The American Diabetes Association (ADA) has a new Youth Ambassador for 2009 — Veronica Kole, 14, of Freehold Borough.
Veronica Kole Veronica, who attends Howell High School, has been chosen to hold the position of New Jersey Por tu Familia (For Your Family) Youth Ambassador.
Sharon Mousselli, who is the manager of community initiatives in the northern New Jersey ADA office, explained that Por tu Familia is the ADA’s education and outreach program specifically created to reach the state’s Hispanic community.
“Veronica is a smart, talented young woman and she is going to make a real impact as the ADA’s Por tu Familia Youth Ambassador,” Mousselli said. “She is fluent in English and Spanish which will help us strengthen our outreach efforts to Hispanic adults and children who are at high risk for diabetes.”
According to Mousselli, Veronica will act as a spokeswoman for the association throughout the year in order to promote and increase awareness of diabetes programs.
Veronica said she has had personal experience with the disease.
“I lost my grandfather and my uncle to complications from the disease and my father is currently living with diabetes,” the young woman said.
Veronica said she is “very excited and extremely honored” to have been chosen as youth ambassador for the ADA’s Por tu Familia program.
“I feel good about being able to help people for this great cause. So many people are affected by the disease,” Veronica said. “I feel good about being able to make a change. I think of myself as fortunate to be chosen to get the word out about this disease that affects so many.”
Veronica said she will speak to groups and organizations to bring attention to the fact that many Americans have the disease.
“It’s not only a result of heritage,” she said. “Lifestyle can also cause it.”
Veronica’s association with the ADA began when she performed at Freehold Borough’s Latino Festival in November. The ADA had a booth at the festival and the representatives remembered the young woman and eventually contacted her about being an ambassador.
Veronica attends the performing arts program at Howell High School and also enjoys dancing, playing guitar piano and drums, listening to music and writing her own music. She has recorded one CD and is currently working on another with the management company A Train in association with Steve Reiss.
Veronica is the daughter of Jacqueline and Edmund Koleshnick and her goal is to become a professional singer. Her role models include Christina Aguilera. She began taking singing and dancing lessons at the age of 9.
“My mom was a dancer and I ended up finding my way to singing through dancing and musical theater,” the teenager said.
Veronica has been a principal soloist with the Concordia Choir at the Apollo Theater in New York, and principal soloist with the choir at the New York Comedy Club. She appeared in “Ben Rauch is Horace Vanderveer,” an off-Broadway production, and performed with the Premier Theatre Company in “Scrooge” and with the Performing Art Ensemble in “The Nutcracker.”
Veronica’s mom said her daughter “is very serious about her music. It’s slowly becoming a reality for her now. She is very dedicated, especially when it involves performing to help someone else. She is inspired to write for others.”
Veronica was chosen as this year’s ADA youth ambassador due to her Hispanic ethnicity and her enthusiasm and commitment to help educate the community in general and the Latino community in particular about diabetes, according to Mousselli.
She said Veronica will perform “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the April 11 New York Titans pro lacrosse match at the Prudential Center in Newark. According to Mousselli, the Titans will donate 50 percent of all ticket revenue received on that day to the ADA if the ticket purchasers mention Veronica’s performance.
For tickets, individuals may call Matt Resnick at 888-8-TITANS and mention that they want a portion of the ticket price to go to the diabetes association.
Mousselli said diabetes is a serious disease that affects the body’s ability to produce or respond properly to insulin, a hormone that allows blood sugar to enter the cells of the body and be used for energy. The prevalence of diabetes in the Hispanic/ Latino community is near epidemic proportions.
“Hispanic/Latinos are 1.8 times more likely to develop diabetes than non-Latino whites. Diabetes, if left untreated, can lead to stroke, heart disease, blindness and amputations,” Mousselli explained.
For more information call the American Diabetes Association at 1-800-DIABETES or visit www.diabetes.org. Information from both these sources is available in English and Spanish.

