Age: 17
Age at T1D diagnosis: 12

As the only student at her school coping with T1D, Claire seems to live every day in the limelight. “Awareness is a big deal to me,” she admits—but that’s an understatement. Claire goes the extra mile, chronicling her experience with the disease on video, receiving awards for her JDRF fundraising, and these days, organizing a teen-mentorship program for kids with T1D. Awareness is more than a big deal—it is Claire’s primary focus in the battle against T1D.

Claire balances her T1D advocacy with her involvement in Key Club and tennis. It’s a balancing act she masters just as adeptly as she does her enthusiasm for an artificial pancreas with a sincere hope for an ultimate cure. “Thankfully, type 1 diabetes is not life-ending. But it is
life-changing.”