Faces of Fresno State

Meet some of the students and alumni making the most of a Valley of opportunities

By Eddie Hughes

Stand up, walk to the nearest mirror and take a good, long look. You are the face of Fresno State.

Chances are, so are many of your neighbors, your friends and your family. As well as their neighbors, friends and families. In various ways, Fresno State represents all of us who are reading this magazine — and all of us represent Fresno State.

In the Central Valley, six degrees of separation is more like six degrees of education. Because, in all likelihood — with 80% of graduates staying and working in the region — there are far fewer than six degrees of separation between you and the next Fresno State alum or supporter.

Whether you earned your degree from Fresno State, grew up in the area rooting for the Bulldogs, or have donated at some point to support the university’s mission — you are one of the faces of Fresno State.

You are one of the people who rose to the challenge despite all odds and showed the world what Fresno State and its people are capable of, while many others doubted what this university could be. You are a part of a university proudly centered within California’s fifth-largest city, in the ninth-most diverse area of the United States, growing 25% of the nation’s produce.

This school — your school — has graduated alumni who have accomplished truly remarkable things. There are businesspeople like Malinda Chouinard, who co-founded outdoor clothing company Patagonia; engineers and astronauts like the late Col. Rick Husband, commander of the Space Shuttle Columbia; creators like Ross Bagdasarian Jr., who revived the “Alvin and the Chipmunks” franchise created by his late father; and sports icons like Aaron Judge, the New York Yankees star who holds the American League record for most home runs in a season. Countless other students and alumni have powerful stories that are waiting to be written.

In the spring 2023 issue, Fresno State Magazine featured an imaginative glimpse at what the Valley would look like without Fresno State. There would be glaring holes in health care, a lack of qualified teachers in classrooms, less entrepreneurs and innovators. There would be major impacts to law enforcement and the judicial system, as well as agriculture, finance and media industries — just to name a few examples.

Thankfully, the university is here to stay – and it remains dedicated to educating and empowering the next generation of leaders to drive the region forward.

And, once again, it will be the people connected to Fresno State who decide just how great the university’s impact and reach will be for future generations.

As Fresno State embarks on its ambitious new strategic plan, the university will need unprecedented community support to meet the growing needs of the Valley and continue climbing the ranks academically and athletically.

This fall, Fresno State rose to No. 26 in Washington Monthly’s rankings of the top national No. 6 universities, based on research, service and social mobility. In 2022, the Fresno State football team finished the season ranked No. 24 — making Fresno State one of just five universities in the nation to rank in both Washington Monthly’s top 40 and in the Associated Press top 25 college football poll. The Wall Street Journal ranked Fresno State No. 6 nationally for social mobility, a measurement of the university’s impact on the socioeconomic class of its graduates and their families, and U.S. News ranked the university No. 8.

In the following pages, Fresno State Magazine features several of the “faces of Fresno State” who have overcome challenges, inspired change in their families or communities, served a need within our region and are striving to accomplish great things.

When you support Fresno State, these are the types of people you’re supporting. And this is where their stories begin.

– Eddie Hughes is the senior editor for Fresno State Magazine.

FACES OF FRESNO STATE – STORIES: