I never wanted to go to Fresno State. From the outside, it does not always make sense. The campus is not what draws you in. But if you are from the Valley, you understand. It is the people that make it what it is.

In the Central Valley, service families and civilian communities live side by side, often carrying very different experiences. Shaped by teaching during 9/11 and years of military service, this reflection is an invitation to widen the circle and honor the stories service spouses carry. A life of service never ends.