Yahoo Movies Joey Contreras: “I was working at Target and, honestly, I was a little lost.”
Joey Contreras was a 17-year-old student “just skating by” at Selma High School when life for the aspiring guitarist took a sudden turn.
“I was kind of thinking about being a rock star,” said Contreras, 30. “I was really into playing the guitar in a rock band because my father was a musician. He got me into that lifestyle.”
His music career changed the moment he became a teen parent.
“It was a pretty large 180-degree turn, going from that to what I do now,” said Contreras. “My priorities shifted a bit.”
Contreras gave up being lead guitarist for the metal band iDied, and focused on raising his son, Jayden. That’s when education seeped into Contreras’ gameplan.
Friday night, Contreras graduated with a master’s in physics with a 4.0 GPA from the College of Science and Mathematics at Fresno State.
He was also the graduate dean’s medalist.
Contreras started classes at Fresno City College in 2013, thinking he’d major in criminology or philosophy.
“I was just kind of going through the general education courses, trying to look at different fields,” he said.
Physics, science and math courses “just clicked for me,” he said. One class led to another and another.
“Before I knew it, I was kind of locked in,” said Contreras, who plans to begin his doctoral program in physics at UC Merced in the fall.
Contreras will teach a summer course at Fresno State.
Soon after he started at Fresno City College, Contreras’ son was diagnosed with Stage 4 liver cancer.
Another curve ball for him.
He spent the next 21⁄2 years with Jayden for treatment and overnight stays at Valley Children’s Healthcare.
Jayden recovered, and Contreras transferred to UC Santa Bárbara (he passed up UC Berkeley because he felt the other was “a better fit,” plus his best friend was headed there as well) to finish his bachelor’s degree.
Contreras returned to Fresno to be closer to his son and family after earning his undergraduate degree at UC Santa Bárbara.
However, he was uncertain about his next move.
“I was working at Target and, honestly, I was a little lost,” he said. “I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do at that point. I felt like I had more to give in science.”
He didn’t feel “adequate enough” for a PhD program at the time, but saw that Fresno State had a master’s program in physics. He applied and got in.
“I was just super excited about the opportunity to keep going and keep pursuing my dream of physics,” said Contreras, who entered Fresno State in the spring of 2020.
The pandemic struck at that time, so most of his study was online.
At Fresno State, he participated in quantum gravity research, published a journal article and spoke about his research.
He was also a teaching assistant in various labs, including astronomy, physics and natural science.
How does a person make a move from metal band to science and physics?
“For me, it was just a matter of being able to follow the ‘if this/then that’ type of reasoning,” he said. “A lot of science and math is grounded on basic principles that you assume to be true.
“That reasoning, like, vibed with me. I really enjoyed it,” said Contreras. “It almost became a therapy for me in a weird way where I could step away from things going on in my life.”
His parents, who met at Fresno State, both have university degrees. His father was OK with his son’s pursuit of a music career.
“My mom, not so much. It came from a place of love,” said Contreras. “She just thought the rock star thing was a gamble. So she didn’t want me to take such a risk.”
Joey Contreras
Honor: College of Science and Mathematics graduate dean’s medalist
Family: Parents Joe Contreras and Paula Rogers, sister Ally Contreras, son Jaden Contreras, 12;
Born: Selma
Age: 30
High school: Selma High School (2010)
Hobby: Martial arts, including kickboxing and jiu jitsu
Music: “I still play the guitar a lot, just for myself. In the last three years, I’ve really gotten into reading, like fantasy and science fiction.”
Food: Buffalo wings and celery sticks.
