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This Woman Wants To Change The Way We Perceive Kids With Diabetes

Young woman entrepreneur Meghan Sharkus founded ExpressionMed, a company that could help change diabetic children's lives.

By: Sadé Carpenter

Posted at 12:48 PM, May 23, 2018

and last updated 2018-05-23 12:48:12-04

Having diabetes can suck. It can suck even more if you're a kid.

Fortunately, those kids might have a new superhero.

A 19-year-old college student is on a mission to help kids with diabetes.

Meghan Sharkus founded ExpressionMed, which provides colorful, practical stickers to keep insulin delivery devices in place.

A 2014 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states more than 29 million people in the U.S. have diabetes. Sharkus says she wants to change the perception of people with the illness.

"People see their devices and they see like sick. … Your personality and confidence as a kid can follow you for years and years in the future," Sharkus said.

So far, she's been making the ExpressionMed tapes by hand, but recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise money for machine manufacturing. Sharkus says she wants other young women to feel inspired to go into business despite the gender gap.

"I walk into a business meeting and I'm like the only girl there. … It's hard to be young and in business, but it's definitely doable," she said.