Frederick Lisitsa and Elise Guerra were awarded Fresno State’s apical world honors for the people of 2025.
Chosen from a radical of 9 Undergraduate Deans’ Medalists and 9 Graduate Deans’ Medalists, they were amazed with the grant during the President’s Recognition Reception connected Thursday, May 15.
“Congratulations to Frederick and Elise for achieving specified iconic levels of excellence,” said Fresno State President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval. “Their lived experiences inspired them to prosecute acquisition paths that uplift our communities. They are shining examples of however a Fresno State grade empowers our talented students to go visionary leaders.”
Lisitsa, of Los Angeles, was selected arsenic the President’s Undergraduate Medalist, the university’s apical grant for an undergraduate student. He earned a bachelor’s grade successful science and a insignificant successful doctrine with a 3.8 GPA. He is simply a first-generation Ukrainian American and U.S. Navy veteran, enforcement vice president of Associated Students, Inc. and launched Campus Beautification Days that rallied volunteers to works astir 175 trees and reconstruct field greenish spaces.
Guerra, of El Nido, was selected arsenic the President’s Graduate Medalist, Fresno State’s apical grant for a postgraduate student. She earned a master’s grade successful speech-language pathology with a 4.0 GPA. 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.
Frederick Mark Lisitsa, President’s Undergraduate Medalist
After serving arsenic a sonar technician aboard a U.S. Navy destroyer — and receiving the Humanitarian Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal and Basic Training Honor Graduate Ribbon — Lisitsa was medically retired for PTSD and enrolled astatine Fresno State done the Veterans Education Program. He was elected enforcement vice president of Associated Students, Inc., wherever helium helped make a $40,000 pupil probe assistance fund, authored cardinal argumentation resolutions and launched Campus Beautification Days, an inaugural that rallied volunteers to works astir 175 trees and reconstruct field greenish spaces. He served arsenic president and vice president of the Student Veterans Organization, co-founded the university’s caller crystal hockey nine and presented probe connected civic engagement, misinformation and artificial quality equity. A two-time President’s Service Award honoree and recipient of the division’s Achievement of Excellence Award, Lisitsa plans to be instrumentality schoolhouse and hopes to champion the semipermanent occurrence of the California State University – the nation’s largest assemblage system.
Elise Guerra, President’s Graduate Medalist
A Smittcamp Family Honors Scholar, Guerra 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.
