Five young brothers poured out of a van and into a local skatepark. The smooth concrete and crack of skateboards would soon ignite a passion for film, photography and all things skateboarding in a future Longhorn.
On Oct. 22, the College Skateboarding Educational Foundation announced that radio-television-film junior Ignacio “Igna” Arriagada won the 2026 Atiba Jefferson Photography & Film Scholarship, a $5,000 award. Arriagada emigrated from Perú to Puerto Rico at the age of 10, before moving to California and eventually Austin, where he completed both middle school and high school. Arriagada said he began skateboarding with his four younger brothers when they moved to Austin.
“(My brothers and I) discovered skateboarding and we just fell in love with it,” Arriagada said. “We started progressing together, and as we progressed through skating, it was like a cheat code for us to meet people and learn (English) way quicker. It was crazy.”
Arriagada said he fell in love with skateboarding videos and began filming his brothers on his iPad. When he found out he could go to college to pursue film and photography, he decided to apply. Eli Durst, associate professor of practice in the College of Fine Arts, teaches Arriagada in Beginning Photography.
“His work explores … people living on the margins,” Durst said. “For his fine art practice, he has images that show you behind the curtain, the community itself, the people, the characters, the lifestyle, moments of rebellion, but also moments of tenderness and softness and community.”
Arriagada works at No-Comply, a local skateshop, where he said he shoots photos and videos alongside the store video director Calvin Millar.
“We did (a collaboration with) Chrome Bags and he and I met up a few times and went over the concept and different ideas,” Millar said. “He took … (the) initiative to bring some ideas that he was thinking about. We jumped in on that project and a lot of times I’ll edit things for the shot, but he took control of that one and what he delivered was great.”
Arriagada said he’s also volunteered with the David Phillips Foundation, helping provide after-school skate programs at Title I schools, which predominantly serve economically disadvantaged students. However, schoolwork and school closures kept him from participating this year.
“Skateboarding has given me so much,” Arriagada said. “Being able to teach little kids … and seeing them actually enjoy it … that’s my way to help out in the sport.”
Putting the scholarship money towards tuition, Arriagada said this allows him to use his income to pursue other creative projects, including in Perú and the Amazon Rainforest.
“A lot of my friends that I talk to and people that I talk to, they’re like, ‘Dude, college is a scam,’” Arriagada said. “But if you really put yourself into a thing that you want, you can work around it. Don’t block your mind with excuses because going to school has opened (so many) doors.”
