Over the past two weeks, we have introduced you to both Mia, and Anna, two of our summer interns! Hannah is our third intern currently with us and as she puts it, she has been ‘surrounded by diabetes’ since the day she was diagnosed. We are glad to have Hannah with us this summer, here’s her story:

My name is Hannah Barnett and I am from Saratoga Springs, New York. At the age of seven I was diagnosed with type one diabetes (T1D). Before being diagnosed I was familiar with the disease as both my grandmother and uncle had it, but I was unaware of the constant regulation and burden this disease entailed. Before my diagnosis I was constantly drinking and eating, yet still losing weight. I was even sent to the principal’s office for asking to use the restroom too often. When first diagnosed, I could not have imagined the impact this disease would have on my life; and although I would rather not have to constantly regulate myself in every aspect of my life, there is also a part of me that is grateful for the opportunities this disease has brought me.

From the very beginning my parents surrounded me with diabetes. Between the support groups, one on one meetings, JDRF fundraisers, and diabetes camps, I learned from an early age that I was not alone. Though my parents will assure you it was solely for me, I believe it was for them also as a way to see that they too were not the only parents of a young child with T1D. Seven months after being diagnosed I walked in my first JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes, and it soon became my favorite day of the year as it was all about diabetes and working towards a cure. The sense of community and hope one feels while walking amongst thousands of other people is what triggered my passion for advocating for diabetes. As I matured I began becoming more involved with JDRF and their outreach program. I was able to attend small group social events and talk to newly diagnosed adolescents. From then I began camp counseling with the Sugar Free Gang Kids Kamp, I worked with kids from ages four to thirteen, and while it was a relaxed setting, meant for the kids to have fun and be surrounded by other T1D’s, it was an opportunity to teach many young children how to embrace their diabetes and live with it!

I am now attending Auburn University, majoring in nursing. Attending college with T1D is one of the most challenging experiences I will endure. Aside from the responsibilities I have with classes and college alone, I also have the responsibility to live on my own and regulate myself everyday. While growing up I was given many tools and opportunities to relate to people with T1D. In college, it seems there are fewer opportunities, but earlier this summer I was able to attend the Students with Diabetes conference, where I met many other young adults with T1D. Students with Diabetes provided me with speakers who taught me leadership skills, patience, coping mechanisms, and introduced me to the latest technology: the artificial pancreas (AP). Students with Diabetes also enabled me to connect with JDRF Advocacy and gain the opportunity to intern here this summer in Washington, D.C. Not only am I grateful for the opportunity alone, but I am grateful to be interning with an organization that focuses on the disease which I am so passionate about. I look forward to this summer and all that JDRF Advocacy has to offer.