Age: 14
Age at T1D diagnosis: 4

Mary Grace is proud of her service as a role model for other kids—those who have T1D and those who do not. Inspired by younger students and the children she babysits, she hopes for a solution someday. “When I look at these children, all I see is innocent eyes and happy grins. They know nothing about the pains of the world, and I want to keep it that way. The reason I want a cure is so that no kid has to go through what I did.”

Mary Grace loves singing and running track—she can even run a six-minute mile! An honor-roll student who hopes to become a doctor, singer, or writer, she says T1D “has shown me to not let anything pinion my wings. I am a better person because of type 1 diabetes.”