KENOSHA, Wis. (SPECTRUM NEWS)— Friday marks international day of the girl. It’s a day where inspirational girls are being celebrated across the state of Wisconsin.
In honor of that, Spectrum News One decided to feature girls across the state that have an inspiring story. One girl we spoke to is located in Kenosha at Carthage College.
This girl has got some brains. Shannon Kafura started her college career at Carthage College at only 15 years old.
"The sky is the limit with Shannon in terms of her ability and her aptitude to make a difference," Carthage College Assistant Professor of Neuroscience, Denise Cook-Snyder said.
If you fast forward nearly four years, you will find 19 year old Shannon Kafura getting ready to graduate and take on medical school.
"It's really inspiring to have a best friend who has already been through so much and is magnificent like she is," Carthage College Junior, Jenna Cannon said.
Shannon was born with Osteogenesis Imperfecta. It’s a disease that makes her bones extremely brittle.
"I would break my bones a lot when I was little requiring me to be hospitalized and getting surgeries so I was in the medical field a lot," Carthage College Senior, Shannon Kafura said.
However, through her medical journey she found her passion in life, a passion to help others
"As I grew older I just knew that's what I wanted to do," Kafura said.
Her dreams of being a doctor are now becoming a reality.
"She’s not one to let obstacles stand in her way. She wants to do something she does it. She finds solutions to get around what might be impeding her," Cook-Snyder said.
She’s been able to skip grades without letting her medical journey and multiple trips a year to east coast hospitals slow her down.
"I think it's great to be able to help other people to find their dreams to realize I can do it and so can you and that nothing is impossible you just have to work hard and put in effort and you will get to where you want to be," Kafura said.
Her journey will soon come full circle, as a child in and out of the hospital. Now, hoping to be the doctor who helps those babies and their families navigate disabilities and challenges she went through herself.
"It’s really great because I can really see what events in my life really shaped what I want to do and I think it’s awesome and I try to help other people find what they might want to do," Kafura said.
She’s never slowed down or used any excuse to give up along the way.
"She does things that I know every other person would be like I’m done I’m not doing homework or going to classes she’s still motivated. She knows what she wants and she’s going to do it," Cannon said.
She has found a way to inspire people each and every day without even knowing it.
"We could all learn a bit from Shannon and her story," Cook-Snyder said.