José Durón, a sophomore graphic design major, grew up in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
There are differences between Durón’s experiences at Bluffton compared to home. Durón talked about how peaceful it is in Bluffton and how everybody is relaxed.
Durón said Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, is very chaotic and he has to be aware of his surroundings while there. Although in his housing community, inside the city, of about 500 houses Durón finds it peaceful even though he still has to be aware of his surroundings.
“People here are very friendly,” said Durón. “Even though back home we are friendly as well. I would say here in Bluffton I’m pretty surprised how people approach you, even strangers, and start a conversation with you. … It’s a big city and people are just trying to get to work or school, and here people are just more open.”
Durón said he knew he wanted to study in the United States. He just did not know where he would do it. He talked to a college adviser in Honduras, and she gave him some schools to consider. He applied to The University of Wisconsin, North Dakota State University and Mount Mercy University in Iowa. Bluffton was the last school the adviser gave him.
Durón was accepted to all those schools and wasn’t planning to apply to Bluffton. His mother told him to apply because he would not lose anything, so he did. He read a lot of good things about Bluffton and got a good scholarship, so he decided to come to Bluffton without visiting campus.
“I also liked the aspect that it’s a small school,” said Durón.
During his free time, Durón plays video games, hangs out with friends, writes, plays indoor soccer, does video editing and photography. With his friends in Honduras, he does freestyle soccer, which is where someone does tricks with the soccer ball. Durón said they try to sync music with the juggles of the ball as well.
Durón got into photography his junior year of high school when he went as an exchange student to Italy. He had a friend from Indonesia who had a DSLR camera. His friend taught him how to use a camera. Durón enjoyed the landscapes and architecture in Italy and that was what first piqued his interest to learn how to use a camera.
After he got his camera he also started to shoot some videos as well. He first started making videos from video games by making montages and clips on Call of Duty. With his camera, Durón started making short films with his friends and other things. Durón posts some of those videos and pictures on his Instagram page for other people to enjoy.
