Meet Kadin McElwain

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kadin McElwain . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Kadin with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?

I get my work ethic from my parents. They taught me a lot about life and that hard work always pays off. If something is worth having, you should always work for it.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I’m an autistic college student, writer, and activist on a mission to raise as much awareness about autism as possible. Diagnosed at two, many people questioned my capabilities due to who I was, starting with the very doctor that diagnosed me. But thanks to a supportive set of parents, I was able to prove the naysayers wrong. Now, I’m a junior at Kent State University and an advocate for autism awareness.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

I think there’s one major skill I developed on my journey of adulthood and advocacy work: Embracing who I am. It took me a long time to realize that having autism is a beautiful thing. In fact, I hated having autism for the longest time. But thanks to my amazing parents, I was able to learn to embrace myself for who I am and look at the positives.
My advice to anyone going through this journey is to embrace who you are. You are a beautiful person and if people don’t see that, then don’t give them the time of day, because they’re the ones missing out on an amazing person.

Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?

I like to work out. This past year, I’ve been really working on taking better care of my mental health. So I’ve kicked energy drinks and started eating better and got into lifting weights a few times a week. Next up for me is to stop eating fast food completely and start setting a regular bed time for myself, but I consider myself a very patient person.
Most importantly, I started going therapy last year to help me relieve some stress and it’s been incredibly helpful. My advice for self care would be to eat a good diet, work out, and go to therapy.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

I don’t really know who took the first few images, but the one with me and Treasurer Zuren was taken by John Plecnik and the one with me, Zuren, and Plecnik was taken by Annalise Gatautis

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