Fresno City College’s West Campus Center is now open for the fall 2023 semester. Students were excited to be a part of this new campus’s first class.
First-year college student Angel Melchor, heard about FCC’s West Campus’s development when he was in middle school.
“I never thought I would be one of the first backs [people] to be on this campus,” Melchor said.
Melchor is a first-generation college student majoring in media studies. He graduated from Edison High School, so FCC’s West Campus is close to what he is used to.
“I’m on the campus Melchor would pass by the campus during its construction in hopes of being on that campus one day.
Even with first-week nervousness, Melchor is hopeful for what is to come and ready for his second week.
Liberal studies major and student ambassador Amaya Smith was one of the faces FCC’s West Campus students would see when entering the campus.
Smith had a table set up on the side of the academic building greeting students who needed help on their first week.
“Just talking to the students, making sure they ease through at least the beginning week of school,” Smith said.
Smith isn’t taking classes at FCC’s West Campus but is happy to be working there, especially with it being the first week of classes.
“I think I’d rather be here than at Fresno City,” Smith said. “Everyone that works there is talking about how it’s pretty hectic.”
Smith is also a part of an outreach team that hopes to get more FCC West Campus students to be student ambassadors for convenience and to have students familiar with this campus.
Radiology major Kyle Young recently transferred to FCC from Fresno State and was excited to have a college campus near him.
“I don’t have to worry about being late to class, I can just come straight here,” Young said.
West Campus’s Academic Building not only holds classrooms and student services but places for students to relax.
There is a library on the campus for students looking to rent calculators and laptops. Student Aid and psychology major Alex Olivares works full time at the West Campus library and has mainly been helping students rent tech for their first week.
Dean of FCC Career Technology Center and West Campus Center Gurminder Sangha is happy with how smoothly the first week went, with little to no setbacks
“I think it went awesome, our faculty were able to go to their classrooms, students were there and able to teach the very first day,” Sangha said.
The only problem that happened in the first week was students who had classes on both campuses either didn’t account for travel time or were at the wrong campus.
For students that showed up at the wrong campus, West Campus made sure they were able to attend the next class session that day, to make up for the class that was missed.
Although Sangha isn’t aware of any plans for a shuttle from FCC to West Campus, Fresno public transportation is available. Bus routes 38 and 32 are the ones to use for students and can take about 40 minutes, Sangha said.
