Samantha Edwards
Iowa has a new spokeswoman for people with disabilities. Samantha Edwards was crowned the new Ms. Wheelchair Iowa in a weekend pageant in Iowa City. Edwards is a 22-year-old from Marshalltown who has cerebral palsy.
Edwards says, “My platform is trying to create positive perceptions of people with disabilities in the media by talking about awareness about the issues that affect people in the disabled community but also other current events.”
She says it’s important that Iowans who have a disability are portrayed on radio, TV and in print talking about things other than their disabilities.
Edwards says, “You don’t have to always talk about the issues that effect the disabled community to be a positive influence.” Edwards is a junior at Iowa State University, studying journalism and mass communications. She will represent Iowa at the Ms. Wheelchair America event in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in August.