Stephanie Kinney is the 2011 Northern Lakes Arthritis Walk Honoree, and she is thrilled to be leading the May 21 event in Brainerd. She is a student at Central Lakes College, maintaining straight A’s while holding down two jobs — tutoring at CLC and working as a hostess at Grizzly’s. From The Brainerd Dispatch: Stephanie Kinney appears to be a typical energetic college student, but there is more going on just below the surface. As a teenager, she learned she would have to deal with a chronic and potentially debilitating disease for the rest of her life. “It’s hard to tell a 14-year-old this is going to be the rest of forever so you better start changing things in your life to have a better tomorrow,” she said. That concept of forever is one she said she is just getting a handle on now — at 23. This spring, Kinney is the honoree for the Northern Lakes Arthritis Walk on May 21. Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis damages and destroys joints in the body and affects other organs and systems. For Kinney, the pain started when she was 14. She was a Music General dancer in tap, jazz and ballet. Complete article is at http://brainerddispatch.com/news/2011-04-08/college-student-glad-lend-her-voice-cause Photo courtesy of Brainerd Dispatch CLC is organizing a team of walkers for the event. If interested, contact Deb Breneman at (218) 855- 8158 or dbreneman@clcmn.edu
