For many, a health complication like Type 1 diabetes feels like a hurdle, but for Coppell High School junior Pranav Raju, it became his source of strength.
Diagnosed in 2015, Raju refused to let this hurdle hold him back. Instead, he used his adversity to advocate and help others navigate the same challenges, breaking down stigma and pushing for change.
“When I was first diagnosed it was hard, especially because no one in my family ever had Type 1 diabetes,” Raju said. “It is not a genetic disease; it can randomly happen to people, and there is no known cause. When I got diagnosed, my family and I didn’t know how to manage it.”
Throughout the years, Raju learned to navigate life without letting diabetes get in the way.
“I am now on a CGM, Dexcom G7 and an Omnipod 5, which are devices that help me manage my diabetes and make my life easier,” Raju said. “I am now independent but was lucky to have good resources and people to support me.”
Raju started his advocacy by volunteering at Breakthrough T1D, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding research, advocating for policies, and supporting people affected by Type 1 diabetes, joining due to his experience and seeing others face the same medical condition. He served as an ambassador for Breakthrough T1D for eight years and represented Texas as a Children’s Congress delegate in Washington for the past two years.
“The reason this is a struggle for many is that a lot of people either don’t know or don’t care,” Raju said. “Getting people to realize the issue was a big challenge.”
His volunteer work involves mentoring newly diagnosed individuals, advocating for diabetes awareness and organizing community programs. Soon after, he grew his advocacy efforts, doing more widespread outreach and hosting events independently.
“It is intimidating to do something new, especially when I scaled up and went to Children’s Congress at Capitol Hill and the State of the Union,” Raju said. “I am just trying to adapt and keep growing.”
The goal of his advocacy is to ensure affordable healthcare and prove people can live normally with Type 1 diabetes. To ensure that, Raju promotes policy changes and interacts with lawmakers to make a difference. He has interacted with Senator Ted Cruz, Senator John Cornyn’s staff, Senator Susan Collins and district Congressman Marc Veasey to advocate for issues like insulin capping and affordable healthcare.
“The hardest part is pushing for policy changes — it’s difficult to get big lawmakers to realize the issue,” Raju said. “Children’s Congress was a huge stepping stone because I was able to interact with them.”
Raju stayed persistent, putting in effort to get policymakers to hear him.
“He is opinionated, unafraid to speak up for good causes and respected by those around him; these traits led to his success,” CHS Business Law and Business management teacher Bruce Stewart said.
In addition to advocacy, Raju invests time with newly diagnosed kids at the children’s hospital, either online or in person, showing them that diabetes is not a reason to hinder their lives.
“Recently, a kid I talked to years ago came to a community event I hosted, thanked me and that was a very impactful moment,” Raju said. “Seeing that my work can have an impact is the most rewarding part.”
Raju is currently working on the organization he started with the help of his mother, Kavita Raju, known as Spark Zone.
“Over the past few years, as my advocacy gained global recognition, UT Southwestern professors and others began reaching out, asking to send more families my way for support and to collaborate. This inspired me to create an organization that consolidates resources, events, and support in one place for these families. Instead of managing these efforts individually, I decided to organize quarterly gatherings and monthly events to better serve the community and provide consistent opportunities for connection,” Pranav said.
Spark Zone focuses on getting rid of the common stigma around being diagnosed with diabetes, especially the one that exists in the South Asian community. Therefore, he recently hosted an event at Cozby Library and Andy Brown Park for the Coppell community, gathering many south Asians together. Organizations such as Sanofi , a biotech company, Camp Sweeney and various endocrinologists came to speak on how to manage diabetes and continue to live a normal life.
“In these events, I try my best to help out Pranav with the organization of these events,” Ms. Raju said. “I try to communicate with families while Pranav communicates with organizations and his connections. I try to help out with the food, venue, activities, and the background work. He usually is the public figure and interacts with people, so I am kind of like his manager.”
Ms. Raju, to support Pranav, also put in efforts in working at Breakthrough T1D and his other endeavors.
On Dec. 10, Pranav received the 2024 Youth in Action for Human Rights award by Human Rights Educators (HRE) USA. He was recognized with a $500 reward and was honored at the HRE USA’s national Human Rights Day Celebration for all his efforts in bringing Type 1 diabetes awareness.
“The award was meaningful to me because it recognized and acknowledged that my efforts have meant something to the people,” Pranav said.
Pranav’s efforts have had a great impact on the community and his peers.
“It is impressive how far he has gotten with his advocacy work because often, people don’t think about what they can make out of their struggles but he did that,” junior Dhanushi Raval said. “That makes him a big inspiration for us.”
Pranav is considered well-liked and is appreciated by many teachers and students due to his friendly, outgoing personality.
“Pranav has a great personality. He is friendly with everybody, easy to talk to and faces challenges head-on,” science teacher Joshua Kinman said. “He uses that to lead people in his class, especially during group work.”
Pranav’s known positivity and charismatic personality has led him to go far with his advocacy work and impact on Coppell.
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