At 8 years old, only months after being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, Maria Alejandra Jové Valerio was already teaching someone else how to live with it. She visited a hospital to show a man nearly 10 times her age how she managed her diabetes, convincing him to start using the insulin technology he had previously refused.
“If you can get other people willing to take a step to make a change, then you can also make a change.” Jové said. “You can inspire people in ways that you’re not really noticing.”
Today, Jové, MCAS ’27, is one of 16 global diabetes advocates for Dexcom, a healthcare company that produces glucose monitoring systems for managing diabetes.
This advocacy and Jové’s work as a student leader in Boston College scientific research reflect that same instinct she had at 8: a desire to help others better understand and navigate diabetes with an open mindset.
Diagnosed at 7 years old while living in Puerto Rico, Jové learned that openness was the key to educating others on her condition. No one in her family or school had ever had diabetes, so she learned about her own health alongside her family, friends, and teachers, Jové said.
“A lot of my fellow classmates would take turns pricking my fingers,” Jové said. “They thought it was something fun. Instead of it being like, oh my god, you’re different, you’re weird, they were just like, ‘What is it?’ And by me allowing them to participate in my journey and what I’m learning, I think it just opened a kind of connection.”
Learning about diabetes propelled her to start advocating in school and beyond, according to Jové. She would do yearly fundraising for World Diabetes Day, partnering with the Pediatric Diabetes Foundation of Puerto Rico to raise funds by making T-shirts. She would also speak at professional galas and events.
“I was lucky enough to have parents that would support me, and they were encouraging me to kind of take a positive mindset regarding my condition,” Jové said. “So I think that’s kind of what started everything.”
Jové began visiting newly diagnosed patients and children in hospitals to share her personal experience and help them start to understand what life with diabetes could look like moving forward.
She is still in contact with many of the people she visited, who see her as a mentor, Jové added.
“I would change my [insulin pump site]like with them, and then kind of embrace them to tackle this with a positive mindset of support,” Jové said. “Because I feel like there is beauty in diabetes if you let [there be].”
For Jové, moving to BC from Puerto Rico meant learning to manage insurance systems, medical supplies, and healthcare plans independently—responsibilities many students never have to consider when adjusting to the already difficult transition into college.
“You’re battling with a condition 24/7, and you can’t just one day be like, ‘Oh, let me take a break.’” Jové said. “No, you’re constantly fighting to keep yourself alive.”
Jové, who is a biology major on the pre-med track with a minor in medical humanities, recalled having to leave her first college exam midway through when her blood sugar rose so high that it impaired her ability to see, focus, or think clearly.
At the time, she didn’t know about the academic accommodations she could receive through the Connors Family Learning Center.
While the moment was frustrating, it reshaped how she approached advocacy on campus, pushing her to speak more openly about the realities of managing a chronic illness as a student and helping others learn about the help available to them, Jové said.
“At the end of the day, your priority is taking care of yourself,” Jové said. “I think it’s important for students to know that there are resources for you out there.”
That perspective carried into her work helping grow Eagles for Diabetesa BC club focused on educating the broader student body—not just those living with diabetes—about management, awareness, and the everyday realities of the condition.
Beyond the club, Jové serves as the president of the BC chapter of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in Science (SACNAS). In the role, she works to connect underrepresented students with research opportunities, conferences, and spaces where they can build professional networks and engage in their work.
While her involvement in Eagles for Diabetes and SACNAS reflects her commitment to connect students with community and opportunity, Jové finds her most rewarding work in the classroom, she said.
Even before starting her freshman year, Jové got involved with diabetes research with Emrah Altindiş, assistant professor in BC’s biology department. Since then, she’s been able to present her research on Type 1 diabetes at the Yale School of Medicine, Harvard University, BC, and countless other universities.
“[There are] so many ‘whys’ that surround my condition,” Jové said. “There’s no known cause, no known cure, no one really knows how it happens or why and how it affects every single person differently.”
For Jové, learning about the science behind diabetes has helped her better understand some of these “whys.”
Jové’s advocate campaign with Dexcom, which included interviews, social media engagement, and public storytelling, simply gave her a wider platform for the work she was already doing.
“[The advocates] are the ones who are basically in charge of kind of advocating and spreading awareness, like creating a voice of normalcy within something that’s not really normal,” Jové said. “The campaign was more me sharing my story, what I do outside of Dexcom.”
Julie Matic, who worked with Jové during the Dexcom campaign and has lived with Type 1 diabetes for more than three decades, was drawn to the positivity and optimistic mindset that guided the personal stories Jové shared.
“I believe her [campaign] was something to the effect that, to her, diabetes is beautiful,” Matic said. “And I’m just like, wow, that’s a powerful statement. To have that positive attitude and say that it’s beautiful and you’re learning from it, and it’s not going to stop you—that’s powerful.”
Now, Jové is extending that work into something tangible.
Alongside two other BC students, Sofia Pansini, CSON ’26—who is also a Dexcom advocate— and Lukas Rhodes, MCAS ’26, Jové is writing a middle-grade children’s book about diabetes under the guidance of Amy Boesky, an English professor and director of BC’s minor in medical humanities.
What began as an idea Jové first considered in high school has evolved into a collaborative research project.
According to Jové, she, Pansini, and Rhodes set out to write a story that could resonate with both diabetic and non-diabetic readers—one that reflected the emotional and social realities of growing up with the condition while remaining engaging for a wide audience.
“[All three students] did a boatload of research about children’s literature about diabetes and Type 1,” Boesky said. “They thought really deeply about what’s out there and what’s missing and what they would want to add.”
Boesky shared that the project truly highlights Jové’s strengths as a student advocate and collaborator, specifically noting her ability to balance leadership and contributing ideas with listening to different perspectives in the creative process.
“When I think about what makes me proud of Boston College students, what makes me proud of students in the [medical humanities minor]there’s just so much about Maria that really encapsulates that,” Boesky said. “Maria just has this sparkle—she’s effervescent when she gets excited about ideas.”
Jové’s energy is rooted in her steadfast belief that students play a critical role in shaping the future of science, health, and awareness.
“I think young voices are especially important because we are the next generation,” Jové said. “We’re going to be the ones influencing the younger generation, and technology keeps advancing. We’ll be around to see those changes happen.”
Matic also emphasized Jové’s natural sense for student advocacy and her commitment to using her own experience to support others navigating the same condition.
“I think that’s really, really important,” Matic said. “It only shows the breadth and the scale of what she’s going to end up doing in the community.”
After graduation, Jové plans to attend medical school back in Puerto Rico, where a shortage of endocrinologists has created a growing demand for diabetes and autoimmune specialists.
She wishes to return not only as a physician, but as someone who understands firsthand what it means to live with diabetes, Jové added.
For Jové, advocacy has always started the same way as it did years ago: by simply sharing her story.
“You don’t really know who is out there listening to you,” Jové said. “Always present your most genuine self in every situation, because you never know who you might inspire.”