As a kid, I never felt right with the world we had in films. I never felt like I truly belonged, long before I figured out my queer identity. In the films I watched growing up, everything felt so happy, so fantasy even in grounded films. I wanted to see a life that was realized and spoke to me in a way where I could feel I was represented. For the longest time, I couldn’t figure out why I felt so under-represented, and I realized that everything I saw ended happily ever after. I’ve never liked that outcome when it’s never deserved, and it felt like a cheap cop-out. So, when I was 6 I realized that I wanted to make something that told a real story, a story that didn’t end happily ever after, that way I could finally feel represented. From there, I became a filmmaker in training.

I did all I could to learn, but nothing became realized until I hit high school. For my 14^th birthday, my parents got me a subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud and a camcorder. For years I grew my skills, creating a challenge for myself to film and edit a new project once a week. This catalog grew immensely, creating over 100 projects in the span of 2 years. During this time, I finally realized another part of why I didn’t feel represented, I discovered I was gay. This became a huge focus in my projects, with the last 20 being mostly about figuring out my sexual identity.  At the end of these projects, I finally was able to join my first film-related class in high school, Television 1. I finally got to learn from a real professional and film for another person. During this we were also trained on 3 apps from Adobe Creative Suite, Premiere, After Effects, and Photoshop. It was supposed to take 2 years to be trained and certified, but since I had been using these for years already, I finished these certifications in 1 semester, 3 semesters before the average. From there, the teacher took me under his wing and taught me everything he could before I graduated. In my senior year, I wrote my first short film script, “Welcome Home” about a man dealing with trauma with his homophobic mother. This went on to be a finalist for screenwriting in the 2021 Palm Beach Student Showcase of Films, the first time I felt like other people knew the kind of representation I wanted all along.

After high school, I made it to the University of Tampa where my film journey took its biggest step. When I first came here, I had no idea what I wanted to do for a full career, but I knew it had to be something in film. I encountered many people from all walks of life, some who were extremely intimidating, and some who I will treasure and never forget. And even through it all, I wanted to challenge myself in any way I could. In the final weeks of my first year, I finally figured out what I wanted to do in film, I wanted to be an editor and screenwriter. I want to create these worlds that someone can see themselves in, and help others see their worlds finished through. In my 2 and a half years here, I’ve created countless scripts that I am proud to call my own and even films that have been screened in film festivals such as my experimental thriller “Honey I’m Home”.

While here at UT, I have taken on a number of outside roles that have benefited me in the film world. In the summer of 2022, I took on a short internship with the advertising company &Barr in Cocoa Beach for the summer cruise advertisement for the city. I was taught the ways of a professional workflow and post-production skills that helped me in my own projects. The following summer, I helped out with some student productions for Full Sail University, which one particular project made it to the Cannes World Film Festival. This was a great networking opportunity and taught me how to work on a professional-size film set.

After I graduate from UT, I plan on working in either screenwriting or editing for television. My passion for narrative and experimental filmmaking has garnered me many partners who I can turn to if I ever need any film help. I would love to one day create my own show, one where six-year-old me would be proud to feel represented. That way, I finally know that a kid like me would finally be happy in the life they have, even if it’s just on the screen.