Living With Diabetes Is Not an Obstacle for Keyonna Murray

Keyonna Murray has struggled with diabetes since she was eight years old, but she has never let it stop her.

Growing up, Murray saw her friends being carefree. However, she could never be that way since she always had to worry about her health.

“I’m not ashamed,” says the 16-year-old Randolph High School senior. “ I’m proud of who I am, but knowing that I might die at a younger age than my peers, it [is] very terrifying”

Murray is living proof that living with diabetes is not a weakness but a strength. For most of her life, Keyonna has not let her condition stop her.

“They aren’t a lot of people with diabetes that I know,” says Murray. “Volunteering at Junior Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) has provided me not only with the opportunity to help others but they have helped me and provided me with a family that’s going through the same thing that I’m going through.”

She has done a few internships and worked with a college professor at Rider University. In the fall of 2018, she will have an internship waiting for her at JDRF, working in communications.

Murray is hoping to work for non-profit organizations and someday be a social media or photography manager.

She believes that non-profit is the best way to reach out and help others. From her personal experience, she wants to motivate others to be proud of who they are and embrace everything about themselves.

She wants other to “follow their heart, keep their faith, trust in God and believe in your dreams.”