The 8 schools and colleges astatine Fresno State, on with the Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, each selected an outstanding pupil to grant arsenic portion of the people of 2025 Graduate Deans’ Medalists.
The deans selected an undergraduate and postgraduate medalist based connected world excellence, assemblage engagement and different achievements. Fresno State’s Undergraduate Deans’ Medalists were announced connected May 2.
In mid-May, 1 medalist from the radical beneath volition beryllium announced arsenic the President’s Graduate Medalist, the university’s apical world grant for a postgraduate student.
This year’s Graduate Deans’ Medalists are:
Cade Berrett, Craig School of Business
Cade Berrett, of Fresno, earned his M.B.A. with a 4.0 GPA. He antecedently earned a B.S. grade successful concern medication with an accent successful concern and a insignificant successful economics astatine Fresno State. As an undergraduate, Berrett was a Craig Business Scholar and president of the organization. He is simply a committed entrepreneur who launched his archetypal existent property task by buying 9 rental properties successful South Bend, Indiana, astatine property 20, portion inactive an undergraduate. Berrett has since expanded his existent property holdings and works arsenic the main operations serviceman of Pinnacle Investments, which revitalizes astir 75 homes per twelvemonth passim the Central Valley. He is committed to giving backmost to the assemblage and educating others astir concern and existent property opportunities. As an M.B.A. student, Berrett was a impermanent lecturer for undergraduate existent property classes, sharing his acquisition and expertise to mentor students. He is the co-host of the Pursuit of Property podcast, which helium describes arsenic “a modern playbook for individuals chasing growth, gathering wealthiness and surviving with intention.” Berrett intends to proceed his vocation arsenic an entrepreneur and existent property investor.
Robert Cordova, College of Social Sciences
Robert Cordova, of Kingsburg, earned his M.P.A. with a 4.0 GPA. He antecedently earned a B.A. successful East Asian Languages, Cultures and International Relations arsenic a Smittcamp Family Honors College student astatine Fresno State. Cordova focused his master’s thesis connected reducing integrative discarded successful California, analyzing the improvement of the circular system wrong the state. He earned assistance funds to make 9 California Climate Action Corps Fellowships done a $387,000 assistance for the College of Science and Mathematics. As Sustainability Club president, Cordova organized 3 Campus Earth Day events to prosecute students successful biology stewardship. As a pupil typical connected the field Arboretum Committee and ASI Sustainability Committee, helium helped regenerate much than 6,000 quadrate feet of writer with water-conserving landscaping. In 2024, helium organized the planting of 4,300 conifer saplings to reforest parts of the Sierra National Forest burned by the Creek Fire. After earning his degree, Cordova plans to proceed his vocation successful nationalist service, warring clime alteration and processing the circular system successful California.
Elise Guerra, College of Health and Human Services
Elise Guerra, of El Nido, earned her M.A. successful speech-language pathology with a 4.0 GPA. She antecedently earned a B.A. successful speech-language pathology from Fresno State arsenic a Smittcamp Family Honors Scholar. Guerra’s lived acquisition with a terrible traumatic encephalon wounded inspired her to prosecute a vocation arsenic a speech-language pathologist focusing connected children and adults with analyzable connection needs. She gained objective acquisition astatine the Fresno State-Scottish Rite Speech and Language Clinic and done the Clovis Unified School District wherever she supported functional connection successful children with a wide scope of diagnoses. Her last externship was astatine the Leon S. Peters Rehabilitation Center astatine Community Regional Medical Center, wherever she erstwhile received life-changing care. There, she was liable for the appraisal and attraction of adults with language, code and cognitive-communication disorders and for educating household members connected changeable and encephalon wounded recovery. Her acquisition with patients utilizing assistive exertion inspired her to make a caller attraction connected enforcement functioning for an teen with autism, which became her thesis. She presented her enactment astatine the California Speech-Language-Hearing Association Convergence this year. Guerra held enactment positions done Associated Students, Inc., including assemblage senator. She plans to prosecute a Ph.D. and instrumentality to Fresno State arsenic a professor.
Estevan Parra Guerrero Jr., Kremen School of Education and Human Development
Estevan Parra Guerrero Jr., of South Central Los Angeles, earned his Ed.D. successful acquisition enactment with a 4.0 GPA. Parra Guerrero’s household relocated to Porterville during his precocious schoolhouse years, wherever helium witnessed gaps successful the resources offered to navigate the acquisition strategy during the important play of preparing for college. After earning a concern grade from Fresno State, Parra Guerrero near a vocation astatine a Fortune 500 institution to prosecute his passionateness — supporting students. Since 2018, helium has served arsenic administrative adjunct for the Graduate Net Initiative and coordinated LGBTQ+ and sex programs and services and the Men’s Success Initiative done the Cross Cultural and Gender Center. He achieved idiosyncratic maturation done engagement with Los Danzantes de Aztlán folklórico creation programme during his undergraduate studies and portion pursuing his master’s degree. Parra Guerrero present reaches low-income, first-generation, college-bound precocious schoolhouse students arsenic the manager of the university’s Upward Bound programs. After graduation, helium plans to grow his probe to uplift Latina/o/x pupil affairs leaders nationwide and prosecute work and presumption opportunities related to his research. He aspires to service arsenic a dean oregon subordinate vice president for pupil occurrence and thatch courses that stress enactment astatine the university.
Ayla Grace Mora, College of Arts and Humanities
Ayla Grace Mora, of Porterville, earned her M.A. successful connection with a 3.9 GPA. She antecedently earned her B.S. successful criminology and insignificant successful classical guitar from Fresno State and 3 associates degrees successful anthropology, medication of justness and connection from Porterville College. Born successful Porterville, Mora’s household moved to Mexico erstwhile she was 4 years old. Growing up successful Mexico inspired her thesis, “A Rhetorical Analysis of Resilience Rising: Unraveling the Story of the Municipality of Tancitaro’s Defiance Against Cartel Domination.” Her thesis examines however her assemblage utilized rhetoric and absorption to repel the cartel successful an country dominated by cartel unit and oppression, and highlights however marginalized groups tin reclaim bureau successful the look of adversity. She presented her probe astatine the Violence successful Latin American Conference successful Florida, presented connected human-centered plan successful Cuba and connected intercultural fluency successful Los Reyes, Mexico, wherever she helped found a sister-college narration betwixt Porterville College and Instituto Technológico Superior de Los Reyes. Mora worked afloat clip for the Office of Instruction astatine Porterville College and arsenic a marching set teacher astatine Burton Unified School District successful Porterville. Mora plans to go a assemblage assemblage prof to assistance equip students with tools to situation systemic barriers and advocator for themselves and their communities.
Faviola Perez, Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management
Faviola Perez, of Fresno, earned her Ed.D. successful acquisition enactment with a 4.0 GPA, making her a three-time Fresno State graduate. She antecedently earned her M.A. successful teaching successful 2014 and a B.A. successful wide studies successful 2006. Born successful Culiacán, Mexico, Perez moved to the U.S. with her household astatine 4 years old, and was fueled with a lifelong passionateness for societal justness and acquisition advocacy aft seeing her parent and member deported. Her life’s enactment is distinguished with occurrence successful helping to walk California Assembly Bill 540 — granting in-state tuition rates to undocumented assemblage students — arsenic good arsenic designation arsenic Fresno Unified School District’s Teacher of the Year and nominations for Fresno County Educator of the Year and Association of Mexican American Educators Administrator of the Year. One of Fresno State’s inaugural Holmes Scholars, Perez’s world probe explored however culturally responsive pedagogy honors students’ taste backgrounds and learning needs, counteracts shortage reasoning and fosters inclusive acquisition environments. She presently serves arsenic the main astatine Mayfair Elementary School, wherever implicit 97% of students are socioeconomically disadvantaged and implicit 40% are English learners. Perez is successful pursuit of argumentation alteration and systemic interaction that volition guarantee each students are equipped to win successful the schoolroom and beyond.
Mauricio Soriano, Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology
Mauricio Soriano, of Santa Maria, is the lad of Salvadoran immigrants who fled during its civilian warfare to the United States. A first-generation assemblage student, helium earned his M.S. successful works subject with a 3.58 GPA. Upon graduating from precocious school, helium enlisted successful the U.S. Army arsenic an infantryman and served 2 combat tours successful Afghanistan portion stationed astatine Fort Carson, Colorado. After his honorable discharge, Soriano pursued a B.A. successful biologic sciences astatine the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, wherever helium discovered a passionateness for plants. This involvement led him to the Central Valley to survey nether Dr. Sharon Benes. Their probe focuses connected utilizing outer imagery to estimation forage output successful high-salinity soils irrigated with drainage reuse h2o — an attack that promotes h2o conservation but tin pb to ungraded degradation. Soriano was recognized astatine a fig of manufacture conferences and was awarded the Gerald O. Mott Graduate Student Award by the American Society of Agronomy, wherever helium besides serves arsenic seat of the Military Veterans successful Agriculture Specialty Group. Following graduation, helium volition proceed conducting technological probe that supports the environment, agriculture and the community.
Prem Raj Timilsena, Lyles College of Engineering
Prem Raj Timilsena, of Nepal, earned his M.S. successful operation absorption with a 4.0 GPA. He antecedently earned a B.S. successful civilian engineering from Tribhuvan University successful Nepal. He contributed to aggregate probe projects, including the National Cooperative Highway Research Program Project 23-39, which focuses connected workforce improvement for proscription operation inspectors. He co-authored a method study connected road infrastructure inspection technologies published by the Mineta Transportation Institute and recognized successful the Transportation Research Board Weekly. Timilsena published and presented his probe connected artificial quality successful operation task absorption astatine the International Conference connected Construction Engineering and Project Management 2024 successful Japan. His survey connected engaging younger students successful operation fields was accepted for work and presumption astatine the Associated Schools of Construction Conference successful Canada. He is simply a champion of the Fresno State Bluebeam User Group and has collaborated with module to behaviour vocation workshops for mediate and precocious schoolhouse students. He besides helped signifier the K-12 Railroad Model Competition done the Fresno State Transportation Institute. He is presently an intern astatine Arcadis US Inc., wherever helium has contributed to the California High-Speed Rail project. After graduation, Timilsena volition modulation to a full-time presumption with the company.
Joseph White, College of Science and Mathematics
Joseph White, of Tehachapi, earned his M.S. successful physics with a 4.0 GPA. He antecedently earned a B.S. successful physics from Fresno State. His involvement successful astrophysics led him to survey daze enactment successful fluids arsenic a instauration for aboriginal probe connected bow shocks astir fast-moving stars successful the interstellar medium. He received an grant for his oral presumption connected this enactment astatine the 2023 Central California Research Symposium. For his postgraduate thesis, helium studied a statistical instrumentality for detecting periodic behaviour successful astrophysical phenomena. He presented his findings astatine the 2024 American Physical Society Far West Section gathering and astatine the university’s Division of Graduate Studies. White served arsenic a Supplemental Instruction person and mentor since 2019. As portion of the Physics Outreach program, helium traveled to K-12 schools, assemblage events and subject fairs and utilized hands-on demonstrations of physics to spark involvement successful subject among younger students. He served arsenic a teaching adjunct for the Department of Physics, starring laboratory sessions successful some physics and astronomy. In designation of his contributions, helium received the Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award from the American Association of Physics Teachers. White plans to prosecute a Ph.D. successful geophysics.
