Last week, Jasmine Vincent celebrated her pass in her MSD Sports and Exercise Medicine.

Through her studies, one topic that interested her was one very close to home–diabetes. Jasmine has Type 1 diabetes, and has had to work hard at managing this alongside her studies and social life.

She found her most recent dissertation ‘Physical and mental health of university athletes with and without Type 1 Diabetes’ super interesting as she was researching her own condition, which in turn helped her to understand herself more.

Not letting her condition hold her back, she played National League hockey AND was President for her Essex Blades hockey team. During her time with Blades, she won the ‘Exceptional Service to Sport’ Award as well as the Simon Loveday award in 2023 - both recognising her dedication to the Essex Blades community. For Jasmine, being an athlete grounded her and provided her with a routine, which she pointed out was particularly important when it came to her condition.

“Being a Type One, it's always a constant, living in a routine. ‘Am I doing it properly’? ‘Am I well controlled’?”

Jasmine highly recommends joining a Sports Team, she said, ‘it will literally change your outlook on everything’. By building friendships through Hockey, she found she made permanent friends - shoutout to those who celebrated the big wins at FED every Wednesday. She had a great support system who helped her manage her diabetes – specifically what to do in situations where she needed help.

For her, having that sense of community really kept her going throughout her time at Essex.