology, History of Western Civilization, Cultural Geography, Interpersonal Communication, Astronomy and Environmental Science. She makes all As and Bs in her classes, and has made the Dean’s List in three out of her four semesters at NOVA.

In her first semester at NOVA, Anna founded the Random Acts of Kindness Club, and she continues to serve as the club’s president. She is also a Global Messenger for Special Olympics Virginia, and has spoken in front of many groups to promote positivity and inclusion.

Her advice for other students with Down syndrome is “to always believe in themselves, never give up, and follow their dreams.” She also recommends using a planner to stay organized, and taking a computer class to learn programs like Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel. For parents of students with Down syndrome, Anna has this advice: “Let your child try different things to find things they’re interested in. They might be interested in movies or animals or sports, and all of those could become career paths.”

We think all of that is great advice, Anna! You rock!