Age: 14
Age at T1D diagnosis: 10

Emma is a cheerleader who also enjoys playing the flute and participating in sports. She likes helping her dad—who also has T1D—raise awareness about the disease. The many ways she gets involved include participating in JDRF One Walk, acting as a JDRF Youth Ambassador, speaking at her school and meeting with her local Members of Congress. She says, “Diabetes is hard but I’ve learned to manage it. There are lots of great tools that help me.” This year, Emma and her dad organized their own local walk in their community to raise money for T1D research. “I’m now in eighth grade, but I hope someday to be a nurse who helps kids with diabetes, like my diabetes educator Nicole.”

Texoma Teen to Advocate for Diabetes Research in D.C. / KFDX 3 News / July 11, 2017