2022 - Take Five With…Kellen Bolt

Kellen Bolt, PhD, assistant professor of English. Bolt began at ECC in 2019 and teaches composition I & II and LGBTQ Literature. Bolt’s first ECC experience involved him missing the main A-B parking lot, causing him to run from one end of campus to the next to make his interview. “I’ve gotten much better at knowing my way around. If you see me, feel free to ask me for directions,” said Bolt. “I’ll either be very helpful, or you’ll get to see me stare blankly back.”

Stare yourself in the right direction by taking five with Bolt.

If you could instantly be an expert at one thing, what would you choose? Impossibly hard question! There are so many things that I wish I were an expert in, but I’d probably pick sewing or something practical. I think it would be super cool to be able to make your own clothes or to be able to fix things when they start to wear down. I’ve got some basic knowledge but would love to be actually good at it.

What do you like to do outside of work? For hobbies: My oldest and most sustained hobby is 100% Pokémon. I’m an original Generation 1 player and have played every single generation. Highly encourage any fellow Pokémon trainers to stop by and chat! I’m also super into working out, so I like going to the gym. As for places, I love nature and going hiking when school’s not in session. Sequoia National Park is my favorite place I’ve been. I totally want to go explore the wetlands around Chicagoland because swamps, bogs, and marshes are legit super cool ecological spaces (with a fascinating literary history)!

Where is the best place you’ve traveled, or where is somewhere you dream of going, and why? I’m going to do where I dream of going: Greenland! I’ve always been weirdly interested in the world’s largest island. It totally started as a kid because the geography books I read never included it in maps of North America, which I thought was weird. It was also always sooooo massive in the Mercator maps that it just intrigued me. As a result, I’ve just wanted to visit it. No real rational reasons. 

Share a fact that might surprise people to learn. It’s probably not too surprising if you spend much time around me, but I have ADHD! It’s a lot of hyperactivity, so I hate sitting still for long periods of time. There is also some inattentiveness. Most surprisingly, it’s hard for me to catch grammatical mistakes in my writing, even though I’m excellent at catching them in other people’s. It’s a weirdly frustrating experience!

What was your first-ever job? I was a lifeguard in a small town in rural Kansas until the pool got destroyed in a flood (true story). I’m not completely sure what valuable lessons I learned other than CPR and first aid. But one thing I definitely took away from the experience is that you should always wear SPF 30 or higher sunscreen. UV damage from the sun is no joke and can’t be reversed. I spent a lot of time reading the pamphlets on breaks…