Joelle Merrifield

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Joelle Merrifield

Learning and Accessibility Services

Joelle Merrifield’s passion for equipping students stretches across distance and ability. Born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon, she came to the United States to pursue a graduate degree in counseling. After completing her studies and meeting her husband, Merrifield returned home to Beirut to start her career and a family.

“I did a little counseling here and there, but in Lebanon, counselors weren’t a thing,” she said. “There wasn’t really a place for me.” So Merrifield pivoted to put her efforts toward those like her: parents raising kids with disabilities. She spent some time visiting schools throughout Beirut to research the types of support services they offered for students with learning disabilities.

Eventually, Merrifield was invited to apply to the American University of Beirut as director of the Accessible Education Office. “I felt like it used all my gifts in one place,” she said. That’s where Merrifield’s epiphany hit. “This is it,” she realized. “This is what I want to do.”

Merrifield began looking for other jobs in accessibility services, and her search brought her overseas again, this time to the Learning and Accessibility Services Office at Wheaton College, working with students who live with everything from ADHD to chronic medical conditions. “Disability services are about access,” she said. “It’s thinking through the lens of ‘How can we include as many people as possible here?’”

Adopting this perspective inspired her to create a wide range of solutions, from connecting students to resources on campus to a monthly series on “College 101” skills. Beyond helping students when they’re struggling, she says accessibility is also about empowering them. To that end, one of her proudest accomplishments is helping to establish, alongside her colleagues at LAS, a peer support group for neurodiverse students on Wheaton’s campus. “It can be really powerful for students to feel like they’re around people who get their experience,” she said.

Sitting beside a wall covered in posters featuring resources, workshops, photos of Wheaton students, and a painting of Christ, Merrifield said, “There’s not a prototype or stereotype of a Wheaton student. We want to welcome all students, including those that experience disability. The body of Christ is not complete without them.”