About

Where I’m From

Ah, yes. The classic, dreaded icebreaker. Hi. My name is Ari Collins and I’m a journalist and photographer. I’m a Kent State sophomore and I’m from Toledo, Ohio.

Here, I spoke at the YAAW30 event to celebrate 30 years of an amazing program in Toledo. (Photo: Ben Morales)

Now let’s really break the ice: My home cannot simply be defined by places, buildings or landmarks. The home that has truly shaped me only exists as a series of experiences and people.

Toledo. I’ve lived in multiple different suburbs of the city, and they’re all memorable for dozens of reasons. With each of them, I’ve seen so many sights and interacted with no less than thousands of people. I’ve gone through all of the trials and tribulations of living in an environment that might not always agree with me.

At some point in my high school years, I found a program for Toledo-area youth creatives called Young Artists at Work (YAAW). The program offers apprenticeship opportunities for teens in the arts. I would go on to involve myself in the program for years, and I can truly say it remains one of the most important parts of me. YAAW is my inspiration for this project.

In my most recent year of YAAW, I was able to capture the season in film as a marketing and social media intern. It made my heart warm to go through my YAAW SD cards, editing photos with silly faces, inside jokes and outtakes. My favorite was my team photo that took (not exaggerating) 27 attempts. Out of the “so many” things that have made Toledo feel like my home, YAAW is definitely near the top of my list.

Here, my team is pictured with our final project titled “Homecoming” which illustrates the many places and things Toledo’s community loves.

Toledo just feels home-y. Not in the way that it’s soft and cozy, because it’s really not. Toledo feels like home because it’s something I, and others, always get to come back to. It provides trails for walking and iced coffees to drink with books borrowed from the library or friends. Toledo quiets the cacophony and turns it into a meditative hum that can play in the background without getting too distracting. It holds all of the people I keep in my heart, and it loves all of us the same.

Toledo holds my hand as I climb the staircase, and I know it always will, even when the steps get huge.

Where I’m Going

In the future I hope to work as a journalist, spreading awareness of the injustice that exists in even the smallest corners of our world. I also aspire to travel and capture the world with my camera. I want to hold a mirror up to society and show what it looks like – the beauty and the hideous – and inspire people to act by simply providing information and the facts.

Here, Alex Miller and I pose with the Fall 2024 issue of Fusion Mag. Alex is the editor in chief and I am one of the staff writers. We were so excited to celebrate the release of the issue at the release party.

There are many people who fear having a platform; others end up abusing it. I know the power my word carries, and I know to care for it while it’s in my pocket. I want to shape the world by giving its people the information they need.

For so many years I have been focused on the injustice and wrong in the world. I can’t right all the wrongs. I can only write.

see my journalistic portfolio

see my artist portfolio

produced by Ari Collins

aricollinsjourn

Ari Collins is a journalism student at Kent State with a special interest in politics, the power of young voices and art. She has previously freelance written articles and editorials for various papers and magazines, worked as a peer educator for Ohio Center for Sex Ed and an art apprentice for The Arts Commission. She understands that her work has opened a platform for her and uses it as a microphone for stifled voices and a space to spread awareness of the world’s most pressing issues.