Age: 16
Age at T1D diagnosis: 18 months

As a tennis player, ballet dancer, musician and member of student government, Alyssa barely has time for type 1 diabetes. But she still manages to participate in her local JDRF One Walk, support her local Gala, serve as a spokesperson for JDRF, and volunteer as a mentor to people newly diagnosed through the JDRF T1D Family Support Network. Alyssa has been active in managing her disease since she was a toddler, when she used to point to the tip of her index finger as a sign to her parents that she needed a finger stick because she felt a low blood sugar coming on. Alyssa is considering a career in medicine “which will allow me to help others with T1D” and allow her to “understand and empathize like no other health care professional since I live with T1D, too.”