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local Thursday 2 February 2023
Richard Jacobs: from footballer to international cameraman to

multimedia lecturer in Aruba

ORANJESTAD – Richard E.
Jacobs Jr. is currently a
guest lecturer in multime-
dia at Ibero American High
School. Jacobs has a long
and successful trajectory
in the world of television;
but before entering televi-
sion, his first love was soc-
cer. In an interview with our
reporter, Jacobs tells a bit
about his career in soccer
and multimedia.

From a young age, be-
cause his father played year 2000 he was part of
soccer, Jacobs followed in the Aruban team that beat Internationally, he worked
his father’s footsteps and the Puerto Rican team 4-2. at different TV stations and
began playing soccer too. programs. He says that
At a young age he moved Jacobs studied in the elec- he worked with CNN, Fox,
to the Netherlands and trical sector in Aruba and NBC, as cameraman for
from that moment contin- after finishing his studies the Larry King show, and
ued developing in his sport. in Aruba he moved to the he worked as cameraman
Half of his career was in Netherlands to continue also for Nancy Grace at
the Netherlands where he studying electronica. that time.
played for big teams. Af- During his studies in the
terwards he came back to Netherlands, Jacobs says, The transition from televi-
Aruba and played in vari- there was a department sion to school happened
ous youth teams and rep- that would photograph because his two daughters
resented Aruba in Santo and film here and there, attended Ibero American
Domingo, among others.
but mostly photograph. He High School, and during the
went to experience this, years they were enrolled,
Jacobs says that during his and loved it so much that they realized that he was
soccer career he won dif- he started participating. doing multimedia work and
ferent individual awards. “I started going deeper into the school approached
Among others, he won go- it. For filming, I began when him to start teaching in the
algetter in a championship I was 14, filming various ac- MultiMedia department in
twice, and was MVP of a tivities around Aruba with a order to introduce the sub-
championship twice. He big camera. I always liked ject to the students. “They
also won best striker. filming. That’s how I started, found accreditation for this
and as I grew up I gained and after six years teach-
During the 1990s, he was more experience.” ing, this is the only school
part of Aruba’s national that is currently giving com-
team, representing our is- Jacobs worked in TeleA- plete multimedia lessons,”
land in elimination games ruba, and after that he got Jacobs emphasized.
for the World Cup in 1994, the opportunity to work “You learn everything re-
1998 and 2002. He was also in ATV and at this time he garding filming, editing,
part of the Aruba team for gained a lot of experience you learn video editing,
the Caribbean Champion- in the world of television. and you learn to work with
ship Shell Cup, and in the

Photoshop, restore images, very creative person, you
make posters, you learn ev- can do a lot with multime-
erything regarding social dia and what I like is that
media. We also teach the when I give an assignment,
technical aspect a bit of I want for them to do it the
the work of IT”, he added. best that they can, better
than me.
Finalizing, Jacobs says that The goal is to push these
what he likes the most children to use their cre-
about teaching at the ativity and experience
school is inspiring the kids, the world of multimedia,
who have an open win- through which they can ex-
dow to the world of multi- press themselves in differ-
media. “Maybe you are a ent ways.”q