One brutally hot day, a young man decided to change his life.
In the summer of 2002 Salvatore Bueno was looking down from the metal roof of the Steinert Campus Center, then under construction on the main Fresno Pacific University campus. His job for Fresno Roofing was to install metal and rubber roofing, familiar work to this third-generation tradesman.
But Bueno’s thoughts were on the people he saw below. “I’m sure it was 100 degrees,” he says. “I just remember thinking, ‘one day I'll get off these roofs, and one day I'll have the opportunity to be on campus.’”
That vision became reality in the fall of 2024, when “Dr. Bueno,” Ph.D., came back to FPU to teach as an adjunct instructor in the business department on main campus, North Fresno Campus and online.
While Bueno had completed an associate degree at Chabot College, a community college in his native East Bay, and once considered transferring to a four-year school, in 2002 he was focusing on his responsibilities as a new husband and father in a new city. “The work-life balance was a little difficult,” he says.
With a supportive supervisor, Jose Gamma, and a hard look at his own life, Bueno started his journey. Bueno knew he had to work on his faith. “Obviously, I knew Fresno Pacific University was a private Christian environment, and I knew that if I was going to be around this environment, that I needed to align my personal life with the FPU way,” he says. “It definitely guided me to make some of those changes.”
Having fallen away from the Apostolic Christian faith of his youth, he joined his family at Clovis Apostolic Church and eventually gave his life to Christ and became active in the congregation. Currently Bueno frequents River Gate Ministries in support of his friend Pastor Rick Jimenez.
Then there was Bueno’s academic history. Before finishing his associate degree, he had been expelled from two high schools, finally completing his diploma through a continuation program. It looked like a long road to a doctoral dissertation.
Bueno set to work building his resilience, managing his emotions and developing his cognitive flexibility. “Just adjusting my thoughts and my perspectives so that I can navigate these challenges. But most importantly, taking responsibility for the challenges that I was faced with,” he says. “I had to believe in myself and those goals.”
He also had to believe in God’s leading. “I know we say God has got my back, but in this case, knowing that God's got my front and that I can just continue taking those steps, knowing that although I may not see, I know that God can see,” Bueno says.
This combination of hard work, support and faith led Bueno to complete, between 2003 and 2022, a Bachelor of Business Administration, a Master of Business Administration, a Doctor of Management in Organizational Leadership and a Ph.D. in Higher Education/Higher Education Administration, all from the University of Phoenix.
Today Bueno brings what he has learned in school and in life to teaching in FPU’s MBA, traditional undergraduate and bachelor’s degree completion business programs as well as mentoring student-athletes. He also owns CollabUcate LLC, a consultancy that supports education and community organizations.
Given his own story, it is not surprising Bueno calls teaching a calling. He believes education can transform, that every student has the potential to succeed and that his job is to help them unlock that potential.
“One of the most rewarding aspects of my work at FPU is seeing the impact that education can have on a student’s life. Education is not just about textbooks and exams; it is about helping students discover their passions, overcome obstacles and achieve their dreams,” he says. “I am honored to be a part of the FPU community, and I am excited to see what the future holds for our students and our university.”