Juju is a 16-year-old social butterfly who loves playing soccer, basketball, and lacrosse. When she’s not playing sports, she loves to make art – from drawing to making videos to singing and playing piano. Today, Juju is cruising through her junior year of high school, but the road here hasn’t been easy.

When Juju was 7 years old, she lost her sister, Madeline, to leukemia. For 5 long years, Madeline had been fighting two forms of cancer known as acute lymphoblastic leukemia and acute myeloid leukemia. Despite the continuous hardships that come with loss, Madeline still inspires her family to be a bright light in their community. Juju and her family love to support others in Madeline’s honor, like with their annual toy drive, gathering hundreds of toys for Yale Children’s Hospital during the holiday season.

Juju is proud of the way she’s overcome adversity in the face of such a heartbreaking loss. She does her best to use her experiences to better herself and the lives of those around her. Looking back, Juju knows that having a strong sense of community was a huge help when her sister was sick. She remembers being surrounded by empathetic people who knew her sister well and never made her feel abnormal. Their awareness and sensitivity provided her with the comfort and security she needed to keep going.

“Let me say before we part. So much of me is made of what I learned from you. You’ll be with me, like a handprint on my heart. And now whatever way our stories end I know you have rewritten mine by being my friend.” – Wicked