- Is a Chicago Cubs fan.
- Is an avid Chicago Bears and Chicago Bulls fan.
- Received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
- Worked at the A.V. Club for the Onion newspaper, as an intern in the same office as the section's head writer Nathan Rabin.
- Graduated from Lane Tech College Prep High School in Chicago, Illinois.
- His parents are from Costa Rica (mother) and Ecuador (father).
- During the summers in between his undergraduate years, he worked as a both an Operations Coordinator and Manager for AMC Entertainment. Working in the heart of downtown Chicago gave him unusual access to meet film directors such as Todd Haynes, Tony Gilroy, Philippe Barcinski, Paul Oremland & Steven Sawalich and actors such as John C. Reilly, Jerry Seinfeld, Christian Bale, Michael Cera, & Jonah Hill.
- The lab where Nelson had his chemistry class during his sophomore year of high school in 2000 is the same lab where John Cusack filmed his high school flashback scene for High Fidelity (2000). Nelson's chemistry teacher also played the teacher (in an uncredited role) in the much admired Stephen Frears film.
- Graduated from college with Cum Laude honors.
- Was voted "Class Funniest" in high school.
- Loves the comedic work of Zach Galifianakis and Danny McBride.
- Was a film critic for his college campus newspaper "The Pointer".
- Was a contributing writer for the 44th Chicago International Film Festival.
- Notorious for the sheer bluntness in some of his writings, Nelson's favorite writers include the likes of Kurt Vonnegut Jr., David Foster Wallace and Roger Ebert.
- His video installation art show "Film Is Dead: Edges of the Digital Frame" premiered in Chicago, Illinois on February 2, 2012.
- On the evening of Tuesday February 19, 2013, Nelson uploaded his Best Picture Oscar Supercut video to Vimeo. The video immediately went viral and was featured in Entertainment Weekly, Esquire, Mashable, The Hollywood Reporter and several other news outlets. It reached nearly half a million views in less than a week.
- Collaborated with underground filmmaker and programmer Amir George on presenting the "Digital New Wave: Creating and Curating" workshop at the 2013 Oceanside International Film Festival.
- On October 5, 2013, Carvajal's Alma mater (UWSP) presented him with the Trailblazer Award for the distinguished accomplishments he achieved in less than ten years since graduating from college.
- In 2014 Nelson was voted as one of Chicago's Top 50 Figures in Film by Newcity Magazine.
- Carvajal's trailer mashup "Apehood" was nominated for a 2015 Webby Award. The video was a twist on Boyhood (2014) and provided a vision of the film told through the experiences of Caesar the ape from Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014).
- His parents separated when he was eight years old.
- Was voted Homecoming King in high school.
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