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Graduate Profile: Jackie Magdaleno Sets Her Sites on Career in Video/Film Production

Monday, December 12th, 2011


UTB student Jackie Magdaleno

Texas Border Business ---

 

BROWNSVILLE – Jackie Magdaleno will be carrying on a family tradition as she walks across the stage at The University of Texas at Brownsville Commencement to receive her Bachelor of Arts in Communication on Saturday, Dec. 17.

 

Magdaleno will be following in the footsteps of her mother, Adelaida Cardenas-Magdaleno, and four aunts, all UTB graduates.

 

Magdaleno, a Brownsville native who graduated from First Baptist School in 2008, has carried a full load every semester and attended summer classes to finish her bachelor’s degree in three and a half years.

 

“Working toward my degree has been an amazing experience,” Magdaleno said. “I’ve learned so much and made new friends, and now I’m getting so excited about graduating.”

 

Her 2010 summer abroad experience studying in Paris was particularly memorable.

 

“France was awesome,” Magdaleno said. “The Louvre was just the coolest, and I loved Versailles. We lived in an international student dormitory, and we made friends from all over, and one in particular that I stay in touch with is from Korea, where I hope to go visit soon.”

 

Although she likes all aspects of the field of communication, Magdaleno is leaning toward video and film production. She has been inspired by one of her aunts, UTB graduate Araceli Cardenas-Bon, a freelance video journalist who lives in Rome.

 

“I learned a lot and got ideas from watching my aunt work on some videos here; she did one on local dishes such as tamales and gorditas,” Magdaleno said. “I am so thrilled my aunt will be coming into town from Italy for my graduation.”

 

Last summer, Magdaleno attended an intensive video and film production workshop at Texas State University in San Marcos, which she said was a valuable experience.

 

Magdaleno began applying her new skills right away, and submitted a video to CNN ireport.com. She was surprised but pleased when a producer responded and began mentoring her through the next several phases of her video. Along with its various stages of development, Magdaleno’s final product, “Cultural Obesity,” is posted on ireport.com.

 

“My mentor is encouraging me to do an internship at CNN, and I really want to do that,” she said. “My plan is to begin graduate school in communications here at UTB this spring, and I’ll apply for an internship for next fall. In five years I hope to be working for one of the major networks or in the film industry.”

 

Magdaleno credits her parents and family for being supportive and said it all goes back to her grandfather, Lazaro Cardenas, who grew up in a migrant family. His father, Magdaleno’s great-grandfather, taught him that an education was the key to creating a better life for his family. After serving in the Air Force, Cardenas carried out his father’s hopes and graduated from law school.

 

Cardenas passed on his dream of higher education to his five daughters, the last being Nancy Cardenas, who graduated at Winter 2009 Commencement, joining her sisters Adelaida Cardenas-Magdaleno, Alma Cardenas-Rubio, Martha Cardenas-Valdez and Araceli Cardenas-Bon as UTB graduates.

 

Picking up the reins of the next generation, Magdaleno feels she is paving the way for her cousins to follow. She will be the first of the 13 grandchildren of the Cardenas sisters to graduate with a bachelor’s degree. TBB

 

 

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