HI, my name is Kellen Bakovich.
I grew up in Loveland, CO, just down the road from Fort Collins. I played my two favorite sports — baseball and golf — though elementary school, middle school, and for my high school. Then, I graduated from Loveland High School in 2016 and had no idea where to go for college. I almost went to Metropolitan State University to play baseball. After that, I knew I wanted to attend CSU. A month before fall semester began I ended up deciding to go to Front Range Community College instead of CSU because I didn’t want to live in the residence halls. My first year at FRCC was spent studying marketing, then I decided to switch to communication studies my sophomore year. Halfway through my sophomore year, I applied to CSU and was accepted. For about three months, I was sure I’d be going to CSU and then summer came. I had the idea that if I dropped out of college it would be like summer for the whole year. One week before fall classes began, I changed my mind once again and then registered for classes at CSU, oh and yes I changed my major, again. I am an amateur photographer and have included some of my favorite photos I’ve taken!
Life At CSU
I am in my third year of college at CSU, now studying journalism and media communications, and I truly hope I don’t try to change my mind again. JMC has allowed me to enjoy school for the first time in my life. I hope to one day do something with a camera for my career, and I hope to develop skills in video production because I would really love a career with that. I think CSU is going to prepare me for that exceptionally well.
Life As A Photographer
I was first introduced to photography my sophomore year of high school. My mother had a camera and I knew that she enjoyed taking pictures, solely to just have an insane number of images of our family. But this sparked my interest and I began attempting to take pictures. As I got older, I learned more and more just by watching YouTube videos and by trial and error. Once I got to college, I purchased my own camera gear and realized that it’s something I really enjoy. I began learning how to edit and to take photographs with a purpose. My second year of college is when I would say I first became a photographer. I had been hired to shoot a couple of wedding proposals and senior photos. I realized that people noticed what I was doing.
Previous/Current Jobs
My first job ever was at Inta Juice, a smoothie shop in Loveland. I worked there for nearly three years, all the way up until last May. Last summer I worked on a cattle ranch (if you noticed the cowgirl/horse photos) in Yampa, CO, which is near Steamboat. It was a beautiful mountain ranch with 40,000 acres. I got to be a cowboy/ranch hand and a photographer for Fish and Cross Ranch; it was an incredible way to spend a summer. This fall, I am a #CSUSocial intern and it is so much fun (my favorite job so far)! This semester I am also employed by Young Life, which is a youth ministry organization that I am involved in.
Things You Need To Know About Me
There are four foods that I genuinely dislike and refuse to eat. Consequently, they all begin with the letter “c”. The foods are cilantro, cheesecake (I know, crazy right?), celery, and coconut. Also, I have a cat named Dawg (instagram: @acatnameddawg), he is two years old and I am convinced he hates me. I have two sisters, one is 22 and the other is 14. My favorite movie is Endless Love (I have an odd obsession with “RomComs”). I can’t pick a favorite musician, but I listen to a lot of folk music. Some of my favorites are Rayland Baxter, Mandolin Orange, and Jeffrey Martin. My favorite food is cereal, and I could eat it for every meal for the rest of my life. I ski once or twice a week during ski season. I also go surfing in California at least once a year. I drive a 1997 Toyota 4Runner with ONLY 251,000 miles on it; her name is Brooke. My greatest fear is spiders. My favorite season is fall because I get to watch the NFL, college football, and MLB Playoffs all at the same time. My least favorite season is spring because I genuinely dislike the wind. I also do not enjoy when it’s warm out but nothing is green yet, and when leaves start to grow but then it snows and ruins it. Finally, my only life goal so far is to one day own a horse.