Alumna Ashley Taylor, now a news producer for Fox News Edge, is a little jealous of current MCJ students who have Kim Stephens as their professor.

"Kim Stephens was my anchor at KMPH for seven years, and the lessons I learned from her are immeasurable," she said.

While she was a student at Fresno State, Ashley remembers having great professors herself: Prof. Helene Joseph-Weil and Dr. Anna Hamre.

"Both are legends in their own right, but for me, they were the perfect example of strong, amazing leaders who also happened to be women," she said. "They set my standard for the way I’ve continued to study — even now when I look for a teacher, I look for some version of the two of them. It’s what I trust."

Fresno State holds a special place in Ashley's heart.

"I love Fresno State in the fall — when the leaves are changing, and I’d be walking across the area by the Music Building at the end of a long (late) day," she said. "I loved all-night Smittcamp study sessions. I loved the busy days and the long rehearsals and seeing my byline for the first time in The Collegian."

Ashley graduated from the MCJ Department in 2004 with an emphasis in print journalism and a minor in music. A member of the Smittcamp Family Honors College, she met her husband, Anthony Taylor, a music education major, while they were both students at Fresno State.

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