{"id":135120,"date":"2023-05-05T15:05:24","date_gmt":"2023-05-05T19:05:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=135120"},"modified":"2025-04-16T16:36:48","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T20:36:48","slug":"a-picture-of-determination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/a-picture-of-determination\/","title":{"rendered":"A Picture of Determination"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s lunchtime in Orlando. Or at least it is for Lyn Oquendo. At 3 p.m. on a Monday, Oquendo steps away from a computer monitor and indulges in Triscuits and butter. UCF\u2019s Spring 2023 graduation ceremonies are taking place this week, but Oquendo\u2019s career with Warner Brothers Animation (WBA) started seven months ago. Headquarters are in Glendale, California, which means the workday runs from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. It\u2019s no big deal to Oquendo.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been constantly going, going, going since high school. After graduation, I\u2019ll only have my job to think about. That\u2019s my next frontier \u2014 slowing down,\u201d says Oquendo, a student in the experimental animation track<\/a> of the UCF School of Visual Arts and Design<\/a>‘s emerging media program<\/a>.<\/p>\n

No one questions Oquendo\u2019s pursuits, except maybe this idea of tapping the brakes. Landing the job with WBA is a microcosm of the personality we\u2019re talking about. Oquendo texted a friend at the studio, then double texted and triple texted. The messages were to the point: Please give me a chance. You will not regret it<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I finally interviewed with the producer, she said she\u2019d never seen someone so driven,\u201d Oquendo says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I finally interviewed with the producer, she said she\u2019d never seen someone so driven.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Oquendo\u2019s entire college life is a story of drive, nearly 10 years in the making. It includes full-time jobs, more than a hundred scholarship applications, paying for household bills, and pushing forward \u2014 always<\/em> pushing forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mom would say, \u2018You have your head above the clouds with your feet on the ground,\u2019 \u201d Oquendo says.<\/p>\n

Oquendo could fill a motivational calendar with family quotes like that.<\/p>\n

From Grandma: \u201cAlways look at yourself in the mirror and be happy with who you are.\u201d<\/p>\n

From the person in the mirror: \u201cI can mourn failure and spend energy complaining or get up in the morning and use my energy to make things better.\u201d<\/p>\n

The quotes are rooted in life experiences for the Oquendos. Grandma and grandpa fled in Cuba and came to the U.S. in 1992. They arrived with no money, no jobs and four daughters to feed, including Lyn\u2019s mother. For a long time, they lived with ten family members in a small apartment in Miami.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey lost everything in Cuba,\u201d Oquendo says. \u201cMy grandfather never learned to read or write. He and my grandmother had to figure out how to make it here. They never expected others to do it for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oquendo grew up with mom and grandma after grandpa passed away.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrandma always told me how important it is to fight for yourself and for your family,\u201d Oquendo says.<\/p>\n

She and mom would read to Oquendo, who became fascinated with stories and art while sitting in their laps. The book that kept Oquendo riveted more than any other? The Bible<\/em>. Grandma and mom would read about Jonah and the whale, David and Goliath, David and Saul. Again and again.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could never get enough,\u201d Oquendo says. \u201cThe artwork and the power of those stories amazed me. They interconnected to tell this bigger overall story, and they impacted history forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a teenager, Oquendo thought often about making a living with art and stories. But those thoughts were never voiced out loud. Instead, Oquendo would claim to have an interest in teaching. The family had worked so hard to re-establish their lives. What would they say about the practicality of an art career?<\/p>\n

\u201cNow I look back and know my mother would have said, \u2018Sure, you can do it.\u2019 But then she would have said, \u2018You can also figure out how<\/em> to do it,\u2019 \u201d Oquendo says.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow I look back and know my mother would have said, \u2018Sure, you can do it.\u2019 But then she would have said, \u2018You can also figure out how to do it.\u2019 \u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

After high school, Oquendo figured out how to get into an art college in Chicago. However, Oquendo could not figure out how to continue paying $34,000 per semester. After one fall in Chicago, Oquendo enrolled at Broward Community College as a pathway into UCF\u2019s emerging media program<\/a>. A year later, another obstacle came up when the design portion of Oquendo\u2019s portfolio didn\u2019t pass entry into the program. Some students would have changed course. Not Oquendo.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt became a turning point in my life. I realized my own negative thoughts had been getting in the way,” Oquendo says. “That\u2019s why I didn\u2019t tell anyone about my interest in art. It\u2019s probably why my grades weren\u2019t so great in high school. I knew it was time to prove to everyone that I could do this. Most of all, I had to prove it to myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oquendo worked overtime on design skills and pushed the door open to UCF\u2019s emerging media program. Mom couldn\u2019t pay for college, so Oquendo applied for scholarships and worked full-time while taking a heavy course load. The resume includes making donuts at Universal Orlando, stocking inventory at Target, preparing takeout boxes at PF Chang\u2019s and cleaning up at an animal shelter.<\/p>\n

Figuring it out also meant paying for rent and monthly bills, buying a car, shopping for food, while growing as an artist and storyteller \u2014 and maintaining a 3.9 GPA. This became Oquendo\u2019s own motivational quote: \u201cI can either be a stick in the fire, or be the wind and grow<\/em> the fire to warm myself up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oquendo carved out time to apply for more than 100 jobs and internships with companies that had any vague connection to emerging media \u2014 from local t-shirt shops to Pixar. A spreadsheet of notes from those applications fed the fire, and still does:<\/p>\n

\u201cUnread.\u201d \u201cNo.\u201d \u201cNo response.\u201d \u201cGhosted.\u201d<\/p>\n

They warmed up Oquendo until a better opportunity than anyone could imagine arose \u2014 an internship with WBA to work on productions like Teen Titans Go!<\/em>, Harley Quinn<\/em>, and Bugs Bunny Builders<\/em>. The internship led to connections that led to the texts that led to a pre-graduation career start.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis field is not an easy one. But because of that, everyone who\u2019s in it wants<\/em> to be in it.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThis field is not an easy one,\u201d Oquendo says. \u201cBut because of that, everyone who\u2019s in it wants<\/em> to be in it. I\u2019m working with a person who\u2019s passionate about designing movie credits. Think about that \u2014 movie credits. I also met a guy who had always dreamed of making cartoon movie trailers. We\u2019re like-minded. Something drives each of us to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two of Oquendo\u2019s driving forces will be present at commencement. Mom will watch from a seat in Addition Financial Arena. The other will be on Oquendo\u2019s graduation cap: \u201cPara ti, Abuela. Siempre para ti<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

For you, Grandma. Always for you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For Lyn Oquendo, UCF\u2019s commencement \u201csignifies everything I\u2019ve worked so hard for.\u201d But this is not simply the story of a student working hard. 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