Senior Billie Bioku raised diabetes awareness for her CAS project by posting pictures of herself engaging in healthy activities, and with a performance from her cheer team during STEP on November 13.

CAS stands for Creativity, Action and Service. The CAS project is a requirement for students who are involved in the IB Diploma Program.

There are two types of diabetes: type one diabetes and type two diabetes. Media specialist Sarah Bourgeois has type one diabetes. “In type one, your pancreas stops working, [so] you need to take insulin and you need to maintain a healthy diet and exercise,” Bourgeois said. Type two can be controlled by simply “maintaining a healthy lifestyle and eating healthy.”

Bourgeois wants students to know the difference between the two types of diabetes, and how their choices can and will affect their overall health. “So if you bring your lunch, [watch] what are you packing and if you buy your lunch, [watch] what are you choosing to put on your plate,” she added.

“[The diabetes awareness project] started from my IB CAS project that was required,” Bioku said. “I was looking for ideas and I really wanted to raise awareness about something, so I was thinking about cancer at first, [but] I asked Ms. Bourgeois to be my supervisor and she was telling me about having diabetes and how hard it was.”

Bioku posted papers all over the school telling students to post a picture of themselves doing something healthy and hashtag it #BCT.

As a part of her project, Bioku got the marching band to play during STEP while Bioku and the cheer team did a cheer about diabetes for the students. “There [was] music playing, kids [were stretching] their arms, and [the students were being] really active.”

Bioku feels it is important to raise awareness because “Diabetes is a very serious matter, and you can actually die from it.  Kids our age just don’t understand how serious [diabetes] is.” Little things like exercising, eating healthier, and drinking water can reduce your chances of getting it.

“It is important to take control over what you can control, [but it’s not] easy because it is 24 hours a day,” Bourgeois said. “If you know somebody with diabetes, you can’t help them control what they are doing but maybe help them make healthy choices. Offer [them] healthy foods [because this] could make it a little easier.”