I first ran into Jillian Mercado in the spring of 2016. She was in a park in Manhattan, taking in views of the Hudson River. She wore a pair of heart-shaped sunglasses the color of strawberries and a red New York City Wildcats top a breezy, chic outfit perfect for a sunny Friday afternoon.

I knew about Mercado through her work as a disabled Latina fashion model for major companies like Nordstrom. The 32-year-old, who lives with muscular dystrophy and uses an electric wheelchair, scored her first major campaign with denim brand Diesel in 2014. In March 2016, the native New Yorker was announced as one of three models to be featured in Beyoncs merchandise campaign promoting the Formation World Tour. That same year, she collaborated with Target and scored high-profile interviews in Glamour and CNBC , among other major media.

Its hard to envision someone like yourself being in such a high position as being an activist or being a model in the industry because you just dont see it, you know? Mercado told me in a phone interview last month. I just found a moment within myself where I was just like, if I dont see it out there, and I know in my heart and my soul that I belong here, and its what I love doing and its in the industry of fashion, then I have to do something about it. I have to be that change.

Back in 2016, I was a student journalist searching for inspiration to work on my final project for graduate school, determined to focus on issues that affected disabled women like myself . Mercados rise in the fashion industry and her powerful voice in the online disability community were, in large part, what inspired me to explore disability, body image and relationships in my final project .

Two years later, I randomly passed by Mercado in the subway station at Times Square. I hadnt expected to meet her again, because what are the odds of running into the same stranger twice in New York City? She smiled and responded to my emphatic Hi Jillian! even though she didnt know who I was at the time.

If we hadnt both been in a rush, I would have told her that Id been following her work since the early days of her modeling career. Back then, the headlines called her a disabled model who was breaking the mold , and now the tide was finally beginning to turn. I would have thanked Mercado for being a crucial part of this larger, unstoppable movement to ensure that disability is the new mold and that its portrayed as an essential part of mainstream, everyday life because it is.