Kim Barth graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University in 2014, after double-majoring in Education and Theatre performance.
The Ohio native found herself at Indiana Wesleyan after visiting five other schools. She said she already had friends at IWU, and stayed the night with them before her visit day. One of her high school teachers told her that when it comes to deciding on a college, go with your gut. That is exactly what Barth did. Indiana Wesleyan was her favorite of the five schools she visited, so she followed her gut and made IWU her home.
Originally, Barth started out majoring in Education. Barth said she always knew she wanted to be a teacher and in a way, theatre helped confirm that being a teacher was possible. “In high school I was actually really shy. So I joined drama club because I was thinking about being a teacher, and in my mind I thought I had to get over talking in front of people,” Barth said. “It totally changed my high school experience.”
Following high school, Barth auditioned for The Curious Savage at Indiana Wesleyan during her freshman year, which Barth described as a very special experience. Ultimately this experience made her decide to add a major in Theatre Performance.
While at Indiana Wesleyan University, Barth was actively involved in the Theatre department. She was a part of many shows such as Women of Lockerbie and Steel Magnolias. Barth was also in University Singers and Women’s Chorus for a few years. In addition to being a part of those groups, Barth attended a Bible study in her dorm.
During her time at Indiana Wesleyan, Barth met some very important people. “I met my best friends at IWU. We all lived together for 3 years and we’re still best friends. We talk all the time so for me that was the best part, I made my friend family,” Barth said. “We’re all still really close, and it was just great to meet those people.”
As graduation drew closer, Barth was faced with deciding what the next step was. “I did a lot of praying and reflecting on what I would do after college, because I knew that I loved kids and I knew I loved theatre, I just didn’t know what to do with that,” Barth said. “I always assumed I would be a teacher of some kind.”
After graduating from Indiana Wesleyan University, Barth decided to take a year off. During this year, she went back to her home in Ohio and worked at a pre-school, as well as did some substitute teaching. Not only did this give her time to decide what was next, Barth said she also collected a lot of good work experience during this time period.
It was during this year she applied to two different graduate programs, one at New York University and the other at Emerson College in Boston, earning her way into both of them.
Last summer, Barth was involved in a Christian Theatre program called Masterworks. The show she was apart of with Masterworks took her to New York to perform. Two months later, Barth decided to make her home in New York. She attended New York University to earn her master’s degree in Theatre Education and graduated this past August.
Today, Barth teaches Theatre to Elementary students at a school called P.S.195, located in the Bronx. “I love that I get to bring what I call the magic of theatre to kids who don’t have a lot of experience with that and wouldn’t if they didn’t have this program,” Barth said. “Introducing kids to an art form that changed me, and did a lot for me growing up, is exciting for me.”
