Age: 13
Age at T1D diagnosis: 7

Mairead is a competitive Irish dancer who has competed at regionals for two years in a row! She also loves to play volleyball and tennis with her friends. She has to work extra hard to do these activities by checking her blood-sugar levels and making adjustments during practices and competitions. She is lucky to have found teachers, coaches, and teammates who are all supportive.

Mairead wants to be an engineer, computer scientist, or astronaut when she grows up. Her favorite subjects in school are science and engineering, and she also enjoys coding. Mairead closely follows NASA’s research about how insulin and diabetes technology can work in low- or zero-gravity environments in case she gets to go to space someday.

When Mairead advocates for a cure for T1D, she’s representing not just herself but also her grandmother and her uncle, who have T1D as well. Her grandmother recognized the signs of T1D that led to Mairead’s diagnosis. Mairead and her uncle share ideas for low snacks and compare their technology. As a family, they share the burdens and celebrate the successes of having such a difficult disease together.