Fresno State students get head start on careers

Photo illustration by Michael uribes

Both graduate and undergraduate students at Fresno State have found a new way to take their passion and excitement to a new level, utilizing their education and love of social media to become entrepreneurs before they even exit school.

Sean Chamberlain, a graduate student working on his master’s in sports psychology, said he and his friend talked about their deep interest in their craft and about one day starting their own business.

That day came about five months ago, when Chamberlain decided to start taking the steps necessary to create their business, Over the Edge Sports Psychology Consulting.

“I just pretty much googled and researched everything,” Chamberlain said. “I’m a go-getter, so I went ahead and did it. I bought the LLC for it; we bought the website, bought everything we needed to start our business. It’s a way for us to do consulting and look more professional with a business behind it.”

Along with getting all the legal paperwork in order, Chamberlain said that one of the things he’s focusing on to help his business grow and become a presence in the community is the constant use of networking.

“We’re part of Fresno’s Leading Young Professionals, so it’s a way for us to promote ourselves to Fresno,” Chamberlain said. “We’re part of sportspsychology.com, which is a network for sports psychology consultants, so any type of networking we can find to be a part of if we try.”

While Chamberlain is quickly forming partnerships and building clientele, there are many other entrepreneurs on campus that are still in the process of transferring their passion into a viable source of income.

Hilary Wyckoff, an undergraduate majoring in business administration, is currently in her senior year at Fresno State and has started her own photography business on the web, Hilary Jane Photography.

“I first had the idea when I was in high school,” Wyckoff said. “I would always really think about my answer when teachers would ask, ‘What do you want to do when you grow up?’ I’ve never been able to see myself working for a company for the rest of my life. When I take photographs I capture what I see in nature, the little things, the world around me, and try to inspire others with my vision.”

Wyckoff began her enterprise by using social media, posting her work on Facebook to let family and friends know what she was starting. She soon moved to WordPress and created her own webpage to fully showcase her art and got herself business cards to pass out.

Christopher Clark, an electronic media major, also started his own business called Barking Cat Productions. His company films wrestling matches and creates entrance videos for wrestlers throughout southern California.

Wyckoff, Chamberlain or Clark used Fresno State classes or instructors to help them start or progress with their businesses. However, there are several entrepreneurship classes offered at Fresno State.

Betsy Hays, a public relations professor at Fresno State, previously taught a public relations entrepreneurship class and said that while the class is directed at public relations students, everyone is welcome. The information given applies to anyone who is interested in becoming an entrepreneur regardless of major or background.

“We go over a lot of client management,” Hays said. “We go over the business side of having a client-related business, billing, proposals, letters of agreement, how to pitch clients, all of that stuff, which is really transferable over into a lot of different industries.”