Micaela Gonzalez Kail ’02 ALUMNAE PROFILE

Tenacious is the perfect word to describe Micaela Gonzalez Kail ’02 , who credits her work ethic to her days on the Magnificat swim team. She remembers practicing twice a day: early in the morning before school at Tri-C and after school at Cleveland State University. She would even practice with a team in Florida when she was on vacation.

After graduating from Magnificat, Micaela attended Case Western Reserve University to pursue a degree in biomedical engineering. During her senior year she had a baby girl, and although that was not part of her plan, she did not slow down. When her daughter was just a few months old, Micaela earned a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering. Life took another turn for Micaela when she learned that her daughter was born with a genetic disorder that causes tumors to form on nerve tissue, called neurofibromatosis.

“We were going to so many doctors and she was getting so many tests, but through it all my daughter always had a smile on her face, and I found it inspiring,” she said.

To bring awareness to neurofibromatosis and show her daughter her tenacious spirit, Micaela signed up to run the Cleveland Marathon to raise money for the Children's Tumor Foundation. At the time her co-worker, now husband, helped her train—and he proposed to her at the finish line!

After her success at the Cleveland Marathon, she wanted a bigger challenge and was inspired by a Magnificat classmate posting about competing in triathlons. So, she signed up for one and completed her first triathlon in 2019. She didn’t stop there. In 2021, she completed her first Half Ironman. In 2022, she traveled to Utah for a second time, where she competed in the Half Ironman World Championship. She beat her previous time and was inspired to keep going. She finished 9th in the Sprint Distance National Championship, qualifying her for Team USA at the 2023 World Triathlon Championships in Spain.

In the meantime, Micaela works as a product complaint investigator at Coherus BioSciences, a biopharmaceutical company, and lives in Broadview Heights with her husband and two children. Her daughter with neurofibromatosis is now 15 years old and doing great. In her spare time, Micaela is one of the assistant coaches/mentors for Kids That Tri Cleveland (KTT), a non-profit organization that creates a pathway for student-athletes in grades 6-12 to learn to swim, bike, and run with the goal of completing at least one triathlon. This program prioritizes supporting youth who may not otherwise experience sports inside or outside of school.

Micaela believes that once you set your mind to something, you can never give up. Her motto is, “No matter what path you take, don’t quit. See it through to the end. Even if you change paths, prove to yourself that you can do it. Don’t quit on yourself.”