Meet Ailine Solis

Elgin Community College (ECC) student Ailine Solis started at the college in the spring of 2019 to follow her passion for videography. “Since I’ve been young, I’ve really liked recording and editing videos,” Solis said. “I’ve learned a lot of it myself and by watching YouTube. I was probably 13 years old when I became interested in it all.”

When Solis entered high school, she felt her passion for videography increase and realized it was something she could pursue further as a career, deciding to take it more seriously and learn programs like Final Cut Pro.

“When I began at ECC, I moved into learning Premier Pro,” Solis said, “Being and learning at ECC really helped solidify my interest in videography.”

After Solis began at ECC, she did take some time off when the COVID-19 Pandemic took its hold. When she came back, she decided to challenge herself in a different way.

“I was really shy at first,” Solis said. “When I came back, I wanted to take my college experience more seriously and branch out and talk to more people. I told myself to actually give it a try and get into clubs and all of that.”

With her goal set, Solis set out to join Film Club, got involved with TRiO, and began getting support from a Student Success Coach. She also secured a job at First Stop, which has allowed her to break out of her shell by helping others.

Solis is taking it day by day, working toward her Associate of Arts degree, and looking forward to transferring to a university when the time is right. She has her eyes set on the city, with Columbia College, the University of Illinois in Chicago (UIC), and DePaul University leading the charge.

Learn a little more about Solis below!

What did you want to be when you were growing up? I wanted to be a lot of different things—I was always changing my mind! I wanted to do fashion design and, at one point, be an artist. I was interested in a lot of different things, and I’m still like that now. Even this past semester, I took a sociology class called Racial and Ethnic Relations, and I became pretty interested. I might want to get into that, too.

Dogs, cats, or houseplants? All three! I do have a dog, though. His name is Bruno and he’s four years old. He is an American Bully.

Where is your favorite spot on campus? I like to go to the library a lot, especially the second floor. The view is just so nice, and it is pretty quiet. I’ll do my homework up there.

Where is one place you dream of traveling and why? I’ve always wanted to go to Colorado because of the mountains and scenery. I’d like to just go to a cabin there and stay a few days.

Shout out to an ECC staff member or peer! Everyone at First Stop. I’m really grateful for them because I didn’t really have too much work experience when I started there but they made me feel very welcomed, and I still feel that way.