The passing of Cameron directly affected the collective. He will always remain in our hearts. We will always cherish our memory of him and his impact on those lives he’s touched. Though this year yielded success, every step of the way we worked with the memory of Cameron in our minds. We physically represented him by wearing our green ribbons at every function and dedicated all of our recent initiatives to him, including our biggest project entitled Converging Texan Cultures – a collaborative effort with the Institute of Texan Cultures.
An extremely multi-faceted individual, Cameron worked at Sherwin-Williams Paint alongside maintaining an academic work ethic that earned him the privilege of a dean’s list caliber GPA. He edited a special project for the San Antonio chapter of the Assistance League for his independent study, assisted students in their coursework, and planned to start his own media production company in the near future…a future that would never come to fruition.
Cameron had a deep respect for nature. He biked all over San Antonio, hiked throughout the hill country, and celebrated his unique zest for life with others. Inspired by his brother’s involvement in the music ministry, as well as his own personally creative experiences, Cameron began music composition the year before his passing. His pieces created an artistic persona that omitted a luminescent aura, capable of reaching even the most desolate spaces.
Testimonials
Below, we listed some of our memories of Cameron that highlight who his warm and outgoing personality.
The week before Cameron’s passing, he came by my house to borrow some of my personal equipment and my best friend’s 2-year-old went with me to answer the door in excitement. Cameron knelt down when the door opened and they exchanged fist bumps. That’s just the kind of personality that Cameron exuded.
-joey phd , UIW Comm Arts Professor
After hearing from his family and friends about how one time a 4-year-old family friend was told by his parents he could only invite three friends with him to Chuck E Cheese for his birthday and Cameron was one of them. Cameron gladly accepted his invitation and the four of them thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
-Family Friend
During this time last year I was in the process of filming a project when I noticed that some of the footage I shot was unusable and I needed to re-shoot. Since I was on a time crunch, I was unable to get a camera and tripod. Cameron rode to school on his bike in thirty degree weather and drizzle to bring me his personal camera and tripod so I wouldn’t have a set back. I know… who’s that nice? Bottom line: Cameron really was that nice.
-Miriam Thomas , UIW Comm Arts Grad ’13
Closing Words, Enduring Legacy
Cameron, your ability to inspire and give hope to others will never be forgotten. You pushed the boundaries of San Antonio’s creative spaces and encouraged the creativity of tomorrow’s young innovators. You taught us to regard life as something precious and you truly lived as a testimony to that philosophy. Below you will find videos, photography and other pieces of media either created by Cameron or taken of Cameron. These pieces remember Cameron for all the greatness he exuded throughout his lifetime.
A Front Porch Perspective-
The magazine he made the semester of his passing entitled: A Front Porch Perspective embodied Cameron’s visual presence. This piece showcased Cameron’s true heart and a progressive vision of the next generation. His words at the beginning demonstrate his love for nature and ambitions for his life and all of humankind.
Coffee Thoughts-
Cameron was always good at getting emotions and ideas across in his videos. The CMC crew felt this video really captures that.
Baytown Christian Academy Promo-
In addition to doing personal videos, Cameron was known around Baytown’s Christian Community as a film maker and would lend his services to various groups to help them get the Word out.
Silly Screens-
This is a musical piece Cameron made the year before passing. His ability to compose and sing amazes.
Here are some photos from various events that involved Cameron or the Convergent Media Collective’s efforts to remember him.
If you would like to share any personal stories regarding Cameron, we encourage you to leave your remembrances in the comments section below. (This is a memorial post, so please keep your comments clean and respectful)
-The CM Collective
Andy Castillo – Andy Castillo is San Antonio designer, with a BA and MA from the school of Architecture at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He is a local urban development advocate. He works on the South San Main Street project, the neighborhood he lives in. He has developed a community garden, performed building restorations and works with the neighborhood association and local district 5 council person to bring additional funding to the area.
Kaye Cruz – Interactive Children’s book designer, Social Media Intelligence consultant & News Producer for National & International Network News agencies. “If there’s a wall to keep a good story from being told, I’ll always find or create a new media design to keep your Voice heard to the masses.”
Eliseo Diaz – A junior at Crystal City High School in Crystal City, Tx. Eliseo is a member of the high school band where he plays the sousaphone, tuba and trombone. He is also a musician in general. He hopes to become a filmmaker and through this installation received hands on experience doing cinematography.
Jonathan “Johnny” Guajardo – Johnny holds a B.A. in Communication Arts from the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas, where he is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree. He is the Vice President of the Convergent Media Collective, as well as Social Media Coordinator for the UIW School of Media and Design, and served as UIW’s Student Body President from 2011-2014. He has experience in all aspects of videography, photography, content design and social media marketing. Having produced both corporate and creative multimedia projects for the past six years, he has gained a reputation as a reliable and creative producer in the San Antonio area. He is also well-read historian and academic who enjoys meeting new people and traveling. In his free time, Johnny enjoys collecting vinyl records for his hi-fi stereo and studying Texas history.
joey lopez phd – Joseph Lopez (aka “joey phd”) is a Professor and the advisor of the Convergent Media concentration at the University of Incarnate Word in San Antonio, TX. His background spans many fields however his passion is teaching and working with students and the community to realize their dreams and aspirations. A northwest side San Antonio native and PhD graduate from UT Austin, joey’ PhD experiences creates a unique environment for students to feel encouragement to think and create freely while also giving them the professional and cultural attention needed to succeed in the real world.
Corina Zavala Lopez PhD – Corina is a fourth grade bilingual teacher for San Antonio Independent School District. Originally from Crystal City Texas, she is working on a book about her hometown. Outside of work she likes to make meals for the Collective and friends.
Joel Peña – J.P. Marcus is an expert director, photographer and videographer who enjoys traveling and storytelling. He holds a B.A. in Communication Arts from the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas and is a first-class director, video editor and music critic. Having interned for media outlets such as San Antonio’s News 4 WOAI and NBC Universal in Los Angeles, he possesses a wide variety of media production skills. In his free time, Joel enjoys attending and photographing concerts and meeting artists from all around the world.
Miriam Thomas – Currently pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Arts at the University of the Incarnate Word, Miriam concentrates her studies in the area of Convergent Media as a member of the Convergent Media Collective headed by Dr. Joey Lopez, Ph.D.. She recently completed a documentary exploring the media’s influence on the female body image.
Andrew Valdez – Andrew Valdez is a Comm Arts alumni who specializes in convergent media. A Bachelors of Fine Arts graduate of Texas State University, Andrew is able to design for many communication channels. His concentrations involve social media, augmented reality, animation and graphic design. Andrew is currently the Senior Multimedia Specialist at Palo Alto College and recently graduated with a Masters degree in Communication Arts from the University of the Incarnate Word.
Charlie Young – A Rio Grande Valley Native, Charlie relocated to San Antonio to obtain a higher education, he recently graduated from the University of the Incarnate Word with both a bachelor’s and masters in Convergent Media. Charlie is renowned for his photography skills as as well his fluency in Photoshop.
Jeremy Zunker – Jeremy has worked with hardware since he could get a hold of a screwdriver. His skills range from embedded systems, computer and electrical engineering, telecommunications, software development, and pretty much anything technical you can think of. He dabbles in art, and has participated in Luminaria as an artist and has done a few collaborative pieces with local artists. Additionally he dabbles in neurology, amateur radio, science and anything else that strikes his fancy. He is a co-founder and CTO at ParLevel Systems and President of 10BitWorks Makerspace (a non-profit makerspace).