Candis Welch currently holds the title of Ms. Wheelchair California and will be in Michigan all weekend, fighting for the national title.
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The competition is all about workshops, speeches and becoming a strong advocate for women with disabilities.
"Being on a national platform allows me to be the representation that I did not see growing up in the late 80s and 90s," she said. "I want to be able to provide that type of representation, that type of visibility, and be able to advocate on such a larger scale, because we need that."
Welch was born and raised in West Los Angeles. She graduated from Cal State Northridge with a bachelor's degree in journalism and a master's degree in public administration. She currently works as a diversity, equity and inclusion executive - a career that fits with her advocacy work.
"If we talk about the word inclusion, we cannot exclude those with disabilities," she said. "We're not truly being inclusive, and I just feel like myself, as a DEI practitioner, I'm always thinking of equitable ways of how we can be better at hiring practices. I'm always thinking about accessibility. The main point of this competition is really to bring awareness."
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If she wins, she will be the 4th Californian to win the title in the organization's 50-year history.
"I think that if we look at just the fact that I'm in a wheelchair, you're missing so much, because I'm a beautiful human being with thoughts and ideas, and my advocacy bleeds through me every single moment," she said.