Zumba Instructor with Down Syndrome Dreams Big
Elisha McKenzie, a 21-year-old woman with Down syndrome, uses a vision board to manifest her dreams and it’s proving to be a useful tool. Her dream of being a licensed Zumba instructor became a reality in the fall of 2023. She has been teaching once a month since January and hopes to teach more classes at more locations soon.
Elisha found Zumba by mistake. Six years ago, she and her mom, Jacqueline, went to LA Fitness to take a Pilates class, but learned it had been canceled. Zumba was next on the schedule, so they decided to go for it.
“Elisha had the time of her life, she was loving it,” said Jacqueline. “Ever since then, it’s been all about Zumba. We started going about five times a week, sometimes twice a day.”
Elisha reaches for her mom’s hand as she speaks.
“Mom is a good partner to do it with. I love spending time with her, she’s the best mom ever.”
Instructors often pull Elisha up to the front of the class, which she enjoys because she loves the spotlight.
When Elisha expressed the desire to become an instructor, she and her parents attended a Zoom meeting about the certification process and decided to move forward. Elisha attended a one-day certification training that lasted 10 hours.
“The instructor showed movements and gave us different ideas about how to teach,” said Elisha. “It was fun. Some parts were kind of hard, but I was pulled to the front a couple times because I knew the moves. I love being in front of the class.”
Elisha has attended Gigi’s Playhouse in Roswell, a nationwide nonprofit that provides children and adults who have Down syndrome with tutoring, recreational classes and life skills, for years. When the director heard Elisha had been certified as a Zumba instructor, he suggested she teach classes there.
“I cried before my first class because I was nervous,” said Elisha. “My mom and sister were there with me, and they said it was OK to be nervous. They told me to just focus on the class and I encouraged myself by saying ‘I’m enough right now in this moment. I can do this.’ And I rocked it.”
Elisha usually teaches a children’s class immediately followed by an adult class. She is eager to add more classes to her schedule and hopes she can branch out to local gyms, like the LA Fitness in Johns Creek.
As pictured on her vision board, she also hopes to attend a Zumba convention in Orlando, Florida, and wants to create a YouTube channel to share her Zumba videos and to promote mental health and fitness. She also wants to post videos from her public speaking engagements.
Elisha is a youth ambassador and speaker for the Supported Decision-Making Project, which is promoted by the Georgia Advocacy Office. SDM is an alternative to guardianship for people with disabilities. It allows individuals to retain their right to make decisions for themselves with the support of trusted ones. Elisha trained for a year to speak on the subject and has since been invited to speak at Emory University and in Washington, D.C.
Elisha, who lives with her mom and her father, Richard, in Suwanee, and spends lots of time with her older sister, Eliana, and younger sister, Elizabeth, also hopes to make friends of her own. She has a small group she meets with on Wednesdays through Gwinnett Church, but she’d love to have a friend with Down syndrome.
“I want to go out and grab coffee, or go to Chick-fil-A,” said Elisha. “It would be nice if we both had Down syndrome. It’s nice to have things in common. My sisters have friends and I’d like to have some, too.”
At the center of her vision board is a pretty, blue house with white trim. Elisha points to the photo and lights up with excitement.
“Richard and I were talking about the future one day, saying maybe we’d build on an attachment for Elisha, or maybe create a space just for her in the basement,” said Jacqueline, smiling at the memory. “Elisha overheard and piped up, ‘I’m not living with you guys.’”
Elisha nods with affirmation and begins to describe her dream house.
“I look up houses on Zillow because I want to live on my own one day,” said Elisha. “I want to live in Johns Creek and I’m thinking about how I want to decorate it. I love red, it’s my favorite color, and I want people to come have dinner with me.”
When making decisions and setting goals, Jacqueline always tells the family to consider what’s positive and possible. Elisha has adopted that motto, and, by the looks of her vision board, her possibilities are endless.
