The Zone in the Fresno City College Gymnasium has become a popular study hall for FCC athletes as they focus on the student portion of being student athletes. It is a welcoming space located in G-98 for student athletes only.
The Zone is primarily a study hall and computer lab for student athletes. It includes computers for the students to work on, snacks, water and a mini-fridge. It also has peer mentoring resources and strives for all athletes to feel welcome and supported.
The Zone is open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Brandon Wong, the athletic lead academic counselor, goes through registration workshops with every student athlete in The Zone. When they go over Student Education Plans, they promote The Zone as a safe space to get work done.
“I think I’ve seen a lot more, smiling faces around the zone,” Wong said. “And it’s not a bad thing. It’s like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna go and study for a couple hours,’ or ‘I’m going to do this homework assignment. I need to print something out, so I’m going to go over there.’”
The space has become more student friendly, it used to be set up like a classroom, but it’s more of a study hall environment now. Students have positively responded to these changes, feeling it is more inviting.
Evie Juarez, a soccer player at FCC, visits The Zone almost everyday and said that the space is a welcoming environment that has computers and staff ready to help with any questions.
“I didn’t have a computer for the first three weeks, so coming here helped a lot,” Juarez said. “There’s people here that are really nice, very welcoming, and I made a lot of new friends here. I was really nervous, so coming here really helped me.”
Juarez has found the staff to always be accommodating when it comes to questions and providing help. The Zone offers one-on-one time, which is a reason why many athletes choose this space over other tutoring facilities or the library. Juarez thinks the only improvement that The Zone could have is a larger outreach.
The athletic department recently updated their tracking system, so now every time a student uses The Zone they check into an automated system. This shows how many hours a student uses the space in a week and will eventually allow the department to run a weekly report.
“We’re hopefully going to be able to use that data and then look at, what do the grades look like in comparison to maybe students who aren’t using it?” Wong said.
Joshua Barajas, an FCC baseball player, works at The Zone as one of the tutors. Each staff member can help with certain subjects for athletes whether it’s homework or upcoming exams. Staff members want to facilitate a safe space for the athletes to be themselves.
“In here it’s different between a library,” Barajas said. “They could just be themselves, talk to friends that come in and all that. We don’t want them screaming in there, but you know, you could just have a normal conversation.”
In a day they see around 20 to 30 students Monday through Thursday, while Fridays are typically slower due to sports games going on.
Most students who come to The Zone will come back and become regulars.
“I think there definitely is impact because every athlete that comes in here, usually, they’re regular, they come back almost every day to get their work done,” Barajas said. “So I feel like the ones that come in here are the most successful.”
