Three Generations of Bulldogs

While many Fresno State students are the first in their families to go to college, others have made it a family tradition to be Bulldogs

By Lisa Bell (’95)

When Joseph Fraga was a young man working for Ernest and Julio Gallo in Modesto, his bosses gave him a choice that changed the direction of his family tree for generations to come.

While studying accounting at Modesto Junior College and working for the largest exporter of California wines, Fraga’s desk at the Gallo Company was a piece of plywood on top of two filing cabinets right outside Ernest Gallo’s office, where he was accessible when the boss needed him.

Fraga wasn’t a vice president, but he and his wife, Maybelle, were invited to Christmas dinners with the Gallos and the company vice presidents at the Gallo home. Seated to the right of the company founders, Fraga was chosen to give the blessing before the meal.

After Fraga had been with Gallo for a while, Ernest Gallo gave him a choice.

“They wanted me to go to either Modesto, San Francisco or Fresno,” all locations where Gallo had offices, Fraga says. “I told him I would have to go to Fresno because that’s where Fresno State is.”

Though the family is spread out in Bakersfield, Madera and Fresno — as longtime football season ticket holders — they often get together for home games to share their Bulldog spirit, as embodied by their matching class rings.

That decision in the 1950s paved the way for the next two generations of his family to become Bulldogs. His daughter, Becky, and her husband, Craig Collins, later earned their degrees, as did their daughter, Jessica Piffero, and her husband, Ben Piffero. The whole family has matching class rings.

Fraga earned his degree in accounting, but he also researched in the Fresno State wine lab. He helped plan and execute the move of Fresno State’s nascent wine program from its original location at the campus where Fresno City College is now to the current campus at Shaw and Cedar avenues.

He ultimately worked for Gallo for 44 years before retiring in 1997.

The second generation

Becky Collins and her sisters saw their father earn his college degree. Becky was in kindergarten at the time.

“I don’t remember his graduation, but I remember the party at the house,” she says.

She didn’t feel pressured by her parents to pursue college. However, an experience with a high school guidance counselor put her into college prep classes instead of a possible future in something more secretarial.

“That got me ready on the path because it was four years of math, four years of science, four years of English,” Becky says. College was a logical next step when she graduated from Clovis High in 1973. While she would have loved to consider universities beyond Fresno, the family’s financial situation limited that option.

“I didn’t have the typical college experience,” she says. “I lived at home, and I worked at Gottschalks. I went to school and then back to work. That’s all I did. No clubs, no sororities, no organizations, no marching band.”

Becky and Craig met while they were both Fresno State students, introduced by a mutual friend. They walked along with Craig’s sister in the commencement ceremony at Selland Arena in downtown Fresno in May 1978.

Becky and Craig married in 1980, and Jessica — an only child — was born in 1987. Unlike Becky’s experience, Jessica did grow up — in Bakersfield, where her parents lived — with an expectation she would go to college.

“Absolutely! From day one,” Becky says. “We always wanted her to explore Fresno State, but she ultimately wanted to consider other possibilities.”

The third generation

Third-generation Bulldogs Ben and Jessica Piffero gave birth to baby Mia in 2022. Chances are, she may one day be part of the family’s college-going tradition.

Fresno State was a big part of Jessica’s childhood, even growing up nearly two hours south of town.

“During my childhood, Fresno State was always key,” says Jessica, who now works as the university’s social media coordinator. “We would spend time with my family and grandparents in Fresno during the holidays. Everyone always wore Fresno State baseball hats or shirts. We always talked about the games and how the teams were doing. Family itineraries would revolve around athletics in our household. ‘When and where are we going to eat?’ ‘That depends on where the Bulldogs are playing.’”

Joseph and Maybelle are longtime season ticket holders for football and sometimes basketball. Craig and Becky have been football season ticket holders since 2005 when Jessica went to Fresno State and joined the Bulldog Marching Band.

Initially, Jessica didn’t think Fresno State was where she wanted to go to college.

“When you’re told your whole life you’re going to go to Fresno State to be a Bulldog, when you’re a stubborn teenager, you want to push back against that,” she says.

She applied to — and was accepted at — several other schools.

“But, at the end of the day,” Jessica says, “Fresno State was the one that truly made the most sense.”

After performing in the marching band for the last six years of her primary education and wanting to continue in college, part of it came down to the Bulldog Marching Band and Fresno State’s sports program.

“If you want to do the marching band experience,” says Craig Collins, Jessica’s father, “out of the schools that accepted her, Fresno State was the obvious choice.”

Jessica met Ben while they were both members of the Bulldog Marching Band. They graduated — Jessica in 2009 with a degree in mass communication and journalism, and Ben in 2010 with a degree in construction management — and married in 2010.

The fourth generation?

With the birth of their daughter Mia in 2022, their family might have a fourth-generation Bulldog on the sidelines.

“She’s being raised in a Bulldog family on both sides,” Jessica says. “I’m a third generation, and Ben is a second generation. [Ben’s mom is also a Fresno State alum.] So she’s getting the Bulldog spirit from all branches of the family tree. Our extended family really values Fresno State’s role for us, and I think that the next generation will continue that tradition.”

Mia may even have the experience Becky had, seeing a parent earn a degree from Fresno State, as Jessica is currently working toward a master’s degree in public administration.

“Fresno State has had a lifelong impact on all of us,” Jessica says. “Papa moved to Fresno for work and college, and here we are today.”

TOP PHOTO: Jessica Piffero (second from right), Fresno State’s social media coordinator, is the third generation in a family full of proud Bulldogs. Through agriculture, education, athletics and the Bulldog Marching Band, the family bonds stretch across several areas of campus. From left to right: Craig Collins, Ben Piffero, Mia Piffero, Joseph Fraga, Maybelle Fraga, Jessica Piffero, Becky Collins.

Valley of opportunity

The Fraga, Collins and Piffero families are among 240,000 living alumni of Fresno State, and this is where their Bulldog stories began. With continued support from the community, Fresno State is committed to uniting and engaging us all – through academics and athletics — to open up a Valley of opportunities for students and alumni alike. Your support today will ensure the vitality of the university and the region for generations to come.