With the warmer weather slowly creeping in, Elizabethtown College’s campus is booming. Students are out socializing in the sun and enjoying the much-needed break from the snow. This week, I’d like to introduce a student you won’t see soaking in the sunshine. 

Meet Mico Mico, a first-year student here at Etown majoring in invisible studies. 

While Mico was unavailable for an interview, I was able to speak with his best friend since childhood, junior English education major, Jillian Spiller. 

“I’m so glad Mico was finally accepted to Etown to pursue a degree in invisible studies,” Spiller said. 

Getting accepted to Etown was no easy feat for Mico as there was a laundry list of obstacles in his way. You see, Mico’s situation is incredibly unique; he is invisible. 

“He’s worked just as hard as everyone else,” Spiller said.

After a grueling process, Mico was finally accepted to Etown and will graduate with the class of 2029. He is pursuing invisible studies to advocate for the rights of invisible individuals. His goal is to go into social work and advocacy to ensure job security for everyone’s invisible friends. 

Mico was inspired to enter this career field after being forced to give up his dream job. 

“Mico’s dream job was to be a hair dresser,” Spiller said. “When he initially enrolled in [cosmetology] school, it made people uncomfortable seeing floating scissors. So he decided to pursue invisible studies to advocate and eventually go into social work to find job security for others.”

He is now working closely with disability services to ensure he is given every possible resource to succeed. 

“We don’t want to violate his rights, we don’t want to violate his privacy,” said Dr. Michele Moohr, the coordinator of disability services at Etown. “As long as we have his permission, we could identify him in some way, a hat, clothes, paint, anything he’s comfortable with. We can make him visible so professors understand his situation, we can be inclusive.”

With Mico’s admission, Moohr has taken on more responsibility and the additional title of coordinator of invisible persons. She has been incredibly understanding and an advantageous part in ensuring Mico feels at home at Etown. She has recommended he join clubs and encouraged him to broaden his horizons and social circle, despite his shy tendencies. 

Mico has plans to audition for the college’s dance group, E-Motion, but worries his dance moves may be overlooked. 

“I wish everyone could see what an incredible dancer Mico is,” Spiller said. “Sometimes we cover him in paint so others can see his incredible moves.” 

However, it is not just his talent that goes unnoticed. 

“It was hard for Mico to prove his attendance in primary school,” Spiller said. “He’s shy so not only could people not see him, but most didn’t hear him either which was a challenge. I think that’s why he thrived during remote schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic.” 

Unfortunately, the primary school attendance list is not the only time his name was removed. It was incredibly difficult for Mico to interact with admissions at Etown, costing him admission last year. 

“Mico has a responsibility to disclose [his invisibility] so [admissions] can interact with and work with him because they can’t see him,” Moohr said. “Society doesn’t generally understand invisibility. So it was difficult for Mico to show that he met the criteria to get into Etown since admissions didn’t understand.”

Once his situation was clearly communicated, Mico was welcomed into Etown with open arms. With an excellent academic history and a 4.0 GPA, Etown was happy to welcome him, and we hope you are too.