Meet ADA's National Youth Advocate for 2010
Amy Johnson, 18, of Kansas City, Mo., was recently named the American Diabetes Association's National Youth Advocate for 2010. She will be a roving ambassador who travels around the nation lobbying on behalf of young people with diabetes, visiting ADA Diabetes Camps, and representing the Association. Here's a quick look at Amy:
Education: Senior, Park Hill High School, Kansas City, Mo.
Diagnosis: Type 1 diabetes, in 2004, at 12 years old.
Fun Fact: She is a fourth-degree master in tae kwon do.
Volunteer Work: President of the Teen Advisory Board at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City; appears on a local radio station in support of the annual Children's Miracle Network, which benefits local hospitals.
Plans: To go to medical school and become a pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon. "The challenge and continual learning process involved with surgery, especially involving the heart and lungs, is quite exciting to me!"
As National Youth Advocate: "My overall [goal] is to band both type 1 and type 2 youths together against diabetes."