El Paso, TX (KFOX14/CBS4) — A University of Texas at El Paso senior is helping bring a major Hollywood studio’s presence to campus for the first time, as UTEP becomes just the second school in Texas selected for the Warner Brothers College Ambassador program.
Jesus Guillermo, a senior at UTEP, has been named the first ambassador for the program at the university. The initiative has officially launched in El Paso, with UTEP joining only UT Austin in Texas as part of the program. Guillermo said the opportunity still feels unreal.
“Is very, very exciting. It is surreal, I might say. It still hasn’t kicked in. I feel like it still hasn’t hit me,” Guillermo said. “It’s very gratifying, very rewarding. And yes, getting the opportunity to be the one who brings Warner Brothers to El Paso and to UTEP is, you know, it’s a dream come true.”
The program also includes schools around the country, including Harvard, Boston College, USC and UCLA, Guillermo said.
Guillermo has been involved in entertainment for years, including dancing since he was four, participating in UTEP dinner theater and acting. He said he learned about the ambassador program after attending a film premiere and connecting with Warner Brothers representatives.
“I had the opportunity to attend the premiere of One Battle After Another here at the Plaza Theater downtown,” Guillermo said. “And there I connected and worked with various people, including members from the PR team, from Warner Brothers, who were here promoting the film. And we we talked, we had ample conversations and among those conversations, they introduced me to the Warner Brothers College Ambassador program.”
As an ambassador, Guillermo makes campaigns and organizes giveaways on and off campus for Warner Brothers at UTEP. He also took part in a virtual roundtable tied to the upcoming film Wuthering Heights, where he said he and others interviewed Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi.
“A reporter, a student journalist and myself had the opportunity to interview Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi for their upcoming film, Wuthering Heights,” Guillermo said. “And we had a roundtable, a virtual roundtable, where we had the opportunity to ask one question to them. Ten schools got selected out of the whole program. So there’s 30 ambassadors in the whole program and only ten schools got selected.”
Guillermo said the question focused on how the actors prepared for onscreen chemistry. He said they described “a ton of work, lots of prep,” and that “them working together was what made them click.”
Guillermo said he views his role as Warner Bros ambassador as bigger than a personal milestone.
Jesus Guillermo is UTEP’s first ever college ambassador for Warner Bros. University! (KFOX14/CBS4)
“Is not only an achievement for me personally, I see it as an achievement for the whole community, for UTEP, for the arts here,” he said. “Like you said, you know, we definitely could use a boost and I feel like this is a boost and this is going to help shape and pave the way for the arts here in El Paso.”
Guillermo is set to finish his ambassadorship this semester and will have to reapply for the next semester in August. He said he hopes the program continues after he graduates and helps inspire more collaboration on campus, while encouraging more productions to film in the region.
“I really hope that One Battle After Another is not the first and last major Warner Brothers film that was filmed here,” Guillermo said. “El Paso needs it. It deserves it. You know, it has such a rich culture and such a unique and vibrant community that I really hope that more people get to see it.”
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