It was the sixth cup of lemonade in an hour when I noticed the weird looks; the numerous times my mother heard the sink in the middle of the night; how each golf tournament began well until my body gave out; how each math problem turned into brain fog; how the road signs turned to blur. I brushed it all off for months until it was clear that my body was eating itself alive. A skinny boy like me had somehow lost over fifteen pounds, despite my enormous appetite. When I stepped on the scale and saw the numbers drop, I tried to explain it away—until the dark purple color on the test strips revealed the extreme levels of ketones in my body. As a nurse, my mom immediately recognized this as diabetic ketoacidosis. Her words weighed heavily on me as I stared at the test strips in disbelief. I changed the scale’s batteries in denial and tried to ignore my dry throat with a can of soup. On the way to the hospital, I stared out the window, attempting to distract myself from the chronic illness Google practically diagnosed for me. At the ER, my blood sugar reading was off the charts. After days in a hospital bed, it sank in: as of October 22nd, 2023, I was, and always would be, a type 1 diabetic. Living with this chronic condition brought countless challenges. Every day in the hospital, I stared at a sprawling whiteboard filled with life-saving information. Nurses came and went, each bringing new puzzle pieces to my confusing and overwhelming new reality. When I finally returned home, I felt left behind while the world moved forward. Every thought of mine became tangled with diabetes. Yet, as life threw challenges my way, the engineer in me found solutions. Determined to make a difference in the type 1 diabetes community, I sketched designs for products that made life as a diabetic easier and safer. Then, using CAD, I brought my ideas to life. Over a week, through six design iterations, I created an insulin pump controller case that held an Apple AirTag tracker. When I launched my online Etsy shop and made my first sale, it felt surreal. Not only had I helped myself, but I had also helped someone else navigating the same struggles. Empowered, I developed more products, including a glucose tablet container keychain for diabetics to carry emergency glucose. Within nine months, I had created four products and shipped them to over 580 cities in 14 countries. I also donated 20% of my profits to finding a cure for type 1 diabetes, resulting in a four-figure contribution to charity. Knowing my work was helping others while supporting a greater cause gave me an incredible sense of purpose. Managing diabetes has taught me resilience, adaptability, and perseverance. I’ve learned to think critically under pressure and see obstacles as opportunities for growth. Without my diagnosis, I might never have discovered my passion for engineering, design, and entrepreneurship. More importantly, I wouldn’t be able to empathize with millions around the world facing similar challenges. As life continues to throw me lemons, I’ll keep making lemonade—not just for myself but for others in need of solutions. Through perseverance and innovation, I’ve turned even the most daunting challenges into achievements, and I carry that lesson into every design, every solution, and every moment of my life.

It was the sixth cup of lemonade in an hour when I noticed the weird looks; the numerous times my mother heard the sink in the middle of the night; how each golf tournament began well until my body gave out. I brushed it all off my shoulder for months until it was obvious that my body was eating itself alive. I stepped on the scale to see that, despite my enormous appetite, a skinny boy like me lost over fifteen pounds. All I can remember from that point was the dark purple color on the test strips indicating my body's extreme levels of ketones. As a nurse, my mom was able to identify this as a sign of diabetic ketoacidosis. The weight of her words pressed down on me as I stared at the test strips in disbelief. On the way to the hospital, I anxiously stared out the window, trying to distract myself from the chronic illness that Google practically diagnosed me with when I typed in my symptoms. When I arrived at the ER, my finger was poked and my blood sugar reading was off the charts. It took a few hours to soak up, but after sitting in the hospital bed for days, I realized that, as of October 22nd, 2023, I was, and always will be, a type 1 diabetic. Each day in the hospital, I faced a sprawling whiteboard with information on how to stay alive with this illness. The nurses came in and out like a revolving door, each bringing new complex puzzle pieces to my new reality. When I finally left the hospital, the world was moving forward without me; every thought of mine was tangled with diabetes. Living with this chronic condition brought countless challenges, and the engineer in me couldn’t resist the urge to find solutions. Fast forward a few months, I began my journey to make a difference in the type 1 community. I was determined to design my own products to make life as a diabetic easier and safer. I started designing by taking measurements of my insulin pump controller and sketching each idea. Then, I launched Fusion 360 and made my aspirations come to life. One week and six iterations later, I successfully solved one of my many problems related to diabetes. I can’t count the number of times I’ve lost the controller for my insulin pump, so I invented a case with a built-in holder for an Apple AirTag tracker. I launched my online Etsy shop, and when I made my first sale, it felt incredible; it meant that my solution was helping another diabetic. I enjoyed the process of designing and developing my own product, so I created another product: a glucose tablet container keychain made to equip diabetics with emergency glucose to prevent hypoglycemia on the go. Four months into my business, I developed four products and shipped them to over 300 cities in 13 countries. Knowing that my work reached so many people who shared my struggles filled me with a profound sense of purpose. Without my diagnosis of type 1 diabetes, I wouldn’t have discovered my passion for engineering, design, and entrepreneurship. More importantly, I wouldn’t be able to empathize with the millions dealing with this illness worldwide. As life continues to bring me lemons, I will continue to make lemonade by creating solutions for others who need them. I hope to continue making lemonade for others, turning my obstacles into opportunities, and showing that with perseverance and innovation, any challenge can become a triumph of opportunity.