Thousands of people watch the YouTube channel “BarbaraVibes” every week, but what is “BarbaraVibes” like away from her camera? Barb Kuensting, daughter of science teacher Mr. Kuensting, is a spunky, awesome, and amazing YouTuber. For those who have not been on YouTube in the past year, BarbaraVibes is a YouTube channel with over 2,700 subscribers, all run by Nerinx Hall’s very own Barb Kuensting. She explains how she“religiously started watching YouTube when I was in 6th grade and…instantly fell in love with the real, supportive, and welcoming community. So, last year in the fall, I made the decision to start making weekly videos.” Barb’s first video was called “Public School vs. Private School.” When Barb first began, the video had around 100 views.  Now with over 2,000 subscribers, this video has 4,715 views! When asked about why she started making videos in the first place, Barb responded, “I found a community (YouTube) [where] I could express myself…and who would listen to me.” At first, no one knew about Barb’s YouTube, especially her parents. Much to her dismay, Barb’s parents found out from their 50 year-old family friend who religiously watched Barb’s videos. Barb says, “My parents became super supportive, and my mom almost started crying when she first watched my videos.”

But what video really made Barb’s YouTube a success? When asked Barb responded, “The video that really [made] my YouTube a success was called ‘Two Types of People.’ It was the first video I put a lot of effort and time into, and my effort was rewarded. After I released my video, I gained over 1,000 subscribers!”  From that moment on, Barb was determined to climb the YouTube ladder and become a success! Three months ago, Barb received a letter from Google notifying her that based on the number of views of her videos, she would start making a commission. Barb was ecstatic and really felt like she made it big. She said, “It was a defining moment. I found out that YouTube wasn’t just for me. There were people from all around the world watching me and [seeing] me as a person to look to, to make them laugh and smile. The Nerinx community has been enormously supportive of my YouTube channel, and for that I will forever be grateful.”

Despite her four fan accounts and commissions from Google, Barb is still just a regular, humble sophomore at Nerinx, someone dealing with her Chemistry, Geometry, and World Studies homework. Barb is also involved in speech team, photography club, STEM club, and morning show. She has high hopes of being a public speaker and advocate for the environment, and she wants to go to college preferably on the West Coast.  For now, she is making the most of her time here at Nerinx.