Micaela Cunningham, center, stands with her parents, Marileen Cunningham and James Cunningham Sr., at their home in Steger. Micaela will accept an associate degree in May from Prairie State College in Chicago Heights, four days before her high school graduation from Bloom Trail in Steger.
“I love helping people and always liked doing that since I was younger,” she said. “I was scared to be a doctor and said I’ll just be a dentist, but then I was like, I’m going to face my fear and do what I want to do.”With time on her hands amid the pandemic and following advice from her mom, Cunningham began taking courses at Prairie State College in Chicago Heights. She was up to the challenge and will be walking across the stage at two graduation ceremonies in May.
At Prairie State, she particularly enjoyed studying medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, biology and psychology. Micaela Cunningham joins her parents, siblings and grandmother for a photo at her home in Steger. The Bloom Trail student's parents both are educators and encouraged her to start knocking out college credits amid the pandemic.