While filming “Big Bad Wolf,” at the age of 21, Kimberly J. Brown found herself racing from set to the College of the Canyons (COC) for her midterm exam. Brown saw the irony in bouncing between a working set while juggling a college cinema class, hoping her teacher would believe her when she explained her tardiness to the midterm was due to her job as an actress.

Finding a balance between school and work was no new feat for the “Halloweentown” actress. Brown began acting at age five, remembering acting out scenes in front of a mirror and taking on characters on her own before her parents put her into a performing arts class. At seven years old, Brown stepped onto her first Broadway stage at the Lincoln Center in “Four Baboons Adoring the Sun.”

This was the moment Brown recalls that she knew she wanted to be an actor—a distinct moment on stage when she felt it was what she was meant to do.

“I felt that very clearly at seven sitting on that stage,” Brown said. “I always check for that feeling to make sure that I’m still in love with it as much as I did then.”

Through an independent study program, Brown accessed classes from a Florida school on VHS tapes. For her, this was a more enjoyable experience and held an element of participation as a young student, not having to concentrate and rely solely on textbooks.

“People probably don’t realize how much kid actors in the business are also balancing school,” Brown said. “Kids legally have to do three hours of school during every workday, so they get, like, a range of how many hours they’re allowed on set, and then you have to go into school.”

Brown always loved learning, and while she was not always happy to have to leave set, she valued her education and was always eager to learn.

In her free time, Brown participated in social sports under an umbrella organization, with her favorites being softball and basketball.

After graduating from high school, Brown immediately went to the College of the Canyons, enrolling in classes when she had the time. She grappled with choosing the right major, first considering theater and later deciding she wanted to explore a subject outside of the field in which she grew up.

“I wanted to kind of experience life a little bit outside of the entertainment industry and kind of breathe in that space for a minute,” said Brown.

Her work often took her attention away from studies, explaining that she had periods of breaks between her time at community college, with one of those breaks being during the filming of “Halloweentown.”

“I realized that I really wanted to, like, make sure I finished my college credits, and I knew that once I got older, if I looked back, I was going to regret not having finished at all,” said Brown.

Brown returned to COC and finished her credits, graduating with an associate’s degree in accounting and seeking to complete her studies in business. According to her, the David Nazarian College of Business and Economics’ excellent reputation and close proximity to home drew Brown to CSUN’s campus.

Brown attended classes both in person and online, describing her time at CSUN as a little break from the entertainment industry.

Stepping onto Sierra Quad, Brown felt a sense of community and culture on campus. According to her, it was a welcoming environment where she could explore more about who she was. Being a nature lover, Brown immediately fell in love with the trees and grassy areas, usually spending her study time between classes.

For the actress, the University Library was a place that fueled her productivity and inspiration for studying and collaborating on group projects – which she viewed as a vital “preview to life,” learning to work with fellow students and manage groups of people.

“As tedious as they are, I do think they gave me such a great hands-on experience and knowledge of working with people,” Brown said.

Being a notable public figure from her work on Disney Channel, Brown said being recognized on campus never felt weird.

“It was always kind of fun when someone would recognize me or something,” Brown said. “To kind of also show that, yeah, even though you’ve seen me on TV, like, you know, actors are also just people here trying to get a college degree or trying to learn about economics.”

For a brief semester at CSUN, Brown was able to step into a role she strives to play on TV but has not yet had the chance – a lawyer. She found enjoyment in her business law class, finding the subject fascinating.

Bruce Zucker, current CSUN criminology and justice studies professor, was teaching Brown’s business law II class at the time.

“That class she took was probably my favorite class to teach that I’ve ever taught,” Zucker said. “By then, these are students that are ready to cross the finish line, and I really like the topic. It was a lot of fun.”

Despite her major heavily revolving around math requirements, Brown said economics and calculus were classes she had to work hardest at while her friends breezed through them.

These challenges Brown faced were exactly why she found her major fulfilling, saying she desired to have the knowledge that would equip her to later go into producing and other behind-the-camera roles in film.

As explained by Zucker, students enter his classroom without a complete understanding of corporations, which can be a complicated subject to grasp. Zucker said mastering the difficult material is a tremendous feat.

“It’s huge […] This is something – accomplishing a typical concept or series of concepts, and I think that is confidence-building,” Zucker said. “And also, being able to speak in class.”

Brown also shared how her time at CSUN and completing her business management degree provided her with trust in her abilities to approach whatever came her way.

“Coming out of graduating at CSUN, I didn’t have a specific ‘thing’ I wanted to use it for,” Brown said. “I think, overall, it gave me confidence and it helped delineate business administration and kind of approach, I guess, my career from a business standpoint.”

Since graduating, Brown has opened her own Etsy shop, leaning into the business administration skills she had learned on campus. Her online store, Craftily Creative, sells “Halloweentown” merchandise, including keychains, stickers and T-shirts.

She is also active on social media, creating comedic videos alongside her husband, Daniel Kountz, who co-starred in “Halloweentown II,” with many of her TikTok videos reaching over 1 million views.

“That content creation has definitely become a whole other side of things,” Brown said. “CSUN definitely helped me develop those skills within myself, and I think helped me learn how to work in business administration, how to manage things within a business and what works best for me.”

New projects are on the horizon for Brown, who most recently voiced the character of Blair in Disney Channel’s “The Ghost of Molly McGee.” Brown also has a horror film currently in development, for which she is in the process of seeking funding, saying she continues to “wear a lot of different hats” within the entertainment industry.

“I certainly don’t think that I would have felt the confidence, or felt like I had the skills to try some of these things had I not had my time at CSUN,” Brown said. “So, it’s fun that the industry has expanded to where there are lots of different ways to flex our creative muscles.”