When the January 2025 wildfires forced nonstop breaking news coverage in Los Angeles, two familiar faces sat side by side at the NBC4 News anchor desk. Camilla Rambaldi, a general assignment reporter, delivered critical updates when the region needed clear information and calm voices. Sitting with her was weekend evening anchor and reporter Jonathan Gonzalez, not just a trusted colleague but a fellow CSUN alumnus she first knew as a Matador.
It is a full circle moment that feels made for a CSUN Success Story. Rambaldi (Journalism) and Gonzalez (Broadcast Journalism) both earned their degrees at CSUN in 2013 and built their skills through hands on opportunities that helped launch their careers in competitive newsrooms. Now, their paths have converged again in Los Angeles at NBC4, showing how a CSUN education can turn curiosity into experience and prepare Matadors to serve their communities when it matters most.
Long before they shared the NBC4 anchor desk, both traced their drive toward broadcast journalism to something personal. “I never thought I’d ever work in TV news. It’s honestly still interesting to me that I do,” Gonzalez said, tracing his start to “just a natural curiosity for history, politics and current events.” He said he began building his skills at College of the Canyons, where he learned to “use a camera, edit video and write,” and it was not until his journalism instructor and mentor “told me I might have a future in front of the camera” that he began to believe it. “Why CSUN? Because it was the perfect transition for me coming out of a wonderful community college,” Gonzalez said, adding that CSUN “was much more affordable than other journalism schools in Los Angeles.”
For Rambaldi, the spark came early and never left. “Ever since I was a little girl, I always knew I wanted to explore a future career in communications and use my voice,” she said, remembering how she created her own “mini broadcast” at home by reading magazines out loud and highlighting current events. When she began researching colleges, Rambaldi said she discovered CSUN’s journalism program and “its emphasis on broadcast news,” and she was “intrigued by the program’s options and the hands on practice it offered.” “My gut told me I was making the right choice,” Rambaldi said.
At CSUN, both said they were able to develop the foundations they still use on the job. “My absolute favorite thing to tell CSUN students is that the very same journalism skills I learned while in school I still use today,” Gonzalez said. “From broadcast-style writing, filming and editing video, writing articles and performing on camera … those skills are still in use every single day on the anchor desk and in the field.” Rambaldi said CSUN taught her how to build a story from start to finish, from “developing a story pitch” to editing the final package. She recalled “spending hours in Manzanita 150” reworking her pieces “until everything flowed and made sense” because she knew “the work could end up on my reel” and help her stand out in a competitive industry.
As for where they gained the most hands on practice at CSUN, both pointed to experiences that put them in real newsroom mode. Gonzalez said he anchored live radio news each day and produced, reported and anchored for Valley View News – CSUN’s weekly student newscast – filming, editing and writing along the way, then added internships at local TV stations to learn how TV news operates. Rambaldi also cited Valley View News as her most hands on experience and carried that training into an assignment desk internship at KABC7, where she answered phones, called sources for news updates and shadowed reporters building stories on deadline.
When asked about a story they are most proud of, both pointed to reporting that resulted in lasting impact. Rambaldi reflected on the January 2025 wildfires, saying she anchored her “first non-stop breaking news coverage broadcast at KNBC with fellow CSUN alumnus and colleague Jonathan Gonzalez,” and that “providing the crucial information and updates for our viewers during some of the darkest hours is something I’m most proud of.” Gonzalez pointed to his reporting on Bruce’s Beach, a beachfront property in Manhattan Beach that was taken from a Black couple, Charles and Willa Bruce, through eminent domain by the city in 1924. In 2022, Los Angeles County agreed to return the property to the Bruces’ descendants, and Gonzalez covered the nearly 100-year effort to correct that injustice. “We raised awareness of the story and efforts to return the land to the Bruce family,” he said, which “actually happened several years after our story aired.”
Looking back at their first days on campus, both offered the perspective they wish every current Matador could carry with them. “If I could go back in time, I’d remind that 17-year-old me that it’s okay to fail and start again,” Rambaldi said. Gonzalez echoed that encouragement with a reminder to stay present through the pressure. “Enjoy the ride,” he said. “College is tough. Journalism is even tougher. So, pause and be grateful every now and then. You’re lucky to be right where you are.”
Their paths began at CSUN and now meet again at NBC4, serving Los Angeles with the skills they built as Matadors. Where could your CSUN journey lead? Learn more about applying to become a Matador.
Read more from Caliornia State University at CSUN Newsroom.
