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Joaquín Morales ’24

Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
Major: Film Studies
Center: Ammerman Center
Activities: POCA (cinematographer), MOCA, Genesis (Big-Sib Program), RJM Studios (Founder)

Favorite aspect of Connecticut College: 
The ability to connect with my peers and teachers in an intimate way given the smaller size of the school.

Favorite memory at Connecticut College:
My favorite memory at Connecticut College is when I got to document Trevor Daniel's set alongside my friend Ava for Festivus back in 2021. It was a neat experience to be able to do something I am passionate about on campus while connecting with my peers.

Favorite activity in New London or the region:
I love going to Jake’s Diner right on State Street by the train station. It was the first diner I visited when I got to campus, and have built a cool relationship with the owners.

Training for the Dream Job

- The Experience, Joaquín Morales ’24

A shot of the crowd at the Flo Rida concert
Backstage at the concert

I ended up declaring film studies as my major early on in my time here at Conn which has inspired me to pursue some memorable experiences. For example, a couple weeks ago I was asked to document Flo Rida’s set at the Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater in Bridgeport, CT, on behalf of Respective Collective, an NYC-based production company. My friend MJ, who coincidently lives in the same residence hall as I do, was also brought on because of her experience in concert photography–something that Respective also needed for the event. This ended up being one of my favorite concert cinematography gigs because of the energy that Flo and his team brought to the venue, as well as having grown up listening to a lot of his music. The venue was about an hour away from campus which called for a nice drive. MJ and I caught a nice sunset during the trip. We both agreed that it was really cool to have been able to do this because of our passion for both live concert photography and cinematography; it truly felt like we were living our dream careers for a day.

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Festivus with Trevor Daniel

My name is Joaquín Morales, and am a second-year student at Conn. I declared film studies early on because I knew that this was the field I wanted to continue to pursue during and after my time in college. What I have enjoyed most about being a part of the film studies program here so far is the ability to connect my passions to things that happen here on campus. For example, back in December, during the fall semester, I got the opportunity to film Trevor Daniel live for the first time on Conn’s campus. A good friend of mine inspired me to reach out to their management about a week before he was set to perform. I ended up getting an email back shortly after and was then able to coordinate with them and the College to be able to join their crew for the set. Looking back, this was a really awesome experience. 

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