Age: 13
Age at T1D diagnosis: 11 months

When she’s not singing the national anthem at the Jonas Brothers’ Kickball Game or raising more than $100,000 (to date) for her JDRF Walk team, you might catch Sophie practicing a Mozart concerto on her violin. The multitalented teen speaks pragmatically. “I have a high chance of developing kidney, eye, or heart problems. Although the chance can be lowered significantly by keeping my blood sugar in range, I am still not guaranteed that I will remain healthy for my whole lifetime. I do not want to go through my life worrying about developing a serious complication because of my disease.”

The daughter of doctors, Sophie loves learning about the body and plans to become a doctor someday. Today, she’ll start by addressing Congress, “to let them know why a cure would mean everything to children with type 1 diabetes.”