When Meghan Herrington ’28 arrived at Brown, the transition from high school came with a unique challenge: navigating university with a chronic illness. Living with ulcerative colitis, a chronic inflammatory bowel disease, Herrington told The Herald she requires “a few accommodations” to help her succeed at Brown.
Herrington isn’t alone. As first-year students flock to College Hill, those with chronic illnesses — a health condition that persists for an extended period, and typically requires ongoing medical attention or limits daily activities — navigate a complex web of support resources designed to help them adjust to college life.
Herrington said that when she got to Brown, she “struggled” seeking accommodations after a simpler experience in high school. “In college, you have to figure it out on your own,” she said.
But she found Student Accessibility Services, Brown’s department aimed at ensuring an accessible academic and extracurricular space for all students, to be “super supportive.”
“Chronic illness is a heterogeneous issue,” explained Vanessa Britto, associate vice president for campus life and executive director of Student Health and Wellness, referring to the tailored support Brown offers its students.
“This speaks to the individual nature of illness at large, chronic or not,” Britto said.
In the last year, Herrington has faced trouble with professors not always accepting her accommodations. “Some professors will say that my accommodations go against the syllabus. That’s kind of frustrating because I need this, and you’re not giving it to me,” Herrington said.
As a SAS peer mentor, she now finds purpose in supporting first-year students with chronic illness. “I wanted to alleviate that process for incoming freshmen,” she said.
Like Herrington, Marguerite Walden-Kaufman ’28 also has a chronic illness.
Walden-Kaufman experiences severe chronic migraines that can interfere with daily life for two weeks at a time. When they happen, she experiences severe symptoms, including the loss of vision and mobility. These episodes can last seven to 12 hours and take a week to recover from.
“It’s quite a debilitating process,” Walden-Kaufman said. “I’ve been getting these every two and a half months since I was three or four years old, so usually one to two times per semester.”
But the hardest part has been “having to pull away from the Brown community in order to attend to my chronic illness,” Walden-Kaufman said. “The hardest thing about being sick isn’t being sick but having to hit pause on my life here.”
For Kalen Browne ’28, experiencing college with Type 1 diabetes meant a difficult adjustment process. “Going from having the support system of your family to having to do it completely independently and far from home, it kind of puts you on an island,” Browne said.
“You have to be pretty attentive to everything,” he added. On top of the responsibilities he juggles as a college student, navigating a chronic illness “just adds to the stress sometimes.”
During his 10-minute walks to class, Browne has to monitor his glucose levels, carrying medication and glucose tabs with him at all times.
“There’s nights when I’ll be up late studying, and I’ll just want to go to bed, but I’ll have to do a pump change or a (continuous glucose monitor) change and then that will keep me up for another 30 minutes,” Browne added.
Browne noted that support from SAS has helped with the adjustment. Discovering Brown’s chapter of Diabetes Link, a national organization for diabetes awareness and support, has also helped him find a community that he can share his experience with.
“One of the beautiful and intriguing things about being a physician or clinician is to always try to meet the patient or student where they are at,” Adam Pallant, clinical director of Health Services, said.
Pallant noted the diversity in the accommodations students are seeking. Some students might never reach out to Health Services and can continue to manage their own diagnosis, he said. Others may need Health Services to connect them to resources, like Student Support Services, SAS, Counseling and Psychological Services and local specialists.
“The main goal is to connect with anybody who has a chronic illness and say ‘Can I walk this path with you? Do you want me to walk this path with you?’’’ Pallant said.
Amber Marcus-Blank is a senior staff writer covering undergraduate student life. She is a sophomore from outside of Boston studying Political Science and Public Health on the pre-law track. She is interested in working in politics and journalism in the future and enjoys playing soccer and making playlists in her free time.
