Ohio woman with Down syndrome and passion for mail gets her dream job for a day

CINCINNATI - Grace Flannery got her dream job for a day when she joined the postal team at a post office in Ohio.

The 21-year-old with Down syndrome always wanted to deliver mail — it has been her dream since she was a small child.

“I like delivering the mail because it’s my favorite thing of all,” she said with confidence, recalling her first day on the job as a mail carrier for the Westwood Post office in Cincinnati.

“She’d watch for the mail carrier, and she’d go out and get the mail right away,” said Grace’s father Michael.

He said she had a newspaper route when she was younger so that she could practice and eventually got an internship at a children’s hospital where she delivered mail to 32 departments in seven buildings.

By the time she spent the day delivering mail in her local neighborhood, she was a seasoned carrier.

Grace showed up ready to take on the day wearing a U.S. Postal Service uniform and shorts handmade by her grandmother to look like the other postal carriers. She helped sort the mail before hitting the neighborhood with fellow carrier Melissa Tilton, delivering to more than 30 homes.

She only worked for a day, but Grace has big dreams of hopefully one day delivering mail for a law firm or another company internally, her father said.

Her father said they even inquired about getting her a permanent job at the post office, and with her years of experience that shouldn't be a problem.