By Bri Brands  

After receiving his bachelor's degree in Cinematic Arts from the University of Iowa in 2023, Kelvin Nucico returned to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) as an instructional services coordinator.  

In this role, Nucico oversees camera equipment checkout and teaching tools for the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, the Department of Cinematic Arts, and the Department of Communication Studies. He originally joined the college as a temporary staff member, but has since become a permanent fixture on the team. 

"As a cinema student here, I checked out a lot of stuff," he said. "I had a really great relationship with the checkout staff, so seeing the opportunity to be the head of checkout—I knew I had to take it." 

On top of overseeing 15 student workers, Nucico spends his days managing email correspondence, preparing orders, inspecting equipment, and giving brief crash courses to students about the equipment's abilities.  

Over the summer months, when less equipment is being checked out, Nucico leads the summer inventory project, inspecting all 6,000 cameras and other pieces of equipment in his care.  

As he's been in the role for nearly three years now, Nucico has had the pleasure of watching students develop their skills and projects over time.  

"We build relationships with students. They talk about what they shoot, we give out recommendations, and when they finish it, they give me the video or film they made," he said. "That's the proudest part of my job—seeing how they grow as filmmakers and talking with them about how I first remember seeing their films compared to now." 

During one particularly busy day for equipment check-in and check-out, a student tour group stopped in, and Nucico shared with a prospective student about the equipment they have, the cinema program itself, and how Iowa City is developing as a film city.  

Afterwards, one of the students sent Nucico an email that he still fondly remembers to this day, and looks back on as one of the most memorable moments of his career thus far.  

"The email basically said, 'Thank you for taking the time to talk to me. I was really hesitant towards the cinema program for Iowa but after talking to you guys, I've decided this is the program I really want to join,'" Nucico recalled.  

Nucico often goes above and beyond to make sure the needs of students are met as they produce their videos and films, even going so far once as to stop in on a weekend during a class production time and help figure out what was going awry with certain equipment.  

"I always like to see the cinema students walk across the graduation stage at Carver [Hawkeye Arena]. It is always a really rewarding moment seeing all the fruits of my labor pay off when those students come up to me to say thank you for all my help after the ceremony," he said. 

As a first-generation college student, Nucico credits the support of his grandmother, Beth Lancaster, and the rest of his family—including his Siamese cat, Miko—with encouraging him to stay motivated and continue pursuing his goals. 

"It's really important for me to stay close to my roots. My grandmother especially has been a big pillar of my success," he said, noting how she would take him to new restaurants every weekend and let him live with her in Coralville when his position was temporary. "She's a big pillar of my success as a student, and she was a big pillar when I transitioned to this position." 

Outside of work, Nucico enjoys seeing movies at FilmScene and watching the Quad City Steamwheelers play indoor football in Moline, IL.