{"id":3380,"date":"2026-04-27T19:50:41","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T00:50:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/?p=3380"},"modified":"2026-04-27T20:54:30","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T01:54:30","slug":"meet-a-cavalier-monday-lola-kernell-is-proof-that-anything-is-possible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/2026\/04\/27\/meet-a-cavalier-monday-lola-kernell-is-proof-that-anything-is-possible\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet A Cavalier Monday: Lola Kernell Is Proof That Anything Is Possible"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Photo provided by Lola Kernell)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always called myself a miracle baby,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a doctor or medical person who\u2019s like, \u2018Oh, she can\u2019t do this stuff. She can\u2019t read, she can\u2019t do math, she can\u2019t do all these things.\u2019 And later on, I\u2019m proving every single thing wrong,\u201d Kernell said.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe passed college algebra last year\u2013it was amazing,\u201d Tonja Lynde-Kernell, Lola\u2019s mother, said.<\/p>\n

Prior to Kernell\u2019s 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\u2019s life and accomplishments clearly reflect that.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve done theater all throughout high school. I was in almost every production, and then I did some community theater,\u201d Kernell said.<\/p>\n

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 \u201cSweet Caroline\u201d by Neil Diamond. During her time as a performer, her favorite show was titled Just Ask<\/i>, an adaptation of the book by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe 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,\u201d Kernell said. \u201cIt was very powerful because almost everyone in the cast and crew had a disability. There\u2019s all these different characters in [Sotomayor’s] book, so most of the people that they chose had the exact disability of the character.\u201d<\/p>\n

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 \u201cStars and Stripes,\u201d which is the equivalent of the Girl Scout Gold Award and the Scouting America Eagle Scout rank. The Stars and Stripes<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy project was reorganizing my high school’s theater department’s prop storage room, which was later called \u2018Lola\u2019s Closet,\u2019\u201d Kernell said.<\/p>\n

In Kernell\u2019s 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the Royals, I started greeting in the Diamond Club and stamping hands, but this season I\u2019m going to work in the Triple Crown Suites. [I\u2019m] still doing the same thing, but in a different place,\u201d Kernell said. \u201cAt the Chiefs, I work at the penthouse, and I give people wristbands. It\u2019s a very cool suite, an all-inclusive suite.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>, \u201cthis law ensures that parents and medical professionals receive accurate, up-to-date information about a child\u2019s disability.\u201d Now, Kernell leads a workgroup that helps to create and distribute important materials.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s been quite a gift to our family,\u201d Lynde-Kernell said. \u201cShe has brought our whole family together, and I think we\u2019ve all benefited from having her in our lives,\u201d<\/p>\n

Outside of her impactful work, Kernell is just like every 21-year-old. She loves watching \u00a0Disney movies and musicals, she writes cards, poems and songs. She loves France, having visited about five times, and she even speaks French.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really want to do something in theology, but I\u2019ve also wanted to do a little bit of French,\u201d Kernell said. \u201cI\u2019ve also looked at another college that could help me with disability studies. It\u2019s basically studying the history of people with disabilities. That\u2019s not a topic that is taught enough in schools, and I want to try to find a way to get that into schools.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kernell\u2019s work and passion are an inspiration to many, and her impact will continue to spread.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a person with a disability, and I can do anything that everyone else can do, to be honest,\u201d Kernell said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI\u2019ve always called myself a miracle baby,\u201d 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":3381,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[321],"class_list":["post-3380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life"],"author_meta":{"display_name":"Saul Epstein","author_link":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/author\/sepstein\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/files\/2026\/04\/IMG_9329_optimized_2000-300x255.jpeg","coauthors":[{"link":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/author\/sammie-magee\/","display_name":"Sammie Magee"}],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["Life<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Life<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"1","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 5 months ago","modified":"Updated 5 months ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on April 27, 2026","modified":"Updated on April 27, 2026"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on April 27, 2026 7:50 pm","modified":"Updated on April 27, 2026 8:54 pm"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"authors":[{"term_id":321,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"sammie-magee","display_name":"Sammie Magee","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g","author_category":"","first_name":"","last_name":"","user_url":"","job_title":"","description":""}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/files\/2026\/04\/IMG_9329_optimized_2000-scaled.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3380","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3380"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3380\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3390,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3380\/revisions\/3390"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3380"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=3380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}