This week’s Campus Profile is dedicated to a passionate collegiette on campus, Arin Shatto. Arin is from Ripley, W.Va. and is majoring in social justice studies with a concentration in non-profit management. She is also working toward a minor in criminal justice. Arin’s campus activities include Wesleyan Service Scholars, Her Campus WVWC, Zeta Tau Alpha and WE LEAD, where she serves as a leader for the Invisible Illness Team.
The WE LEAD Invisible Illness Team is a new group on campus that is devoted to raising awareness and increasing students’ understanding of diseases that cannot be clearly identified from the outside. Arin and her partner, Tabby, wanted to create this team because they both have invisible illnesses themselves.
“We understood the immense struggles that we faced and how trying they were to endure alone,” Arin said. “We wanted to provide a safe environment where others could confide their sorrows and shout their successes.”
Their goals for the team are constantly changing, but a few that have remained consistent priorities include increasing education and awareness, allowing individuals to share their personal stories, creating an accepting support system for students going through personal struggles, and making Wesleyan an aware and supportive campus for all individuals struggling with ongoing invisible illnesses. They have also started discussing new projects, like producing informative videos, making a book of personal stories and also working with the West Virginia legislature to create laws and regulations that will assist individuals with invisible illnesses.
“We want others to understand that you never truly know who might be fighting an invisible illness,” Arin said. “It could be your best friend, your roommate, a teammate or a total stranger, but they are never far. It is important to recognize what our fellow students are enduring so many different daily challenges and that the best thing we can do is to provide assistance to them if possible.”
Arin’s boldness serves as a reminder to us all that we are not alone; we are a community. And as such, we need to have the courage to reach out and encourage each other in any way possible. Arin and other students like her are making a positive and impactful impression not only on Wesleyan’s campus, but also within our local community and the state of West Virginia.