Matt Juarez was born and raised in Fresno, California. At age 35, he is returning to Fresno City College, pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing. His goals are to become an editor for a major publication company. He has been writing creatively ever since he was a small child; he can’t remember a time in his life when he wasn’t writing short stories, comics, songs, poetry, etc. In his late-teens to mid-twenties, he wrote, recorded and performed original music in a local band with a close friend, as well as writing and performing original solo material. After that, he began performing spoken word poetry in 2014, and to this day he continues writing and performing his own poetry. He has performed his work live at various coffee shops, bars, restaurants, used bookstores, poetry slams, and performance venues around the Central Valley. In early 2019, he began working as a part-time editor for a small publishing company called New Life Clarity Publishing. Ever since he returned to college, he’s been taking classes in different fields he hasn’t explored previously, looking to find something new that he’s passionate about, which ultimately led him to becoming a reporter for The Rampage. He’s also participated in several creative writing workshops. He’s taken acting classes and performed in actor’s showcases at Fresno City College, as well as landing a small role in the November 2019 production of The Thanksgiving Play. That same year, he starred in a short horror film called Reformation, which was screened at several short film festivals in California. The Fall 2023 semester is his first semester back on campus since the Covid-19 pandemic hit, and he has found it very rewarding to be attending in-person classes once again.