“I am five feet tall and sometimes people think I am the scariest person on campus,” said one of the newer additions to Goshen College, Patty Hartshorn. “I understand that feeling, but I almost always have candy!”
My personal motto is, my goal is your success.
— Patty Hartshorn
Hartshorn holds a Master of Science in Academic Advising from Kansas State University, and is pursuing a doctor of education in educational leadership.
“There can be a happy marriage between Health and Wellness and Title IX,” Hartshorn said about her new job, “but some of that is because of my perspective that we want the people to get the information they need as much as possible.”
Hartshorn is familiar with the Goshen area, as her mother was a student here, but recognizes that there have been a lot of changes in the 20 years since she has been here. Hartshorn wishes to uphold some of the health services she remembers from the time she spent here; her main priority is getting students to use the network that is available to them.
“If we can be a hub for information and providing resources, if we can build institutional trust with the student body to get resources into their hands, I think that is one of the best ways that we can serve,” Hartshorn said.
Currently, there are health resource posters around campus, created last year by the Peer Wellness Educators. Kelsey Moore, a junior year and environmental science art double major, and a member of the Peer Wellness Educators said, “Anywhere a big poster would be you should be able to find them.”
As far as Title IX is concerned, Hartshorn made it clear that there are some positive and healthy approaches in helping others that she intends to follow when supporting anyone in any situation.
“We’re gonna make sure that you know who I am, you know what your rights are and what support is available to you,” she said, “my goal is to make sure that anyone who needs it is to receive help.”
When asked about her approach to helping and understanding those with mental health issues, Hartshorn said, “Young developing minds dealing with new stressors and being independent for the first time and new relationships is challenging. Some people come in with pre-existing mental health issues or maybe develop them within a situation. It can lead to detrimental effects on students.
“We want to provide counseling and create goals to have a strong structure and actions ready to support them. One of these actions is to establish walk-in hours for students.”
Moore shared her thoughts on Hartshorn. “I think she has a lot of really cool initiatives,” she said. Moore went on to say that she is looking forward to actually giving back to the community.
One idea Moore would like to have implemented moving forward is more educational events based around different policies and resources so students can be informed.
“I’m just really looking forward to actually doing things and hopefully collaborating with other clubs on campus,” Moore said. “I’m just looking forward to how we can help in general.”
For anyone who feels they can not reach out, Hartshorn said, “My personal motto is, my goal is your success. What will help an individual be successful is giving them what they need to continue to move forward and set goals for themselves.
“Students should absolutely tap into our resources any time that they have a need, there is no need too small or too big that we would ever choose to not partner with,” Hartshorn said. “It doesn’t mean we will have an answer for everything, but we will do what we can to help students be successful.”
