Olivia Barnes: Stage lights to study nights, how ECC and rock shaped my future

Most people graduate high school, then go to college. I decided to flip the script. After two years as a dual credit student at Elgin Community College, I’ll be receiving my Associate of Arts degree before I get my high school diploma. When I started at ECC, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. I was still figuring out who I wanted to be — not just in school, but in life. But what 16-year-old has anything figured out? What I found at ECC wasn’t just a pathway to higher education, but a community that helped me discover my voice, my passions, and even the academic relevance of face paint and platform boots. I’m talking, of course, about KISS. 

Rock and roll has always been my compass. It’s loud, bold, rebellious — everything I aspired to be, but with more guitar solos. So, when given the opportunity to explore topics in writing, culture, and research, I turned to the band that taught me more about American identity, theatrical performance, and fan communities than any textbook ever could. The Center for Undergraduate Research, Innovation, and Creativity (CURIC), here at ECC, didn’t just allow me to write about KISS — they encouraged it. Somewhere between a paper on cultural anthropology and a speech about the KISS Army, I realized that my love for music and my curiosity about the world didn’t have to live in separate boxes. They could rock side by side and lead me to follow the pathway to a career in cultural anthropology. Community college, especially as a dual credit student, taught me how to juggle classes, deadlines, my teen years, and still find time to chase down my weird academic interests. It gave me the chance to be taken seriously as a thinker even while still technically a high school student. I didn’t just earn credits — I earned confidence. 

But none of this would’ve happened without the support of a few key people. My mom has been my anchor through all of it, always reminding me that it’s okay to take up space and pursue what I love — even if what I love includes face-melting guitar solos. My brother, who has a knack for grounding me in reality when my head’s in the clouds (or lost in a Gene Simmons deep dive), kept me laughing and humble. And then there’s Dr. Vincent Gaddis, my mentor and guide through the wild world of ideas. His encouragement helped me believe that I had something to say — and that it mattered. And all these people helped instill in me that I could do it, all I had to do was take the plunge. 

Looking ahead, I’m headed to Northern Illinois University to pursue a bachelor’s degree in cultural anthropology. My goal is to dive deeper into the human experience and the cultures that make us who we are. After that, I’ll be focusing on heading across the pond, moving to Europe. The dream is not fully vivid yet, but like everything in life and rock, it just keeps rolling. Whether it's through writing, speaking, or whatever path comes next, I know that rock and roll will still be the soundtrack to my journey. And will help me get through all the long study nights ahead. 

I may be graduating out of order, but I wouldn’t change a thing. Elgin Community College gave me the space to learn, to grow, and to be unapologetically myself. And if that means walking into the next chapter with a diploma in one hand and a KISS record in the other, then I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. 

Olivia Barnes, '25

Elburn, Illinois 

Associates in Arts