Everyone has a different interpretation of what Fresno means to them. To some, they look at it as a place to grow before leaving to a bigger city like Los Angeles or San Francisco. But to me, Fresno can be defined by one word: home.

I have been lucky enough to call Fresno home for all 22 years of my life. Which is why I’m so excited to begin my post-college career here at The Business Journal.

I know that there are thousands of people like me who love Fresno and the greater Central Valley and being able to tell their stories is so humbling and I couldn’t be more thankful for this opportunity. 

But before I was the third generation of my family to graduate from Fresno State this past spring, I was a high school student at Clovis West who only saw Fresno as somewhere to grow before leaving for a bigger city.

Fresno State wasn’t my first option throughout my four years in high school. For the longest time I wanted to go to San Francisco State. There wasn’t anything that stood out about the university itself, but the idea of living in a big city was enticing. 

But one month after I received my acceptance letter to San Francisco State, Covid-19 hit and wiped out my senior year of high school.

With so much uncertainty regarding what the future would look like, I decided to stay home and attend Fresno State.

While I was disappointed at first that I wouldn’t move away from home, the decision to attend Fresno State has turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life.

Like so many students going into college, I had no idea what I wanted to do. I started out as a business major hoping to pursue a career in sports marketing.

Following my freshman year, which was all virtual due to the pandemic, I took a leap of faith and switched my major to the Media, Communications and Journalism (MCJ) Department before even taking a business class. 

Even during my sophomore year, I was still unsure if I was on the right path. But towards the end of that school year, I got an email from one of my professors urging me to join The Collegian, Fresno State’s award winning student-run paper.

I accepted his invite and spent the final four semesters at The Collegian, where I forged some of my favorite memories. Prior to joining, it felt like I was just treading water. I was doing just enough to pass classes and didn’t feel like I was having an enjoyable college experience.

When I first started as a contributor, all I wanted to do was write about sports. I grew up going to Fresno State football games with my family and am a die-hard San Francisco Giants, San Francisco 49ers, San Jose Sharks and Golden State Warriors fan, and I truthfully didn’t really have any interests outside of sports.

I remember how scared I was when I went to cover my first non-sporting event nearly two years ago. I was so intimidated to go up and talk to anyone I didn’t know — even the students running the event. 

In just over three semesters, I went from being afraid to write about anything that isn’t sports, to writing an opinion on how Fresno State can be proactive when it comes to drunken driving.

But the most important thing I learned while at Fresno State was how much I truly loved Fresno. I take a lot of pride in the things I love, and getting to meet people all over the country who wanted to come to Fresno State was an eye-opening experience considering I brushed Fresno State aside when I was applying to colleges back in 2019.

After graduation, I spent the summer in Pasadena for an internship with a collegiate summer league baseball team. While I loved my two months in Pasadena and getting to explore Southern California — it wasn’t Fresno. It wasn’t home.

As much as I love Fresno, I don’t plan to live here forever and would love a chance to cover a professional sports team when I’m older. 

But one thing is certain, no matter where I end up, there will only be one place I truly consider home: Fresno.