Despite spending more than four decades delivering the news , Booroojian says what she wanted to be when she “ grew up ” wasn ’ t always clear . While she excelled in drama in high school , a career in the spotlight had never crossed her mind .

“ I honestly didn ' t know what I wanted to pursue when I got out of high school , but I did want to go to college , so I went to Fresno City College for a year and then transferred over to Fresno State . But working in broadcasting was the furthest thing from my mind ,” she said .

Booroojian was originally an ornamental horticulture major , where she was able to explore her love of gardening and working with plants but found the science aspect of the path wasn ’ t a match . So , when a classmate suggested she try a radio , television and broadcasting class , Booroojian was in .

“ For some reason I found it really interested me . I never expected I was going to be a news anchor or anything . I just really liked it ,” she said . “ It seemed interesting to me and fun , and I wanted to pursue it in some way .”

Booroojian got her foot in the door during her last year of college , when she landed a news job for a local radio station . Then one of her instructors let her know KSEE24 was looking for fresh faces , and she snagged a spot , starting as an off-camera reporter trainee . She later became a producer and continued moving up until being named the main anchor for the station , where she remained until she retired in June .

“ It was such a rewarding career in so many ways . I would encourage anyone who ' s interested in storytelling and reporting on news for local communities to pursue it ,” she said .

Booroojian says her advice to aspiring journalists is to be prepared to work hard , embrace a challenging schedule and not walk onto the job expecting to be an anchor . She says it ’ s a career that ’ s both grueling and gratifying .

“ I love the connection with the local community . You can really do things that impact and help them . I think that ' s something that is so incredible about this line of work ,” she said .

While there have been many highlights over the years , Booroojian says traveling to Armenia to tell stories of local doctors on medical missions was among her most rewarding assignments . She said it ’ s been a privilege recognizing the doctors ’ humanitarian work .

She also said promoting Buddy Check , a program that encourages monthly self breast exams , has been very important to her . She estimates it ’ s helped tens of thousands of people locally since she helped launch it in this market in the 1990 ’ s and was recently stopped by a viewer who said the program saved her life by leading to early detection of cancer .

While things have slowed down for Booroojian since retirement , the storytelling continues , but on a personal level now , as she focuses on her own .

“ It ’ s kind of a chapter that ’ s still unfolding . I have hobbies that I enjoy and travel . I ’ m not retiring from life ,” Booroojian said .

She ’ s also not ruling out taking on part-time work if she finds something she ’ s passionate about .

But for now , the former anchor is taking advantage of having the freedom to explore .

“ I ’ m just really enjoying taking a breather and being able to do whatever I want , whenever I want ,” she said .

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