
WILLIAMSBURG — The same day that Amy Schwem was leaving for her freshman year at William & Mary, the Chicago native received alarming test results that diagnosed her with an autoimmune disorder.
“I was getting ready to leave my house and my test results came back and they weren’t great. As you can imagine, that was a pretty stressful time, as I was dealing with a new diagnosis, 13 hours away from home, with no medical team established. On top of that, I was beginning a DI preseason and starting college at William & Mary. It was a very hectic time in my life,” Schwem said.
Determined to continue her playing career at the collegiate level, Schwem kept her diagnosis quiet.
“My mindset at the beginning was to not let this deter me in the slightest. While that has stayed consistent, it’s adjusted a little bit. I was so nervous that if I told people about this, that I would be seen as weak or lesser than or not capable of competing at the DI level. I kept my diagnosis as close to the chest as I could. Very, very few people knew about it and it didn’t take me too long to realize that it wasn’t sustainable,” Schwem said.
After discussing her diagnosis with then Tribe Volleyball head coach Tim Doyle, Schwem was encouraged to look for a support group for athletes with autoimmune disorders. Exhausting hours of research, Schwem found that such a resource was nonexistent.
“I remember thinking to myself, ‘Why not? Why not be the one to start something like this?'”

When she arrived back on campus in the fall of 2022 for her sophomore preseason, The Autoimmune Athlete was born.
The Autoimmune Athlete is a resource designed to be a support system for athletes of all sports and all ages. The organization aims to bring together those battling autoimmune diseases and disorders for camaraderie.
“Playing a sport at a high level with an autoimmune disease is incredibly challenging, but by creating a support system of other athletes who are going through it too, the burden of unknowns can be eased up. Autoimmune disease is unpredictable and always changing, but in a body filled with unknowns, The Autoimmune Athlete can be your constant,” Schwem said.
News of the organization spread rapidly in the world of college athletics. Schwem recalls discovering how rapidly during her junior season while competing against Stony Brook University.
“After the game was over, I was in the locker room getting changed and one of my teammates came and got me and told me someone was looking for me. It was one of the Stony Brook players who wanted to meet me and thank me for creating the Autoimmune Athlete. She told me what a difference maker I was in her life, and that was a moment when I realized that what I was doing was really making a difference for people and that was my goal all along,” Schwem said.
On the Autoimmune Athlete Instagram page, Schwem shares stories from her time competing as a Division I athlete, tips and tricks on how to deal with certain things that athletes and autoimmune disease patients are exposed to, and being transparent with the public on how being an athlete and autoimmune patient impacts the world of sport.
“This has really been a great way to help and inspire those who deal with autoimmune diseases as athletes. But it’s also been a great way to help the people around me who want to help me know what it is that I’m going through. Autoimmune diseases are so complex, there are so many different kinds, it can affect everyone so differently, it really is not a cut-and-dry thing. Taking that step and being vulnerable and putting myself out there has truly helped some people,” Schwem said.

In addition to running the organization, Schwem also created a merch line over the summer that she hopes will continue to spread the word about the brand.
Set to graduate in the spring, Schwem intends to continue using the Autoimmune Athlete as a way to help those dealing with autoimmune issues.
“Being a college athlete is a full-time job, it is not just showing up for practice and going home or doing it for the free gear, it’s a job. There is nothing like being a college athlete. Now that my college athletic career is over, this is not something I want to walk away from. I have put so much into this and I’ve connected with so many amazing people,” Schwem said.
To learn more about the Autoimmune Athlete, visit theautoimmuneathlete.org.