Age: 13
Age at Diagnosis: 2

Nico loves to be active, and you can usually find him playing either club soccer or with his school’s team, hiking, fishing, or surfing. He also enjoys art, especially working with clay and drawing and painting. Nico has served as a JDRF Youth Ambassador, and in addition to talking to groups like his soccer team and other peers, he has worked to support newly diagnosed children he’s met. He says he’s become very close with all of them, and one of them is his best friend, who he loves fishing and having sleepovers with.

When you ask Nico if he enjoys advocating for the T1D community, he’ll answer honestly. “One of my friends at school asked me if I enjoyed doing all of this advocacy work, which made me really think about it, and the truth is that I’d rather be practicing my soccer skills or doing pottery, but I know how important it is, and I want to do what I can to make sure that one day, nobody will ever have to get T1D again.” Nico dreams of becoming a professional soccer player, an engineer, and an artist!

“This Hawaii resident is an advocate for diabetes research…and he’s only 13,” Hawaii News Now, September 21, 2023