Naomi DeBerry decided she wanted to be a transplant surgeon on the day her father got a kidney transplant. When her father, former columnist at The Times-Picayune Jarvis DeBerry, got sick, Naomi DeBerry didn't understand what her father's medical diagnosis entailed. The experience was a confusing whirlwind, she said, but she knew she wanted to make a difference.

"I want to be able to give back, and I want to help people in the way that those doctors were able to not only help my dad, but my mom and myself as well," Naomi said.

While Naomi, 12, works toward her dream of becoming a doctor, she's already made an impact in other ways. Last year, she published a book, "My Daddy Needs a Gift," that tells her story of a young girl spreading the word about organ transplantation and bringing her

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