Meet the Columnist: Whitney Wilson-Harris

I grew up about 45 minutes south of Oxford (without traffic), and I now reside in Hamilton, Ohio, which is about 20 minutes away from my childhood home.

Fun fact: I couldn’t talk until I was 8 years old.

Instead, I wrote to communicate. As part of that, I sometimes crafted elaborate short stories. I’ve always loved writing and have always excelled at it.

I am what you call a non-traditional college student, starting my degree at age 23. It was one of the many things doctors said I would never do, but I proved them wrong. I enrolled at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, but then decided it wasn’t the right fit.

I transferred to Miami University after a little under two years. I started at the regional campuses studying community arts, but upon learning Miami offered a journalism program in Oxford, I jumped at the chance to change my major. I joined The Miami Student during my first semester in Oxford.

I didn’t intend to write for the Opinion section; It happened by accident. I originally joined the Design team, where I play a part in making the graphics you see in some of the articles. One day, I had an idea for a story I wanted to write, and that story idea turned into another, and then another.

When writing for the Opinion section, disability topics are my passion. These range from things that put my life at risk (like the solar eclipse in April 2024) to people using the elevators just because they don’t want to take the stairs. As someone who has several lifelong disabilities, these things affect my life daily, and I want to try to spread awareness.

Thank you all for supporting me, and I’m sure I’ll see you around!

wilso724@miamioh.edu