From camcorder to career: CLC alum turns videography passion into a profession

From a young age, Carlos Curiel admired the artistry behind the workings of the camera. Curiel became interested in videography when his dad gave him a camcorder to film boxers at the gym his family owned in Round Lake.

After graduating high school, Curiel was unsure what he wanted to pursue. He went to his older brother to brainstorm ideas, and remembered how much he enjoyed using a camera. His brother’s experience at College of Lake County helped lead to his decision to study digital media and design there.

Curiel didn’t have a lot of the skills needed for videography and photography when he started at CLC, but he learned everything he needed for both thanks to the expertise of his instructors.

“It all comes down to the professors,” Curiel said. “They care a lot about your success. They really want to help you out.”

“Carlos was very focused on his education and determined to develop his creative skills,” Instructor Jason Rodgers said. “He would go above and beyond on all assignments and seek feedback for possible improvements. Carlos was always engaged, motivated and collaborative in class and utilized his time effectively.”

One of the more helpful aspects of the program is that while in school, each student is building their professional portfolio. Since each student has freedom to select topics they film and photograph, Curiel focused on sports.

“Pretty much anything we were assigned could be part of our professional portfolio, which is what helped me land jobs during and after school,” Curiel said. “Building it throughout my time in the program, I could make it personal and could choose what I wanted to do.”

His course work helped him secure a job at Jostens, a company specializing in producing and selling educational mementos like picture day photos, while still in school. He worked as a photographer, commuting to Chicago, Indiana and Iowa schools.

Curiel currently works at Zillow as part of the travel team that captures photography and videography for local homes. Though he enjoys this job, he still hopes to get into the sports industry, and he leaves his weekends open to work on freelance projects.

“If you keep an open mind, eventually, you will find what you’re looking for,” he said. “I may not be where I expected yet, but I'm slowly working my way to what I want to do.”