{"id":51907,"date":"2025-12-11T10:11:44","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T15:11:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/students.austincc.edu\/infohub\/?p=51907"},"modified":"2025-12-10T10:13:34","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T15:13:34","slug":"finding-his-focus-acc-grad-edwin-tinajero-steps-into-the-film-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/students.austincc.edu\/infohub\/2025\/12\/11\/finding-his-focus-acc-grad-edwin-tinajero-steps-into-the-film-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding His Focus: ACC Grad Edwin Tinajero Steps Into the Film Industry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" src=\"https:\/\/students.austincc.edu\/infohub\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/35\/2025\/12\/RS31377_20251107-HLC-Congrats-Grads-ca-534_scr-1024x684.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-51909\" srcset=\"https:\/\/students.austincc.edu\/infohub\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/35\/2025\/12\/RS31377_20251107-HLC-Congrats-Grads-ca-534_scr-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/students.austincc.edu\/infohub\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/35\/2025\/12\/RS31377_20251107-HLC-Congrats-Grads-ca-534_scr-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/students.austincc.edu\/infohub\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/35\/2025\/12\/RS31377_20251107-HLC-Congrats-Grads-ca-534_scr-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/students.austincc.edu\/infohub\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/35\/2025\/12\/RS31377_20251107-HLC-Congrats-Grads-ca-534_scr-1080x721.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/students.austincc.edu\/infohub\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/35\/2025\/12\/RS31377_20251107-HLC-Congrats-Grads-ca-534_scr.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>When 20-year-old Edwin Tinajero enrolled at Austin Community College District (ACC) in fall 2023, he wasn\u2019t sure what his future would look like. After high school, he considered pursuing a career in HVAC, following in his uncle\u2019s footsteps, who even offered him a job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAfter talking to people and really thinking about it, I realized that&#8217;s not something I really want to do.\u201d With his brother\u2019s encouragement, he chose to enroll at ACC to complete his college basics while he figured out what he truly wanted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It didn\u2019t take long for something to spark. Edwin remembered taking an AV class in middle school and falling in love with editing and post-production. So when he discovered ACC\u2019s film program, he decided to try a class.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen I saw that ACC offered a program for film, I thought, \u2018Hey, since I&#8217;m already here, might as well take some classes.\u2019 But once I did, I quickly realized this is what I want to do. This is the industry I want to be a part of.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The path came with challenges, including financial strain while balancing school and life. But he says ACC\u2019s support made a real difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMy professors have been incredibly understanding, and ACC\u2019s emergency services have supported me in times of need. I&#8217;m truly grateful for everything everyone has done for me to be where I am right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That support helped him push forward and gain certainty in following his passion. \u201cI knew I was on the right path when I realized how much I genuinely enjoyed doing what I was learning in class, and I could actually see myself building a real career in this field.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Along the way, Edwin found mentors who shaped his growth. \u201cI\u2019d love to recognize all of my professors, but two who really pushed me forward are John Moore and Caleb Johnson. They\u2019ve helped me grow not only as a filmmaker, but also in ways that are hard to describe, like personally, creatively, and professionally.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the standout experiences of Edwin\u2019s time at ACC has been working as the editing intern for ACCTV. The internship gave him hands-on experience, mentorship, and a look into the world he hopes to build a career.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s exactly the kind of environment you want to be in, which is professional, supportive, and full of people who truly care about what they do. If you ask for help, they lend a hand. If you ask about their jobs, they\u2019re happy to share. It\u2019s amazing to hear everyone\u2019s story and learn so much just by asking questions. I\u2019m proud of the experience I\u2019ve gained here, and I know this internship will help me with my future career.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After graduation, Edwin hopes to take the next step into the industry. \u201cI want to get a job as an editor. I love editing, and it\u2019s what I plan to do. I want to meet more people, grow my network, and keep building my career. And maybe one day make it to Hollywood.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He also has advice for future students: \u201cCollege can feel overwhelming, but you don\u2019t have to do it alone. Ask questions, use the resources available to you, and reach out when you need assistance. ACC has so many people who want to see you succeed. Take advantage of that love and support they offer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Looking back, Edwin says he\u2019s most grateful for the community he found at ACC \u2014 a place where he discovered his passion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI feel like I\u2019ve built connections here that will continue to grow and become amazing relationships and networking opportunities for me in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/admissions.austincc.edu\/commencement\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">austincc.edu\/commencement<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When 20-year-old Edwin Tinajero enrolled at Austin Community College District (ACC) in fall 2023, he wasn\u2019t sure what his future would look like. After high school, he considered pursuing a career in HVAC, following in his uncle\u2019s footsteps, who even offered him a job. \u201cAfter talking to people and really thinking about it, I realized [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":103,"featured_media":51908,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[131,1004,1447,1448,133],"class_list":["post-51907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-student-stories","tag-acctv","tag-congrats-grads","tag-fall-2025-commencement","tag-fall-2025-graduation","tag-radio-television-film","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/students.austincc.edu\/infohub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/students.austincc.edu\/infohub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/students.austincc.edu\/infohub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/students.austincc.edu\/infohub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/103"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/students.austincc.edu\/infohub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51907"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/students.austincc.edu\/infohub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51907\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/students.austincc.edu\/infohub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/students.austincc.edu\/infohub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/students.austincc.edu\/infohub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/students.austincc.edu\/infohub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}