Goggle kid. Goggle boy. Goggle man. The singer. The singer of the slough. Or, how about just plain Ellis.
First-year Ellis Kalomiris is the man behind the goggles and tunes the Augustana community has heard throughout this year.
Kalomiris started wearing goggles after discovering his obsession with steampunk in high school. Steampunk is a subculture that expresses a time-traveling fantasy world of music, design and fashion, according to the New York Times.
“It first began with steampunk,” said Kalomiris. “But after a while, wearing goggles drifted away from that idea, and they turned out to be useful.”
Kalomiris said that the goggles are good for shade, keeping the wind out of his eyes, and reducing snow blindness in the winter.
“I’ve gotten really used to them, and it’s strange if I’m not wearing them,” said Kalomiris.
Yet, wearing goggles is not the only habit that began in high school for him. Kalomiris started to sing openly, too.
“Around my sophomore year, I would put my ear buds in and walk down the halls singing to whatever I was listening to at the moment because I enjoyed it,” said Kalomiris. “I would get a lot of strange looks, but it progressed to a point where I didn’t care what other people thought.”
Kalomiris is no stranger to the stares, due to his classmates’ similar reactions during high school. When his fellow students wondered why he chose to sing freely and wear his goggles, he was thinking about something entirely different.
“High school was a time where I saw people caring a lot about their images, and I was really skeptical about that,” said Kalomiris. “It was hard to be myself, but I eventually came to realize—why stop being me?”
This moment of self-realization has stuck with Kalomiris, and as a result, he wishes to make an impact on all Augustana students.
“I don’t want to intentionally bother people,” said Kalomiris. “But, when I see someone that looks grumpy or like he or she has had an awful day, why not brighten that person’s day with a positive song?”
He is not shy to reveal that he has gotten mixed reviews; yet, along with wanting people to generally be happy, he hopes that his singing will reflect upon an even bigger message.
“I know what I do isn’t for everybody, and I’m not anything special,” said Kalomiris. “However, I think that people shouldn’t feel afraid to be real or to be themselves because being natural opens people up to the world.”
English professor Joseph McDowell said Kalomiris’s singing is unusual, but brave.
“It takes some fortitude to be willing to be that vulnerable and not care what the rest of the world thinks about it,” said McDowell. “There’s that old phrase dance like no one’s watching, and he’s doing just that.”
Along with his passion for singing, Kalomiris also has an interest in the Medieval Renaissance.
Within the first few weeks of the term, Kalomiris attempted to create a new club for Belegarth lovers on campus. Belegarth is medieval combat where participants fight each other with foam-padded weapons for fun.
“He went through the process, gathered signatures, and submitted the papers, but the club got turned down by student activities,” said McDowell, who was set to be the club’s adviser.
Kalomiris said the club was denied due to safety regulations, lack of clubs like Belegarth in other colleges, and potential costs.
“I was honestly surprised they turned down the club,” said Kalomiris. “Augustana is supposed to be an extremely open and liberal arts college; it is after all a liberal arts college, and one of their reasons for turning down the club was that nobody else is doing it, which is just strange.”