Jordan Skolnick turns 13 this month.  He is a student at Don Juan Avila Middle School. 

Accomplishments:  Jordan was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes (an autoimmune disease) when he was 5 years old.  At the time, he did not completely understand what that meant.  He was the first child in his elementary school with the disease, and, in a sense, he paved the way for others, as decisions were made about how the school administration would best serve his needs.   As a result, Jordan became more educated about the disease.   He also learned how to monitor and bolster his own blood sugar levels.  For several years, Jordan has used the Medtronics MiniMed pump to assist him with the monitoring.  He has done outreach with children recently diagnosed with juvenile diabetes by acting as a mentor and friend to them.  He has helped with fundraisers and has participated in the Health and Hope Symposium workshops for children with juvenile diabetes and their parents.  He has attended summer camps, where he had the opportunity to meet other kids with the disease.  Jordan is currently a Junior Ambassador for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Key to Awesomeness:  Jordan enjoys many sports, especially soccer and wrestling.  He does not enjoy having to visit the nurse’s office at school when his blood sugar level is too high or too low.   He would rather be doing what all the other kids are doing, but he realizes he needs to take care of his health first.  When working with a child who has been newly diagnosed, he shows the child the pump he uses and explains “the tricks of the trade”—things he has learned that make it easier to take care of himself.  He says that if you are diagnosed with juvenile diabetes, “it is not the end of the world.  I still play sports, and I have great friends.”