Where are you from originally? What’s your Origin Story?

This question makes it seem like you’re interviewing a super hero! Which in a way, I suppose everyone is in their own way.

My name is Russell Alquizar and I am a 22-year-old Digital Media student working towards my BAS at FSCJ. I’m originally from Virginia Beach, VA., although I remember next to nothing because we moved to Jacksonville when I was two. The few memories I do have of Virginia before moving include building a snowman with my uncle and being hit in the face with a snowball by a cousin of mine; another side note is that I’ve never seen real snow since then.

Why are you pursuing a degree in Digital Media?

We can start with the fact that I was in a magnet program in high school for four years, more specifically the math/science/engineering program. By the end of my time in high school I knew exactly what I did not to do, and that included math/science/engineering.

For a while after high school I still didn’t really know what I wanted to do exactly. I was going to FSCJ for my AA with the intention of transferring to some university. Although by the time I was about to receive my AA, I was still very much undecided. A lot of my family is in the medical field, and at that time quite a few of them were trying to persuade me to go into that. If it wasn’t the medical field I was being talked to about, it was also very often the option of the military from my uncles who are mostly all in the navy. But I knew even then that neither of those were anything that I was interested in, and not something that I could wake up to having to do or deal with every day. What I also knew then was that whatever it was that I was going to decide to do was going to be something that I personally enjoyed and knew that I could live with for the rest of my life. Luckily by the time of my last few classes in the AA program, a few of them were some of the intro digital media courses. Those last few classes helped me decide on what I wanted to. I realized that using a computer for creating things, or art, is something that I enjoyed and encompassed a lot more that I had originally imagined. With the help of the school, I was talked into not transferring to a university and joining the digital media program here; and it was totally not because a university would have wanted me to take another year or two’s worth of pre-reqs. But honestly, I haven’t looked back since and this is something that I know I will be able to enjoy for the rest of my life.

Who inspires you the most and why?

I can’t say that I have just one person that inspires me the most, because there is definitely more than one person who does. Two of them being my parents, and as cliché as it is, they’ve really done so much for me and given even more to get me where I am today.

What do you do off campus?

I play the guitar and the piano; music is something that I very much enjoy!

I also enjoy going to the gym, and when I’m not doing that I’m probably playing Pokémon Omega Ruby on my 3DS. I also currently work at West Elm, so if you ever purchase furniture there I might be the one to help you load your car or put your furniture together.

What work are you most proud of?

I’m not too sure that I have something that I can say that I am the most proud of. I always have the feeling that there was always something that be better or that whatever I’m working on isn’t finished. But my most recent work is currently some of my favorite.

Interesting facts about you:

• Music is something that I considered going into because I play the guitar and the piano. I took a few music classes and realized I wasn’t going to end up being a rock star that way.
• I’ve had 2 surgeries as a kid to remove a birthmark on the side of my face that could have turned cancerous.
• I’ve also travelled out of the country of to visit the Philippines a few times, as well as Ecuador.

Favorite Book / Movie / Series / Video Game / Comic?

Umm, I’m going to be honest and say that I can’t really say that I have a favorite book or comic. I’m not as much into reading as I probably should be, but I’m definitely open to suggestions as to what I should read! As for any other question about my favorite anything, it’s always been difficult for me to choose just one! For my favorite movie, off the top of my head I can name Memento; but if you ask me that question again I’ll probably have a different answer. My favorite series would most probably be Breaking Bad! For my favorite video game I’d have to say Mega Man X.

What are your future goals and aspirations?

Somewhere down the future I’d like to be able to create content that I enjoy, as well as the user/viewer would enjoy whether it be through images, video or any other form.

I’m still not 100% locked into a decision yet, as far as a career in the digital media field but if I had to choose right now I’d probably choose film. I’d like to be somewhere in the film making industry somewhere in the future. I’ve always said that one day I would have my name in the credits of a feature film!

One thing you wish you could share with others is…

My girlfriend and I started a YouTube channel a while back where we cover songs! More specifically, she sings and I play the guitar. We haven’t posted recently because she goes to school down in Boca Raton, but when we’re together we’ll be sure to put out more content as soon as possible. If you checked it out, and maybe subscribed if you liked with you heard that would be awesome and more than appreciated!

Our featured students are student-selected. Once a student has been featured, they nominate the next student to be profiled. Come back next month to see who’s been picked!
Have any questions? Please contact Professor Liz Murphy Thomas at Liz.Thomas@fscj.edu