If you live in Paducah, you no doubt know of, have seen, or are friends with McKynleigh Abraham. She’s been in Market House Theatre plays since she was 7, performed at WKCTC, won second-place at the Kentucky State Fair, and even got to be a part of Oxygen Network’s television show “The Glee Project.”

“Sometimes I will see people look at me an extra second longer,” Abraham explained. “Then they come up and start with ‘Didn’t I see you on...?’ There has not been a day that has gone by this summer that at least one person hasn’t come up to me and recognized me.”

Abraham’s “big break” on the television show provided a lot of exposure, and gave her a chance to perform at the Mint Jubilee during the Kentucky Derby, where she opened for Jordin Sparks and sang a duet with American Idol winner Kris Allen. At 19, she is on her way to Northern Kentucky University to participate in its Bachelor of Fine Arts program.

“The show opened so many doors,” Abraham said. “There is a lot of things I have gotten to do that are pretty amazing. One of the things I did realize, though, was that I did not like being in front of a camera.”

Abraham, who has been in plays and on stage since she was 3, had always left the door open on an acting career until she was put in front of a camera for “The Glee Project.” Now, her dream is to move to New York and concentrate on her music or work on Broadway.

“I just wasn’t comfortable,” she said. “There wasn’t a visible audience I could connect to. When I am on stage, and people are around me, I want the chance to see them and play off of them. That wasn’t there in television.”

The daughter of City Commissioner Richard Abraham and his wife, Cindy, Miki Abraham was home-schooled through high school. She credits her parents for helping her hone her personality.

“We did so much work with underprivileged kids, or we would go to community events,” Abraham said. “I wouldn’t ever feel shy. They encouraged me to be outgoing, and they have given me the strength to do anything I have ever wanted to do.”

This summer, while getting ready to move to the Cincinnati area for school, Abraham started another pet project — a band called Fidelity, which featured her and her best friend, Abby Potts. It is with Potts, performing acoustic sets at Live on Broadway or at restaurants around town, that Abraham feels most comfortable.

“I can play the guitar,” Abraham said. “But Abby is just so great at it. When she is up there with me, and I get to sing along with her, it’s perfect.”

Abraham and Potts leave Paducah this week to go to school, ending their summer affair with downtown Paducah. But if one thing is for sure, this isn’t the last you have heard of Miki Abraham.

“I want to do just about everything,” Abraham said. “I have so many things on my plate right now, I just can’t wait to get started.”