Most Giants fans know Amy Gutierrez as “Amy G,” the in-game reporter who spent 13 seasons delivering stories from the dugout and sidelines. But for Sonoma State students, Gutierrez is now at the front of a classroom. For the past six years, she has been teaching public speaking and sports broadcasting, bringing her big-league experience straight to SSU.
“I try to create the environment that I was in,” Gutierrez said, reflecting on her switch from TV to teaching.
Gutierrez is no stranger to SSU. When she was younger, she and her brother would roller skate around campus while their mom attended summer classes. Another reason she came to teach in Rohnert Park was Ed Beebout, chair of the Communications Department and a longtime friend. The two met at KFTY Channel 50, where Beebout was an anchor and Gutierrez worked as a producer. Their friendship eventually led Beebout to invite her to guest-speak in his classes—a visit that grew into a second career. “It was Ed who really helped me see that I could,” Gutierrez said.
This fall semester, she’s teaching two public speaking classes and one in sports broadcasting, where students get hands-on practice in front of the camera. She designs her courses around real-life experience, drawing from her years of reporting live from the field.
“I was interested to see that what I was doing on a daily basis was super applicable to academia,” she said. “Being with the Giants helped me formulate what I felt was important in my career to pass on to my classes.”
She admits the media world is tough and tells her students to expect the same in her classroom. “The industry I am in is not going to be kind to you,” she said. “I am super honest in this class with constructive criticism because I want to prepare you guys for what it’s actually like.”
Outside the classroom, Gutierrez hosts the podcast Girl, How’d You Get That Gig? with sports producer Celeste Gehring. The podcast highlights the many different career paths in sports and beyond. “Possibilities are endless, and that is what we convey,” Gutierrez said. “If you have any interest in working in sports, there are eight million ways to do it.”
While the podcast is for everyone, Gutierrez and Gehring say part of its mission is to uplift women in an industry where representation is still lacking. “Women weren’t sharing information with other women in the industry to help lift us up, promote us, build the numbers,” Gutierrez said. “Celeste was that diamond in the rough who was always, ‘How can I help you be better in what you are doing?’”
Gutierrez emphasizes that the lessons aren’t gender-specific. “It’s not a podcast to exclude men. We talk about the men who helped us in our careers too. But women aren’t talked about enough in sports.”
Whether she’s recording a podcast or teaching in a classroom, Gutierrez’s message stays the same: “Be genuine and passionate about what you want to do.”
