(Photo provided by Lola Kernell)

“I’ve always called myself a miracle baby,” Lola Kernell said. Kernell, now 21 years old, spends her days working for the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals, performing in theater productions, studying at JCCC and advocating for individuals with disabilities.

Kernell has become an unstoppable force locally and nationally, but throughout her journey, she has been doubted due to her disability. Kernell was diagnosed with Down syndrome when she was born. Down syndrome is a genetic condition that is caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21.

“There was a doctor or medical person who’s like, ‘Oh, she can’t do this stuff. She can’t read, she can’t do math, she can’t do all these things.’ And later on, I’m proving every single thing wrong,” Kernell said.

“She passed college algebra last year–it was amazing,” Tonja Lynde-Kernell, Lola’s mother, said.

Prior to Kernell’s birth, her family did not know that she would have Down syndrome. After her diagnosis, her family decided to never limit her and to always encourage her. Kernell’s life and accomplishments clearly reflect that.

“I’ve done theater all throughout high school. I was in almost every production, and then I did some community theater,” Kernell said.

While doing her high school theater productions, Kernell also performed at Spinning Tree, a community theater. Kernell has always loved to sing and dance, and she often finds herself using her karaoke machine, her favorite karaoke song being “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond. During her time as a performer, her favorite show was titled Just Ask, an adaptation of the book by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

“We got to do, like, 40 performances here in Kansas City, then we did a workshop. We went to DC for one of those theater conferences, and we did a performance there,” Kernell said. “It was very powerful because almost everyone in the cast and crew had a disability. There’s all these different characters in [Sotomayor’s] book, so most of the people that they chose had the exact disability of the character.”

Throughout her childhood, Kernell was involved in American Heritage Girls, which is a faith-based youth scouting organization. She enjoyed earning badges while developing life and leadership skills. During her time with American Heritage Girls, Kernell volunteered as a Girl Shepherd, where she helped to prepare prayers prior to each meeting. Soon, she began working on the highest award, the “Stars and Stripes,” which is the equivalent of the Girl Scout Gold Award and the Scouting America Eagle Scout rank. The Stars and Stripes award requires candidates to earn more than 16 merit badges, hold a leadership position for six or more months and complete a 100+ hour service project.

“My project was reorganizing my high school’s theater department’s prop storage room, which was later called ‘Lola’s Closet,’” Kernell said.

In Kernell’s professional life, she works for the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals through the organization Down Syndrome Innovations. DSI partners with the Chiefs and Royals to create inclusive employment opportunities for individuals with Down syndrome.

“At the Royals, I started greeting in the Diamond Club and stamping hands, but this season I’m going to work in the Triple Crown Suites. [I’m] still doing the same thing, but in a different place,” Kernell said. “At the Chiefs, I work at the penthouse, and I give people wristbands. It’s a very cool suite, an all-inclusive suite.”

As an outspoken advocate for disabilities, Kernell works for the Kansas Council on Developmental Disabilities as an advocacy coordinator. Kernell has testified at the capital multiple times. She helps to put together advocacy events, teaches Advocacy 101 Training, and handles social media.

In the spring of 2025, Kernell led an act called the Prenatal and Postnatal Diagnosis Information Act, which was passed unanimously in the Kansas House and Senate. According to the KCDD website, “this law ensures that parents and medical professionals receive accurate, up-to-date information about a child’s disability.” Now, Kernell leads a workgroup that helps to create and distribute important materials.

“She’s been quite a gift to our family,” Lynde-Kernell said. “She has brought our whole family together, and I think we’ve all benefited from having her in our lives,”

Outside of her impactful work, Kernell is just like every 21-year-old. She loves watching  Disney movies and musicals, she writes cards, poems and songs. She loves France, having visited about five times, and she even speaks French.

“I really want to do something in theology, but I’ve also wanted to do a little bit of French,” Kernell said. “I’ve also looked at another college that could help me with disability studies. It’s basically studying the history of people with disabilities. That’s not a topic that is taught enough in schools, and I want to try to find a way to get that into schools.”

Kernell’s work and passion are an inspiration to many, and her impact will continue to spread.

“I’m a person with a disability, and I can do anything that everyone else can do, to be honest,” Kernell said.