National Youth Advocate: Tesch West

Tesch West      Diabetes costs this country $174 billion a year.  Listen to Tesch speak about Call to Congress and the importance of calling your member of Congress to do more to fight diabetes. Read Tesch's Blog ...

Tesch West is the 2007-2008 American Diabetes Association (ADA) National Youth Advocate.  Tesch was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was 10 years of age.  She and her family knew little about diabetes so they set out to learn all that they could.  The knowledge they gained about diabetes-related nutrition and health since then helped to reshape their lives.  Now, six years later, Tesch feels confident with her ability to manage her diabetes and keep it under control.

Tesch’s involvement with the ADA has grown tremendously over the last six years, and through working with the ADA, she truly has come into her own as a diabetes leader.  As the local Salt Lake City youth ambassador for America’s Walk for Diabetes, now Step Out to Fight Diabetes, Tesch helped generate diabetes awareness by filming a walk recruitment public service announcement and participating in several radio and television interviews.  She has helped build the ADA Family Resource Network in Utah and spoke with many families about advocacy efforts at the Diabetes EXPO 2007.  In addition, she served as a counselor at Diabetes Clubhouse, an ADA event in Utah for children with diabetes ages four to eight. 

Tesch has been described as an optimistic leader with a contagious level of hope, and she brings this same spirit and dedication to her school and other activities. Tesch has many hobbies and is an active member of her school community.  Her favorite subjects are chemistry and biology, and she is a member of the Spanish club and the debate team.  When she is not spending time with her friends, Tesch enjoys baking, knitting and making crafts.  

Education plays a big role in Tesch’s life, and it will be one of her main areas of focus as the ADA National Youth Advocate.  In addition, Tesch will meet with policymakers to promote increased funding for diabetes research and programs, and visit ADA-sponsored Diabetes Camps to encourage other young people to become involved in the fight against diabetes.

Email Tesch at nya@diabetes.org.