Nine top undergraduate students have been named Deans’ Medalists for the Class of 2008 at California State University, Fresno. They will be recognized at the 97th Commencement ceremony at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, May, 17, at the Save Mart Center. One will be named winner of the President’s Medal, the university’s top student recognition.

The medalists are chosen as the outstanding students in each of the university’s eight schools and colleges of academic discipline and the Division of Student Affairs. The dean of each college/school selects an undergraduate medalist based on academic excellence, community involvement and other achievements.
The Class of 2008 undergraduate Deans’ Medalists are:

  • James Johnson of Hanford (Hanford High) – College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology
  • Edgar Castellon of Fresno (McLane) – College of Arts and Humanities
  • Jennifer Holmes of Fresno (Clovis West) – Craig School ofBusiness
  • Katherine Yeffa of Pleasanton (Foothill High) – Kremen Schoolof Education and Human Development
  • Kimberly Hudson of Clovis (Crescent City High) – College of Engineering
  • Soua Moua of Fresno (Hoover High) – College of Health and Human Services
  • Kaitlin Crawford of Hanford (home school) – College of Science and Mathematics
  • Nine top undergraduate students have been named Deans’ Medalists for the Class of 2008 at California State University, Fresno. They will be recognized at the 97th Commencement ceremony at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, May, 17, at the Save Mart Center. One will be named winner of the President’s Medal, the university’s top student recognition.

The medalists are chosen as the outstanding students in each of the university’s eight schools and colleges of academic discipline and the Division of Student Affairs. The dean of each college/school selects an undergraduate medalist based on academic excellence, community involvement and other achievements.
The Class of 2008 undergraduate Deans’ Medalists are:

  • James Johnson of Hanford (Hanford High) – College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology
  • Edgar Castellon of Fresno (McLane) – College of Arts and Humanities
  • Jennifer Holmes of Fresno (Clovis West) – Craig School of Business
  • Katherine Yeffa of Pleasanton (Foothill High) – Kremen School of Education and Human Development
  • Kimberly Hudson of Clovis (Crescent City High) – College of Engineering
  • Soua Moua of Fresno (Hoover High) – College of Health and Human Services
  • Kaitlin Crawford of Hanford (home school) – College of Science and Mathematics
  • Ashley DeFranco of Clovis (Hallmark Charter, Sanger) – College of Social Sciences
  • Joshua McDonald of Fresno (Buchanan High) – Division of Student Affairs

College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology

James Johnson

James Johnson completed his Bachelor of Science in plant science, plant health option, with a 3.73 GPA.

At age 12, Johnson developed a keen interest in research science and sold catalog items to purchase a microscope, which he still owns.

Johnson has presented papers at three professional conferences on topics ranging from biofuels to water allocation and worked in the Agriculture Research Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Since 2004, he has received 15 scholarships and grants. In 2007, he was named as one of the American Society of Agronomy’s 14 nationally selected Golden Opportunity Scholars. This June, Johnson will present a poster at the World Congress on In Vitro Biology at the University of Arizona.

Johnson, who is a member of 10 honor and professional societies, has been accepted into the graduate program in plant breeding and genetics at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Edgar Castellon

College of Arts and Humanities

Edgar Castellon completed his B.A. in modern and classical languages and literatures and his B.A. in political science with a 3.83 GPA.

The oldest son of immigrant parents Castellon strives to set an example for his younger siblings. He is fluent in speaking, reading, writing and translating English and Spanish.

Castellon is a transfer student from Fresno City College. At Fresno State, he is the treasurer for the Political Science Association, the pre-law chapter of the international law fraternity, Phi Alpha Delta, and the mock trial team.

He participates in Kids Day, tutors high school students and volunteers as a translator for schools, hospitals and at the Fresno County Courthouse. He also does volunteer work at the Fresno Adult Living Center, Chaffee Zoo and for United Farm Workers of America.

Castellon is passionate about politics and Hispanic culture and plans to work toward achieving a more equitable world.

Jennifer Holmes

Craig School of Business

Jennifer Holmes completed her B.S. degree in management with a 4.0 GPA.

A Craig School of Business Honors student, she represented the university in the 2007 Human Resource Collegiate Competition.

Holmes is a member of the honors societies Beta Gamma Sigma and Phi Kappa Phi. She has continuously been on the Dean’s and President’s lists while at Fresno State and also has worked as a magnetic resonance imaging technician.

Holmes assisted the Theatre Department in two productions and her honors thesis examined approaches to organizational effectiveness in the theater industry.

In recognition of her volunteer work, Holmes won the 2005 Craig Business Scholars Community Service Award and the 2006 and 2007 Ambassador Award.

Katherine Yeffa

Kremen School of Education and Human Development

Katherine Yeffa completed her B.A. in liberal studies with a 4.0 GPA and simultaneously earned a multiple-subject teaching credential. Since 2005, she has been student director for the Peach Blossom Festival of Oral Interpretation at Fresno State.

Yeffa served as School of Education senator in student government. In 2006, she became active in the California Youth Democracy Alliance, a nonpartisan nonprofit group grounded in civic engagement and public policy. Through Campus Compact and the Education Commission of the States, she has been a speaker and presented workshops about the need for including youth voices in public policy.

Yeffa was a volunteer teacher for the Kids Invent! summer program through the Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Fresno State. Her passions are teaching and music. She has had lead roles in a number of musicals, and won awards from the American Musical Theatre of San Jose and California Music Educators Association.

She plans to earn a Ph.D. in international education.

Kimberly Hudson

College of Engineering

Kimberly Hudson completed her B.S. in civil engineering with a 4.0 GPA.

She served as a chapter president of Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honors society, this academic year. She was recognized as a Tau Beta Pi Scholar. She also founded at Fresno State a chapter of Chi Epsilon, the civil engineering honors society.

Hudson served as the senator for the College of Engineering in the Associated Students Senate and volunteered with University HOPE and Kids Day. Her senior design project was a shopping center and industrial park. She has experience working as a structural engineering intern with Taylor Teter Partnership. During the past year, Hudson has managed her grandfather’s commercial real estate business.

She plans to enroll in the M.B.A. program at Fresno State this fall.

Soua Moua

College of Health and Human Services

Soua Moua completed a B.A. in social work and a B.S. in business administration with a 3.9 GPA. She immigrated to the United States with her family from Laos. In pursuit of her degrees, Moua worked two part-time jobs and attended school full time.

Moua also completed a certificate in cross-cultural competency. She was an intern at Fresno County’s Department of Children and Family Services. She has played an active role in bringing attention to human rights violations in Laos and is an advocate for Hmong and Laotians.

An ardent promoter of civic engagement, her volunteerism includes the Hmong Student Club at Fresno City College, the Boys2Men Girls2Women Foundation and the Hoover Mentoring Program. She won the Valley Business Conference Scholarship in 2005 and the Karl Falk Memorial Scholarship in
2006.

Moua is interested in pursing a master’s degree in public
administration.

Kaitlin Crawford

College of Science and Mathematics

Kaitlin Crawford completed her B.S. in biology with a 3.978 GPA. While at Fresno State, she has been on the President’s List and on the Dean’s List.

After taking a biology course, Crawford developed an interest in becoming a geneticist. She began working in Dr. James Prince’s laboratory, where she has collected data for a manuscript that she will co-author. Crawford worked on a fungicide sensitivity project and in large pathogenicity screening tests and was a lab manager.
Crawford has accepted a clinical lab science internship at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose and also has applied to the Clinical Lab Science Program at San Francisco State to prepare for a career as a lab scientist.

Ashley DeFranco

College of Social Science

Ashley DeFranco completed her B.S. in criminology and a minor in philosophy while maintaining a 4.0 GPA.

She is a founding member of the Criminology Honors Program and was
elected president for both Phi Alpha Delta, a law fraternity, and the
Political Science Association.

DeFranco presented a paper, “A Comparison of the California Megan’s Law
and the National Sex Offender Registry,” at the American Association of
Behavioral and Social Science Conference In 2007.

She is completing internships at the Department of Agriculture’s
Compliance Branch and in the law firm of McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard,
Wayte and Carruth.

DeFranco has volunteered with Kids Day and the Center for Advanced
Research and Technology in Clovis. She has been a mentor in the Project
SMART elementary school program.

DeFranco has been accepted to the University of California, Davis School
of Law.

Josh McDonald

Division of Student Affairs

Josh McDonald completed three bachelor’s degrees – in philosophy,
political science and psychology and maintained a 4.0 GPA.

He is a Smittcamp Family Honors College student. He served as the
Associate Students Inc. senator for the College of Arts and Humanities
and was honored as top senator of the year. As president of the
Recycling Club, McDonald launched a campaign to reduce campus use of
Styrofoam.

He was named Outstanding Senior Philosophy Major, the John B. Manning
Scholar, the Psychology Student of Talent and the Renaissance Person
Award.

He also is a musical composer and performer, earning a minor in trumpet
performance. He performs with Fresno State Jazz Band “A” and has been
selected to the California Institute for the Preservation of Jazz
All-State Collegiate Honor Jazz Band for five years.
Ashley DeFranco of Clovis (Hallmark Charter, Sanger) – College of Social Sciences

Joshua McDonald of Fresno (Buchanan High) – Division of Student Affairs

College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology

James Johnson

James Johnson completed his Bachelor of Science in plant science, plant health option, with a 3.73 GPA.

At age 12, Johnson developed a keen interest in research science and sold catalog items to purchase a microscope, which he still owns.

Johnson has presented papers at three professional conferences on topics ranging from biofuels to water allocation and worked in the Agriculture Research Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Since 2004, he has received 15 scholarships and grants. In 2007, he was named as one of the American Society of Agronomy’s 14 nationally selected Golden Opportunity Scholars. This June, Johnson will present a poster at the World Congress on In Vitro Biology at the University of Arizona.

Johnson, who is a member of 10 honor and professional societies, has been accepted into the graduate program in plant breeding and genetics at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Edgar Castellon

College of Arts and Humanities

Edgar Castellon completed his B.A. in modern and classical languages and literatures and his B.A. in political science with a 3.83 GPA.

The oldest son of immigrant parents Castellon strives to set an example for his younger siblings. He is fluent in speaking, reading, writing and translating English and Spanish.

Castellon is a transfer student from Fresno City College. At Fresno State, he is the treasurer for the Political Science Association, the pre-law chapter of the international law fraternity, Phi Alpha Delta, and the mock trial team.

He participates in Kids Day, tutors high school students and volunteers as a translator for schools, hospitals and at the Fresno County Courthouse. He also does volunteer work at the Fresno Adult Living Center, Chaffee Zoo and for United Farm Workers of America.

Castellon is passionate about politics and Hispanic culture and plans to work toward achieving a more equitable world.

Jennifer Holmes

Craig School of Business

Jennifer Holmes completed her B.S. degree in management with a 4.0 GPA.
A Craig School of Business Honors student, she represented the university in the 2007 Human Resource Collegiate Competition.

Holmes is a member of the honors societies Beta Gamma Sigma and Phi Kappa Phi. She has continuously been on the Dean’s and President’s lists while at Fresno State and also has worked as a magnetic resonance imaging technician.

Holmes assisted the Theatre Department in two productions and her honors thesis examined approaches to organizational effectiveness in the theater industry.

In recognition of her volunteer work, Holmes won the 2005 Craig Business Scholars Community Service Award and the 2006 and 2007 Ambassador Award. Katherine Yeffa

Kremen School of Education and Human Development

Katherine Yeffa completed her B.A. in liberal studies with a 4.0 GPA and simultaneously earned a multiple-subject teaching credential. Since 2005, she has been student director for the Peach Blossom Festival of Oral Interpretation at Fresno State.

Yeffa served as School of Education senator in student government. In 2006, she became active in the California Youth Democracy Alliance, a nonpartisan nonprofit group grounded in civic engagement and public policy. Through Campus Compact and the Education Commission of the States, she has been a speaker and presented workshops about the need for including youth voices in public policy.

Yeffa was a volunteer teacher for the Kids Invent! summer program through the Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Fresno State. Her passions are teaching and music. She has had lead roles in a number of musicals, and won awards from the American Musical Theatre of San Jose and California Music Educators Association.

She plans to earn a Ph.D. in international education.

Kimberly Hudson

College of Engineering

Kimberly Hudson completed her B.S. in civil engineering with a 4.0 GPA.

She served as a chapter president of Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honors society, this academic year. She was recognized as a Tau Beta Pi Scholar. She also founded at Fresno State a chapter of Chi Epsilon, the civil engineering honors society.

Hudson served as the senator for the College of Engineering in the Associated Students Senate and volunteered with University HOPE and Kids Day. Her senior design project was a shopping center and industrial park. She has experience working as a structural engineering intern with Taylor Teter Partnership. During the past year, Hudson has managed her grandfather’s commercial real estate business.

She plans to enroll in the M.B.A. program at Fresno State this fall.

Soua Moua

College of Health and Human Services

Soua Moua completed a B.A. in social work and a B.S. in business administration with a 3.9 GPA. She immigrated to the United States with her family from Laos. In pursuit of her degrees, Moua worked two part-time jobs and attended school full time.

Moua also completed a certificate in cross-cultural competency. She was an intern at Fresno County’s Department of Children and Family Services. She has played an active role in bringing attention to human rights violations in Laos and is an advocate for Hmong and Laotians.

An ardent promoter of civic engagement, her volunteerism includes the Hmong Student Club at Fresno City College, the Boys2Men Girls2Women Foundation and the Hoover Mentoring Program. She won the Valley Business Conference Scholarship in 2005 and the Karl Falk Memorial Scholarship in 2006.

Moua is interested in pursing a master’s degree in public administration.

Kaitlin Crawford

College of Science and Mathematics

Kaitlin Crawford completed her B.S. in biology with a 3.978 GPA. While at Fresno State, she has been on the President’s List and on the Dean’s List.

After taking a biology course, Crawford developed an interest in becoming a geneticist. She began working in Dr. James Prince’s laboratory, where she has collected data for a manuscript that she will co-author. Crawford worked on a fungicide sensitivity project and in large pathogenicity screening tests and was a lab manager.

Crawford has accepted a clinical lab science internship at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose and also has applied to the Clinical Lab Science Program at San Francisco State to prepare for a career as a lab scientist.

Ashley DeFranco

College of Social Science

Ashley DeFranco completed her B.S. in criminology and a minor in philosophy while maintaining a 4.0 GPA.

She is a founding member of the Criminology Honors Program and was elected president for both Phi Alpha Delta, a law fraternity, and the Political Science Association.

DeFranco presented a paper, “A Comparison of the California Megan’s Law and the National Sex Offender Registry,” at the American Association of Behavioral and Social Science Conference In 2007.

She is completing internships at the Department of Agriculture’s Compliance Branch and in the law firm of McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte and Carruth.

DeFranco has volunteered with Kids Day and the Center for Advanced Research and Technology in Clovis. She has been a mentor in the Project SMART elementary school program.

DeFranco has been accepted to the University of California, Davis School of Law.

Josh McDonald

Division of Student Affairs

Josh McDonald completed three bachelor’s degrees – in philosophy, political science and psychology and maintained a 4.0 GPA.

He is a Smittcamp Family Honors College student. He served as the Associate Students Inc. senator for the College of Arts and Humanities and was honored as top senator of the year. As president of the Recycling Club, McDonald launched a campaign to reduce campus use of Styrofoam.

He was named Outstanding Senior Philosophy Major, the John B. Manning Scholar, the Psychology Student of Talent and the Renaissance Person Award.

He also is a musical composer and performer, earning a minor in trumpet performance. He performs with Fresno State Jazz Band “A” and has been selected to the California Institute for the Preservation of Jazz All-State Collegiate Honor Jazz Band for five years.