FRESNO STATE FOCUS RADIO EDITION 3/16/2024
CHISMOSOS Radio Show #1
Bianca: “Good Morning! Thank you for tuning in to Fresno State Focus: Radio Edition! I’m Bianca Gonzalez.”
Marisol: “And I’m Marisol Rubio. Today On Fresno State Focus: Radio Edition, an academic coach’s experience at Fresno State. Plus, a first-hand account of a student’s experience with fast scooter riders.”
Bianca: “But first, we’ll start off with a story from an International Student Perspective.”
INTERNATIONAL STUDENT PERSPECTIVE
Marisol: “Every semester, Fresno State hosts many students from around the world, including Oaxaca, Mexico. Our very own anchor, Bianca Gonzalez, gives us all the details on what it’s like for a student to experience culture shock.”
Adrian Porras grew up in Oaxaca, Mexico, and came to the United States at 16 years old to pursue a higher education.
Porras says, “So my reason for immigration was because I wanted to improve my life, but luckily I met people that encouraged me to take English classes and that field when I was working there, so when I started work at learning English, I started liking it and little by little I was noticing that I wasn’t learning getting good at it and luckily I met the vice president at a college where I attended and it’s the place where I got my GED and luckily when I graduated she asked me what I wanted to do and I just told her that I just wanted to take English 101 because I feel like it was the only thing that I could do because I am an academic student and then she encouraged me to continue because she said there were opportunities for everyone in this state actually and then she told me to obtain my regular classes and graduate from my other college and attend university and well here I am.”
Going to college at Fresno State was an easy choice for Adrian Porras because of its cheaper tuition and because it reminded him of home.
Porras says “I consider it like symbolic because I mentioned when I got here it was Fresno so I wanted to put the last piece of my education here in Fresno like closing a cycle, and then this is kind of like funny because the mascot from my last college was a bulldog and Fresno state has an actual bulldog so I want to stay in the same bulldog family from bulldog to bulldog and besides my counselor, since some of my teachers came here to Fresno State they got very good comments and they encourage me to come here and to be honest when I came to a field trip I feel accepted because this university welcomes everyone it doesn’t matter where you come from or how old you are what economic status you belong you are welcomed.”
Making a transition from a place like Mexico to the United States is sure to be different. Culture Shock was something Porras had a hard time dealing with, especially when it came to speaking.
Porras says “Well it was pretty different it was the language completely different but I feel so dumb when I wanted to communicate or express what I was thinking or when I was looking for directions.”
Getting an education is something that’s very important to Porras. Being a communications major, he hopes to encourage other people to be the best versions of themselves, especially young people
Porras says “Well I encourage people to continue their education, uh it doesn’t matter how long it takes because it’s very important and I think it’s from the mental aspects uh it opens your mind to everything you learn more stuff and basically the reason why I chose communications is because I like to talk to people but in an inspiring way for example to pursue their goals, uh I want to be a motivational speaker but I want to be also a high school counselor because I think high school students are in a crucial age when they are undecided if they are going to continue their education or not or get the common job or stay there but their are consequences because later they may have a family or they want to become professionals or they want to get more income and due to the lack of certificate of education they don’t get it then they get frustrated and blaming everyone and everything so that’s my point I want to go into communications be a motivational speaker and inspire basically students.”
After spending much time here, he believes that the best thing any international student can do when going to a new country is their language.
Porras says, “I think English is very important for the mental and as I was mentioning, I encourage people to continue their education and when we come to the I.S we should consider their English right away because we need to communicate and understand when we are filling an application or when we go to the clinic or hospital or to a restaurant or to buy something or to ask for directions because we feel so dumb when we are on that situation and basically we cannot be relying on others to translate because sometimes those people are not around and besides I know technology by now is on hand and very advanced but sometimes we don’t even know how to use it so I think English is a very fundamental factor to stay in this country.”
To future international students, Porras shares his advice to those who may contemplate whether or not they should take this kind of chance.
Porras says They must come because I think this a very wide range of cultural backgrounds in this university and I think we can learn from everyone and open our minds and so to different cultures and learn from everyone and actually there might be a few differences, but there are more similarities because we all come from different countries and immigration so we must be connected to everyone because we go through things like misdoing our countries and missing our families so we can share stories you know I don’t think this is a bad thing you know I think this is very very good and I have been enjoying it and recommend everyone to come and do the same.”
Porras is in his last year at Fresno State and hopes to learn even more and inspire others along the way.
ACADEMIC COACH
Fresno State has many jobs on campus, and being an academic success coach is one many might not know much about.
Do you know what an academic success coach does?
Our very own anchor, Marisol Rubio, took the time to discover how academic success coaching targets the personal academic growth of Fresno State students.
Having a job at Fresno State can be a great place to learn many new skills.
You can learn things such as networking on a higher level and public speaking.
Academic coaching is one job that helps students be successful in college.
I got some insight into what it’s like to be an academic coach at Fresno State.
“Through this job I have learned how to network on a higher education level. I have also learned public speaking on the level of about 300 individuals plus. I’ve also learned how to navigate my way around data within the university level.”
Networking can be hard to do in such a big school like Fresno State.
There are different ways to connect with fellow students and meet other faculty.
Having a job on campus, such as being an academic coach, will provide you with many great opportunities.
Academic coach Martin Montes has had a great experience working for Fresno State.
“My experience working on campus has been very positive. This office has provided me with networking opportunities by connecting me to a lot of different departments, getting to know faces, and finding jobs. Not only throughout the semester but during the summer and even after graduation.”
Montes tells us what is the purpose of being an academic coach and how they help students.
“As an academic coach our office provides holistic academic coaching and workshops to support every student through their navigation of the college experience as well as navigating them through the personal challenges and connecting them to the proper campus resources.”
Montes recommends this job and explains the benefits it comes with.
“I would highly recommend students to apply for this job because not only does it open them to the university level, but it puts your name to the face of the office and it makes you known on campus as well as for future employers, the being interest the qualifications are being a student interested either in counseling or being a psychology student or even looking for an internship here that will grow and put your foot in the door into a department here at Fresno State.”
With endless opportunities available for students, you can get lots of exposure from academic coaching.
Women’s professional and recreational sports in the U.S. have undergone vast changes in the last century.
From the introduction of the women’s World Cup in 1991 and the W-N-B-A in 1996, not to mention the 28 gold medals accumulated by Team USA gymnastics.
But there are still sports that haven’t fully grasped the attention and participation of women. Our reporter Josue Miranda shows us how Muay Thai has emerged as a new edition to women sports in the central valley.
Mixed martial arts is heavily dominated by male viewers and practitioners.
By simply hearing the words m-m-a, you may already have a mental picture of some man with cauliflower ear and and possibly some tattoos.
Although this has changed, the last 20 years have seen more women involved across all sports, including the different sectors of M-M-A.
Coach Valerie Mancha from “Manny Mancha kickboxing gym” in Fresno, CA, shares her passion for teaching women the art of Muay Thai in an exclusive all-women’s class held every other Saturday.
“My name is Valerie Mancha. I am the head coach of the all-women’s class. I’ve always noticed that in any gym you go to you hardly see any women, so I wanted to kind of start a class where women don’t feel so intimidated to join and they realize it’s not just for men, but can and is also for women.”
Women who often begin their Muay Thai journey often face their own personal doubts and may feel unready.
Whether this is mental or physical, coach Valerie believes the best way to overcome this is by simply stepping foot into the gym.
“I don’t think they should be afraid, but I do know that it’s very scary going into an environment like that. I kind of want to break the barrier of making it less scary for women.”
Valerie Garza, a combat sports practitioner even before attending M-M-K-G, believes it’s a useful skill set women can learn.
“It teaches to be strong and self-defense, so even if you’re out and about being a
female, you have to have that strong backbone. And it teaches you how to stand up for
yourself.”
Female students like Valerie with previous experience in an M-M-A gym are often rare to come across.
Most female students are those who often start with no experience, like Jada Austin.
“So I was definitely nervous, but once you start honestly, you could feel empowered by the other girls that show up or you’ll just end up empowering yourself knowing you can keep up with anyone else in the class regardless of your gender.”
Regardless of level and knowledge, Coach Valerie’s philosophy is simple.
“Seeing people smile when they’re training and when they are learning something new. And then sometimes when they have that a-ha moment when they are learning something and it just clicks. Seeing women enjoying it and realizing it’s for them too, not just men.”
The hardest part of the journey is beginning it, but it also marks the beginning of a great journey.
“Just have to do it. I feel like it’s the hardest thing to actually just go. If you’re not sure, if you’re scared, just put some workout clothes on find a place that has a class and just show up. That’s going to be the hardest part it’s just showing up, being there and getting started, that’s going to be the first step.”
Reporting for Fresno state focus: radio edition, this is Josue Miranda
There is a growing concern with electric scooter speed on campus.
Students are forced to be on the lookout as they walk around campus because electric scooter riders are going way too fast.
Even signs in highly congested areas on campus are being ignored.
Many students use bikes, skateboards, and scooters to get around campus and move quickly around Fresno State University.
Summer Reyes owns and has had numerous encounters with these vehicles zooming around Fresno State.
“So I got a scooter about last year, and I actually got hit twice on a scooter because I feel like a lot of students have their headphones in, and they kind of block out the world, and they will go super fast in those scooters and not know where they are going because both times I was hit, I was walking with my scooter. I wasn’t even on it.”
These e-scooters tend to be very quiet, both riders and pedestrians. This is why we need to be aware of our surroundings.
Summer Reyes shared some tips on scooter safety for Fresno State.
“Watch for your surroundings because I mean you never know who is gonna turn what corner or how fast other people are going and that is especially where it happens with all those crashes, like half the time when people do get in crashes, it is when they come around the corner.”
Students should also be aware when entering wheel-off zones around Fresno state’s most high-traffic areas, like the Fresno State Fountain and Fresno State Library.
These areas are made to make sure pedestrians walking are safe.
Reporting for Fresno state focus: radio edition, I am Ricardo Lozada.
Marisol: These are some of the upcoming events happening at Fresno State. In just a matter of hours, Preview Day will be underway at the Fresno State Maple Mall. We welcome future Bulldogs and share more information about what Fresno State has to offer to our prospective students. Preview Day will feature academic information, campus tours, student organizations and clubs, find jobs on campus, explore housing, and student success services, meet Victor E Bulldog IV, accept your admission and much more. Preview Day is today, March 16, and is just hours away, beginning at 8:30 a.m. and ending at 1 p.m.
Bianca: I Heart Fresno State Week kicks off this Monday, March 18th and ends Friday, March 22nd. There are so many events lined up including Bulldog Palooza, an event featuring live DJs, food trucks, and festival activities, Doglands, a student art showcase featuring club fairs, crafts, Camp Karaoke Night, and so much more. Fresno State will also be giving out free I Heart Fresno State merchandise throughout the week. You don’t want to miss it. Visit the Fresno State Spotlight Events Instagram page for more details.
Marisol: Fresno State’s annual Cesar E. Chavez Commemoration is set to take place on Thursday, March 21, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Peace Garden. It will feature a special keynote speaker, Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula. The event is being sponsored by the Fresno State Cross Cultural and Gender Center.
Bianca: And that wraps up our show for the day. Next week, we will…(tease the upcoming show).
Marisol: Today’s episode of Fresno State Focus: Radio Edition was produced by Professor Hanayo Oya for the Department of Media, Communications And Journalism. Our stories and interviews were produced and edited by Rene Rodriguez.
Bianca: This program is produced in collaboration with 90.7 KFSR. For Fresno State Focus: Radio Edition, I’m Bianca Gonzalez.
Marisol: And I’m Marisol Rubio. See you next week!