Student to lobby Congress for juvenile diabetes research

Angelica Fox shares her lifelong experience as part of Promise Campaign

Since she was 3 years old, diabetes has been a part of Angelica Fox's life. The senior from Bowling Green will now get the chance to lobby Congress for more funding for juvenile diabetes research during a trip to Washington, D.C., this week.

Fox was chosen by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's (JDRF) Promise Campaign, which works to build relationships with members of Congress. The communications major first got involved with the Promise Campaign on a local level.

"I met with Bob Latta and Marcy Kaptur on two separate occasions to help give diabetes a more personal voice and to show them that's it more than just the statistics that they're reading about."

After her successful meetings with Representatives Latta and Kaptur, Fox was nominated to go to Washington. "I didn't think I would get picked. People apply from all over the country and I don't have that much experience. But, they liked me and accepted me to go."

From March 16-19, Fox will spend time preparing to go to Capitol Hill, learning the names of bills, what the legislation entails and how it affects funding for diabetes research. After that she'll meet with Congressional representatives from northwest Ohio, most likely sitting down with both Kaptur and Latta again.

"I'm really excited to use something that I have to live with on a daily basis to help people"The legislation she'll be supporting deals directly with funding for juvenile diabetes research, which aims to prevent, treat and cure juvenile diabetes.

"I'm really excited and a little scared. It's so big, but it's really a once in a lifetime opportunity to get to go - not a lot of people do get chosen. I'm really excited to use something that I have to live with on a daily basis to help people - so there is something good coming out of it."

Fox says she's looking forward to seeing firsthand how the legislative process works and hopes to use that knowledge in the future. "My dream would be to set up a program where people can donate diabetics supplies they're no longer using to people in need. These are supplies you need to survive and it's not fair to keep them from people who can't afford it."