Barbara Olachea is a graduate of Alhambra High School, where she covered events for her school newspaper. Olachea's interest in journalism was sparked by her experience at the Walter Cronkite Summer Journalism Institute, where she served as Education Editor for a student-created website.

Barbara was first introduced to KJZZ through the partnership with the Spot 127 Youth Media Center, where she learned how to edit videos and audio. In Fall 2015 she will be attending Dartmouth College, majoring in English.

In her free time, Barbara enjoys reading novels and binge-watching 90s shows on Netflix.