Best Friends with Down Syndrome, Who've Been Inseparable Since 1st Grade, Are Headed to College Together!

Best buddies since first grade, Ava Shahbahrami and Juliana Gray, who both have Down syndrome, are looking forward to starting college together in August.

The inseparable pals, 20 and 21 respectively, from Lexington, South Carolina, will be attending the University of South Carolina Aiken under a program designed to offer students with disabilities the opportunity to pursue a college education. 

Only 12 students are accepted each year into the USC Aiken Pacer LIFE Program, which makes their joint venture even more special.

“They have an enthusiasm about life," Ava's mom, Patricia Gates, tells PEOPLE. "They look at every day as exciting."

Their daughters often complete each other’s sentences and are fully in sync — and it’s been this way since the two first met in elementary school.

Shahbahrami says she remembers going to Gray’s home and “just chilling at the house." Right there and then she decided they would be friends forever.

“She is my best friend, because she is kind,” Shabarami says. “And she makes me laugh."

Karen Allen, who teaches the girls, says most of her students are close because the majority of the small group has been together since starting at Red Bank Elementary school.

“But they are not at the same level of bonding that Ava and Jules have," Allen says.

“A lot of times Toni and I will find out things after the girls have already planned everything,” says Gates, laughing. “We are just meant to provide transportation and show up.”

While in high school, the girls joined an occupational program and over the years, they've held several jobs, including working in the school’s front office, cafeteria, and more. 

They recently began summer jobs at a local Bitty & Beau’s Coffee shop, which employs more than 400 individuals with disabilities nationwide.

As for the future, Shabahrami says she hopes to run her own donut shop one day. “So I’m working (to learn) math and money," she adds.

But first, college!

As for what they're looking forward to the most, Gray says she's excited to keep hanging out with Shabahrami, but also can't wait to make new friends.

And although they don’t know if they will be housed together — they'll live in dorms with three other students in the program — they're both looking forward to making the new space their own.

Even though it's hard to see their little girls grown up and leaving the nest, their moms are over the moon about the start of the new journey.

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“Even a couple of years ago, we never thought she would even be able to go to college,” Toni Gray says of her daughter.

“Our kids want to go to college just like everybody else," adds Gates. "They want to have a purpose.”