Stefanie Verdugo Tholen is 41 years of age, lives in Fresno, California with her husband Tim Tholen and has a 2 1/2 year old daughter named Helena. She was born and raised in Fresno by her parents Joe and Margie, who were married for over 42 years.

She has two older brothers, and comes from a very large Mexican-American family. Stefanie attended San Joaquin Memorial High School, where she excelled in English and Drama. She was in various plays throughout her high school career and graduated with a 3.5 GPA. After high school, she attended Fresno City College and knew immediately that majoring in mass communications was her passion, however, life events led her down a path to working full time at a law firm and she decided to work full-time while trying to complete her college courses.

At the age of 19, she moved in with her boyfriend at the time, (who is now her husband of 13 years) and working full-time became her main focus to continue her status as an independent adult. As the years passed, she continued to take her general education courses in hopes of earning her degree in mass communication, however a full-time paycheck took precedence.

Later in life, she and her husband welcomed their one and only child into the world and life as she knew it changed for the better. She then realized she wanted to return to school to finish her degree and pursue her lifelong passion in journalism with a focus in broadcasting.

She is now in her last semester at Fresno City College, continuing her studies in journalism. She has previously taken Journalism 1, 3, 15, 16, and is currently enrolled in Journalism 11A and 16, to obtain her AA degree and transfer to Fresno State University in the spring. She also enjoys photography, is a member at Community Media Access Collaborative, has been an elite volunteer at Fresno Bully Rescue for the past six years and enjoys Zumba, golf, and spending time relaxing at home with her husband and daughter.

Contact Stefanie at [email protected]