When producer and director Augie Max Vargas was growing up as a child of Filipino immigrant parents, he did not see people who looked like him on TV. He wanted to be more like the quintessential light skin, blonde-haired character on the 90s sitcom “Saved by the Bell,” Zach Morris.
“I wanted to be him so bad that it was a pain that haunted me for many years,” Vargas said.
Little did he know that the actor who played Morris, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, is bi-racial and has a mother from Indonesia.
Communication Studies, Teacher Ed and Media Arts presented a Q&A with an award-winning producer, director and speaker on Thursday in Building 600 as part of the speaker series “Comm Talks.”
Vargas is an Emmy award-winning producer who has worked on such shows as The Kid’s Choice Awards and the 2019 Oscars. He has won an Emmy for “Disney Parks’ Magical Christmas Celebration,” and he received his fourth nomination recently for “Norman Lear: 100 Years of Music & Laughter.”
Vargas is also a former student of Mt. San Antonio Community College.
Vargas gave a presentation to students where he talked about his ethnic background, career journey and tips on how students can pursue their dream careers.
Despite once wanting to be a more stereotypical person in pop culture, in the past few years, Vargas has been able to push away from his previous mentality and accept who he is.
Vargas encouraged students to lean into their uniqueness.
Communication Studies professor Jennifer Rosenberg said she loved the way Vargas talked about being unique.
“I think social media almost promotes uniqueness and almost hinders it at the same time,” Rosenberg said. “As an older person who had my youth not online it is hard to be unique because if you put it out there, you get a lot of criticism, and I think that is hard.”
Vargas gave examples of the ways he has embraced the fact that he is Filipino, including occasionally wearing Filipino clothing to ceremonies.
“When I went to the Emmys a few years ago, I wore the traditional Filipino garb, and I felt so proud of it,” Vargas said. “I think that is important in standing out and to embrace your differences. I think that is something that works to your advantage.”
Vargas also had talking points about the Laws of Attraction, networking and internships, among other points.
After his presentation, Vargas took questions from the audience and from Journalism and Media Arts professor Tracie Savage, who partially MC’d the event.
Political Science major Cameron Junod came to the event out of curiosity. He said he liked that Vargas spoke about social mobility and making connections with other people.
“I’m half Filipino,” said Junod. “I don’t look that much Filipino in comparison to him. So I find him a bit relatable in that aspect.”
English major Andrew Cha liked that Vargas spoke about how one’s skills are undeniable, and with them people can go places.
After the Q&A, students stood in a line to meet Vargas, and he spoke to them one-on-one.
The event was also made possible with volunteers from the Comm Studies Club.
In the spirit of Filipino History Month, guests were treated to Filipino food, complete with purple-colored ube snacks.
