Westwood Native Saves Life

Anna Whelan has always been athletic, and that may have helped save one man's life.

An avid runner and swimmer (she competed for Holy Cross), Whelan goes for a run every morning. A first-year medical student at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, she was still in her first full week of as a med student when she came across two men kneeling over another man, stating that they couldn't find a pulse and had called 9-1-1.

While she may have been inexperienced, Whelan took over the situation, instructing the men how to position the man who wasn't breathing while doing compressions. She continued to show leadership and take charge of the situation until EMTs arrived.

Whelan has been trained in CPR since she began lifeguarding in the Westwood area when she was 15.