TXST alum Pablo Mejia awarded Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship toward MFA in film
Lane Fortenberry | April 26, 2024
Texas State University alum Pablo Mejia, ’17 advertising and mass communication major, was selected for the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans, a program honoring the contributions of immigrants and children of immigrants to the United States.
Mejia, born in Mante, Tamauilipas, Mexico, is the first undergraduate from TXST named as a Paul & Daisy Soros Fellow. They are also one of 30 students selected from a pool of 2,323 applicants for their achievements and potential to contribute to society, culture, or their academic field across various areas of study.
“It is so exciting to have Pablo joining the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships community,” said Craig Harwood, director of the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship. “Our Fellowship supports immigrants and children of immigrants and Pablo exemplifies what we are looking for in all of our applicants — creativity, hard work, innovation, resilience, an ability to take risk and think outside of the box, and a commitment to giving back to the country. I can't wait to see all that Pablo does in their career and the many ways our Fellowship community can lift them up.”
Mejia will be awarded up to $90,000 to pursue a master of fine arts degree in film at New York University.
“I always had dreams of traveling, being an observer, and not having a particularly normal job so to say,” Mejia said. “While I was at Texas State, I started to develop an eye for being an observer and did street photography. Coming from Dallas as a transfer student, the new environment was a pleasure for my eyes to see. I loved my time there and owe my love for nature to my time on campus.
“I’m proud of where I come from because I held a lot of shame. I came here as a minority who didn’t know the language. Texas State really did offer me a platform to not feel alone. There are many weirdos like me who go to Texas State, and it really shaped me for who I am now.”
They consider the honor to be validation for continuing to travel down the right career and creative track as a film director. Mejia never thought they would get the opportunity to earn an M.F.A. in film and are grateful to have received the support.
“All my wildest dreams are coming true,” they said. “This fellowship is shaping me for the future and surrounding me with a community of people who are wildly successful in their own fields. Just getting to meet other ambitious first-generation immigrants and immigrants is the best part. We all carry our stories, shame, insecurities, and bravado with us. It’s very exciting to be meeting everyone, and I hope to have them as collaborators in the future.”
Even though Mejia now lives in New York City, they’re still involved with TXST. They are co-collaborators with mentor Holly Wissler, Ph.D., music history and world music cultures senior lecturer, on a documentary about deaf rights in Peru and issues with deaf education through the story of Wissler’s adopted deaf son, Dante.
Wissler had been working on the documentary while living in Peru but had to restart the project and find a new team once she moved to Texas for Dante to attend the Texas School for the Deaf. She met Mejia while they were still a student at TXST through a mutual connection of Mejia’s internship with a Peruvian travel agency.
Mejia filmed in Peru with Wissler in 2018 and 2019, filmed at the Texas School for the Deaf, and filmed Dante’s graduation from the California School for the Deaf in 2023. They have served as Wissler’s main editor for the documentary since 2019.
“They have grown immensely into a mature-thinking, highly creative filmmaker and editor,” Wissler said. “I believe, and I think they do too, that a lot of that is due to our work together. It has been a wonder to watch them progress and honestly move from my ‘employee’ to now co-collaborator. I depend on them for ideas and creativity. I am immensely proud of them for receiving this fellowship.”
Visit the documentary’s website for more information. It’s slated to release sometime in 2025.
Visit the Paul & Daisy Soros website for more information about the fellowship.
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For more information, contact University Communications:Jayme Blaschke, 512-245-2555 Sandy Pantlik, 512-245-2922 |