Writer / Matt Keating
Photography Provided
Micah Bieda is the Honored Hero for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) 2022 Student of the Year (SOY) Campaign.
The SOY event is a leadership program for high school students that also benefits the LLS by raising funds to cure cancer. Micah is the face of the campaign for the Indianapolis area.
The LLS exists to fund and advance research for all types of blood cancers, in addition to providing support to patients and families. Each year they run a program called Student of the Year, for which high school students from across central Indiana compete against each other to raise the most money possible for the LLS.
Micah’s mother, Katie Bieda, says he helped to motivate the candidates as they planned and executed their fundraising events.
“Many student candidates enter the campaign because they have personal connections to blood cancers,” Katie says. “However, some candidates do not have a personal connection. As such, the Honored Hero can serve to connect with the work that each candidate is doing. Micah was on virtual meetings with the candidates, and provided encouraging pictures and decorations for the candidates along the way. He attended the Grand Finale celebration in early March to bring the campaign to a close.”
The Grand Finale was held on Friday, March 11.
Students in the Indianapolis area broke all SOY Indiana fundraising records. Eight students raised more than $50,000, four students raised more than $100,000, and the candidate class collectively raised more than $900,000 for the LLS mission – the highest fundraising total ever for an Indiana SOY campaign.
Hamilton Southeastern High School senior Luke Andritsch, a childhood leukemia survivor himself, was named campaign winner, and the 2022 Indianapolis Student of the Year. The runner-up was the tri-candidate team of Abby Batler, Arabella Jensen and Emma Urick, all from Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School.
Micah has already begun to grow in his own leadership as he attends meetings and shares parts of his cancer story.
“Micah was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia when he was 26 months old,” Katie says. “His treatment protocol called for three and a half years of medical treatments including chemotherapy, spinal taps and other IV medications. He was in active treatment for all of age 2, 3, 4, and the first half of age 5. Because Micah was so young at the time of diagnosis, he thankfully does not remember most of his treatment – in particular, the first nine months of intensive treatment. While serving as the Honored Hero, my husband and I were given reasons to talk with Micah more in depth about some of the treatments he received in his youngest years.”
Micah also made some videos for the campaign and began to tell his cancer story for himself, including what he remembers about treatment at Riley Hospital for Children – both the good and bad parts.
“Micah was invited by a few of the candidates to attend their individual fundraising campaigns,” Katie says. “He participated in a high school talent show by telling knock-knock jokes to the crowd, winning over their hearts in the process. He was also a temporary barber, as he cut off hair for the winning candidate’s team members during one of their fundraisers.”
Micah, an 8-year-old second-grade student at Washington Woods Elementary, also plays soccer year-round, takes swim lessons and attends Genesis Church in Carmel.
This past January Micah celebrated three years of being off of treatment.
“He is on his way to being officially cured of cancer, which happens at five years post-treatment,” Katie says. “Micah has a younger brother, Levi, age 7, and a younger sister, Julia, age 4. Levi is one year younger than Micah and grew up in the midst of Micah’s cancer treatments. Julia was born while Micah was still in treatment, one year away from the end of treatment.”
Student Spotlight sponsored by Wittler Orthodontic
