The San Francisco Giants are getting ready to head into spring training in the sunny and warm city of Scottsdale, Ariz. beginning February 24; however, a key member of their team has kept herself busy in the offseason by working with other reporters. Amy Gutierrez, professionally and personally known as Amy G., is the Comcast SportsNet Bay Area sideline reporter who covers the San Francisco Giants. Though she has an extensive list of accomplishments, she never fails to accredit many of them to her roots in Petaluma, where she attended Kenilworth and our school, and where she just returned to inspire myriad students and fans with aspirations of their own.

   Friday, January 13, Gutierrez came to the school NMU and discussed how she was able to attain the career she has today, how she dealt with criticism in the process, and how she sees her future unfolding. Her presentation centered on her unorthodox journey from a college graduate with a degree in communications to the Giants’ in-game reporter.

   “When I graduated [UC Davis], I got a job in retail. I didn’t have any guidance into television, and every job was five dollars an hour. [Then] I moved to Los Angeles. I had no job, and I just applied to all these TV stations, and the same day I applied, I got called in for an interview and happened to get hired. It was at a Spanish/financial station. Eventually, after applying three times to Channel 50, I got hired. From that job at Channel 50, it went into warp speed. I got a job [in] San Francisco at KRON, which was then NBC, [where] I was a producer. I was not on camera. From KRON, I went on to LA [where] I got a job at Fox SportsNet Bay Area as a producer, and then my boss gave me a shot on air. [In] 2008, Comcast purchased Fox Sports, and the President of the Giants asked [my boss] if the girl who was doing the stuff with the A’s could be with the Giants. He had been watching what I was doing on the A’s. I started with Comcast and the Giants in 2008, so I’m headed into my tenth season. It has been an incredible ride. It has been every aspect you can imagine. It has been extremely difficult, to a point where I wanted to quit, I was done. But this is one of the most exciting moments I’ve ever seen in my life that I get to witness in sports,” said Gutierrez.

   Naturally, Gutierrez touched the hearts of several students and fans. Junior John Dooley admired the informative and inspirational aspect of the event in particular. Dooley reflected on what he got from Gutierrez’s presentation and how it has shaped his perspective on his own future.

   “I thought [the presentation] was great, and [what] I mostly got from it was that she went here and played sports here. She wasn’t really successful at first, but then her career got launched, and [she] eventually got with the Giants. It motivated me to just never give up on your dreams because you never know what’s going to happen,” said Dooley.

   As a whole, this presentation (and selfie opportunity afterwards) was illuminating. Gutierrez shared her journey to success, the obstacles she underwent in the process, and the triumphs she had and continues to have to this day. From an alumna to the San Francisco Giants sideline reporter, Gutierrez is a true role model for students everywhere who are about to embark on comparable journeys in pursuing their dreams.