Some 140 young adults who have “beaten the odds” and are headed to college were at the White House Thursday as part of the Reach Higher college attendance initiative spearheaded by first lady Michelle Obama.

Among them will be a student with Down syndrome who has a side business selling hand-dyed silk scarves and totebags to help pay her college tuition; a young man with a learning disability who says it’s “OK to learn differently”; and a self-advocate with autism who would like teachers to PLEASE stop asking her if she’s heard of Temple Grandin—a well-known autistic scientist known for her work in animal husbandry.

“We’d like you to stop asking us about cows,” the student says.

The youths participating in the “Beating the Odds” Summit were selected by more than 70 different nonprofit organizations to attend the daylong event. Four of those nonprofits have a mission to work with young people with disabilities: the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, the Epilepsy Foundation; Eye to Eye (a mentorship organization for youth with learning disabilities and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder); and the Global Down Syndrome Foundation.