about me :
I’m Kat, a Russian-American artist, journalist, and musician.
I am the first in my family born and raised in the culturally-diverse Central Valley in California.
During school, I got involved in choir and talent shows, which lead me to my love for music. When I was in middle school, my parents went through a divorce. My dad moved back to Russia and my brother went down a path of substance abuse. Losing two of some of the closest people in my life threw me toward the only outlet that I knew was safe and always there for me, music.
I was gifted a guitar at age 13 and started writing songs about how I felt and coped with life's changes. Looking back, I'm so grateful I had a healthy way to express my emotions and keep myself out of trouble.
I graduated from Bullard High school and then went to Fresno City Community College to start my general education. I had no idea what I wanted to do with the rest of my life, but I knew it had to be something creative.
I explored several majors; art, psychology, music, nutrition, business, criminology, and finally landed on journalism. I realized that what I really enjoyed about all of the things I was interested in was people, communicating, creating content, and writing. With journalism, I could continue to learn and ask questions... forever.
After high school, I pursued music as a full-time job. I played gigs at local wineries, breweries, farmer's markets, Arthop, weddings, parties, and events. During that time, I recorded some of my originals and produced music videos, and had the honor of working with artists like Patrick Contreras (Violin On Fire) for my track Frame with your Picture, Al Berry who played bass on my song Sat Chit Ananda, and Roland Gajate Garcia who played percussion for my song What the Future Holds. I got to also take performance/theatre classes from actor Gary Imhoff, who taught me the art of stage presence.
It was such a fun time in my life. It taught me so much about finding my voice both literally and figuratively. I learned to trust my creativity. I learned the valuable skill of networking and running my own business as an entrepreneur musician. I thought I wanted to become an entertainment attorney, so I threw myself into business and criminology classes at California State University, Fresno.
Mid - criminology major, I started working at the Fresno County District Attorney's Office as a student worker. After a year of sorting through endless criminal files, I realized that mountains of paperwork and court proceedings are not for me. I asked the public information officer if I can become their assistant. I got accepted.
I switched my major to media communications and journalism. I began writing for the D.A.'s Office Discovery Newsletter. I attended events and used my skills in photography and filming to create content for their social media. One of my favorite days on the job was the Law Enforcement Torch Run. A bunch of law enforcement agencies started the race at Chukchansi Park in Fresno and ran to Dog House Grill on Shaw near Savemart Center. And yes, that was the first time I ever ran 9 miles with my camera in hand, capturing photos and video of the run.
During my senior year in college, I also started working at the Amendola Family Student Cupboard on campus. All of my co-workers were so unique. We were all different majors and each of us had completely different skills and backgrounds. It made me even more appreciative of the Central Valley. Where else could you find such a diverse group of people speaking different languages and working together to provide free food to Fresno State students as part of the Food Security Project?
Through my engagement at the 'Cupboard, I joined the CSU Employee Union. In February 2024, we won our election to become the largest undergraduate union of student workers in the nation. My role working for the union was to cold-call, canvas workers on campus, and talk to hundreds of students to collect signatures prior to election.
During my last semester, I joined Fresno State Focus newscast where I was able to fine-tune and chisel my skills in filming, photography, creating VOs, VOSOTs, news packages, anchoring the news, producing the rundown, and being a weather woman. With the help of my professors Faith Sidlow and Kim Stephens, I grew tremendously as a news writer and visual storyteller. I even got the chance to shoot my first sports story on the women's tennis match Fresno State versus San Jose State.
I graduated from Fresno State with a degree in mass communication and journalism. But of course I don't want to stop my education there. While searching for masters programs abroad, I found a teach - abroad program through TravelBud and decided to start a new adventure while teaching English as a second language in Spain.
I'm definitely bringing my guitar and my camera with me, to share my music in Spain and my teaching journey with you. Follow me through social media, YouTube, or by contacting me here.
Cheers,
Kat