Fresno State Focus Alumni

Fresno State Focus is one of the capstone classes that prepares graduates for their jobs post-graduation.

Learning how to create a newscast, write scripts, edit videos, produce and every other job you might see in a news station, students in Fresno State Focus get hands-on experience in class.

Last year, 100% of Fresno State Focus graduates landed a job in news. Alyssa Saldivar is one of those success stories. Saldivar works as a digital content producer at KSEE 24.

”I think Focus was able to prepare me for where I am now by just giving me the atmosphere and arena of just being in a newsroom,” said Saldivar.

Students who work on Fresno State Focus run a live, weekly newscast. They function as if they are working in a real newsroom. They also learn the pace and pressures that come with going live.

The goal of the class is for each student to build a portfolio and resume reel that will help get them hired. Focus can be a challenging class. Digital producer and editor Izaiah Cazares says the structure helped him get his first TV news job at KMPH Fox 26. His advice:

”I would, even though it is a class, treat it as a job because everything that I did in Fresno State Focus I do on a day-to-day basis,” said Cazares.

There are many different newsroom roles you can learn in Focus, and Cazares encourages students to learn them all.