From Diagnosis to Advocacy: Sophomore Helps Educate Future Healthcare Workers

When students in NRCA's Honors Nurse Aide I course study the endocrine system this year, they’ll experience the unit with science and story.  

This fall, sophomore Whitley Andrews approached School Nurse Sherie Kemp-Bruce with the idea of creating an educational poster to help students in the “CNA class” learn more about what type 1 diabetes is and how it may affect students diagnosed with the chronic autoimmune disease.  

November is National Diabetes Awareness Month, and Andrews, who was first diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was 10, saw a need for awareness education on campus. “There are a decent number of us with type 1, and I saw that it was important for us to educate our friends, our classmates, and our teachers, too, on what type 1 is, because most often it’s pretty misunderstood,” she said. Andrews designed the poster to create awareness of the facts relating to type 1 diabetes and the symptoms of the disease. She said, “It’s also for the CNA class to understand it more on a personal level with their classmates who have it as well.”  

Andrews volunteers as a youth ambassador with Breakthrough T1D, a nonprofit that promotes research for a cure and advocates for people living with type 1 diabetes. On World Diabetes Day—Friday, Nov. 14—she appeared on the WRAL morning news show to share her story.  

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Andrews’ mom, who is a nurse, quickly recognized her daughter's symptoms. “My mom has been my biggest supporter since Day One. She picked up on all the signs and symptoms that I was having, and so I was fortunate that I didn’t have to be admitted to the hospital, but I was prescribed some insulin that very night,” she told WRAL reporter Ken Smith.  

Andrews was in the endocrinologist’s office the next day, learning everything she needed to know about type 1. “I was 10 years old at the time, and I was learning how to count carbs and prick my finger and do shots of insulin way before I had a CGM [continuous glucose monitor] or an insulin pump,” she shared. Describing her return to school after a year of remote learning, Andrews said, “I had my backpack full of snacks and supplies and a phone in fifth grade, which was a huge deal, and I adapted really quickly.” 

Five years past her initial diagnosis, Andrews said, “The most important things that I’ve learned are how to take care of myself and how to advocate for myself.”  

Not only does Andrews advocate for herself, but she also lends her voice to educating people in her sphere on behalf of others with type 1 diabetes. Closing her interview on WRAL, Andrews said, “I think that it’s so important to educate our classmates, friends, family, and community members on what type 1 diabetes is, its symptoms, and how to [empathize] with those who live with the disease every day because it’s so invisible.”  

Andrews’ willingness to share her story not only brings understanding and support but also helps equip a new generation of healthcare workers as they learn to care for patients.