Nine top graduate students have been named Deans’ Graduate Medalists for the Class of 2011 at California State University, Fresno, chosen as the outstanding student in each of the university’s eight schools and colleges and the Division of Student Affairs.
Each dean selects an undergraduate medalist and a graduate medalist based on academic excellence, community involvement and other achievements.
One medalist will be named the University Graduate Medal winner at the Graduate Degree Hooding Ceremony at 7:30 p.m. May 20 at the Save Mart Center. The university’s 100th Commencement is May 21.
Class of 2011 Graduate Medalists are:
Christine Marie Rainbolt, Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology – Rainbolt, who is from Idaho Falls, Idaho, completed an M.S. in Plant Science with a 4.0 GPA. She discovered her passion for research after working as a nursery sales representative for two years, and then for three years as a biological science technician for the USDA Agricultural Research Service and an extension agent in Palm Beach County, Florida. Rainbolt has been a volunteer for the Sequoia Chapter of the California Native Plant Society. Her thesis research examines using steam as a soil fumigant replacement for methyl bromide to grow cut flowers, which could be applied to other high value-crops where fumigation chemicals are at issue. She has received first- and third-place awards from the California Weed Science Society for her student papers.  She is preparing her work for publication in a horticulture research journal. Rainbolt plans a career in outreach or education in weed management.
Julio Puente Garcia, College of Arts and Humanities – Puente Garcia, who is from Firebaugh, completed an M.A. in Spanish with a 4.0 GPA. He came to Fresno from Mexico in 2003, picking crops in Central California, but dreamed of earning a college educations. After learning English, he enrolled at West Hills College then studied at UC Merced before transferring to Fresno State. His professors say he continually strives to improve, has a keen sense of language and a solid appreciation for the development of style and thought. Puente Garcia is involved with the community through Austral, a student group that promotes Spanish American literature and culture, and through the Mexico Consulate in Fresno. His thesis investigates Medieval to Renaissance periods and development of the concept of individuals’ relationship to expansion of capitalism. Already accepted into two doctoral programs, Puente Garcia wants to obtain a Ph.D. in Hispanic Languages and Literatures and become a professor.
Russel David Statham, The Craig School of Business – Statham, who is from Fresno, completed an M.B.A. with a 4.0 GPA. A President’s Graduate Fellow, his thesis “Leadership Development in Student Governing Board Members” was nominated by the Craig School of Business for the Outstanding Thesis award. Statham, a former Smittcamp Family Honors College President’s Scholar, has been engaged in public service. He was Associated Students Inc. chief of staff and vice president for finance, and helped establish the ASI Scholarship Program. He was appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as a California State University student trustee and was recently named a CSU trustee emeritus. He co-founded the National Coalition of Student Trustees and Regents and has owned and operated two information technology businesses.  Statham plans to pursue a doctorate in higher education and become a university president.
Soua Xiong, Kremen School of Education and Human Development – Xiong, who is from Fresno, completed an M.S. in Counseling with a 4.0 GPA. Born in Thailand, he came to the U.S. at age six with his family and is the first college graduate in his family. He has been recognized as a Ronald E. McNair Scholar, a Sally Casanova Predoctoral Scholar, received two graduate assistantships and a California Graduate Equity Fellowship. Xiong has been highly engaged in service on and off campus. He is a volunteer at Stone Soup Fresno, the Boys 2 Men Girls 2 Women Foundation and the Sequoia Community Health Center Wellness Clinics. At Fresno State, Xiong has chaired the University Student Union board of directors and served on the Fresno State Association board of directors, Fresno State Leadership Council and Student Parking Structure Advisory Group. He plans to pursue a Ph.D. leading to a career in higher education dedicated to student support services.
Benjamin T. Adams, Lyles College of Engineering – Adams, who is from Visalia, earned an M.S. in Civil Engineering with a 4.0 GPA. He was a Smittcamp Family Honors College President’s Scholar. He was an exchange student at the Universidad de Navvara, San Sebastian, Spain, where he studied industrial construction, foundations and soil mechanics. As a teaching associate at Fresno State, Adams has taught six sections of a soils testing course. He was a crew member and engineering aide at Lane Engineers Inc. in Tulare. Adams has four publications with thesis adviser Dr. Ming Xiao (three as first author) and has made six presentations at regional and national conferences. His research into piping erosion mechanisms of organic soils is of strategic importance to long-term durability of levees. He has received numerous awards and honors, including an American Public Works Association Scholarship.
John Michael Lydiate, College of Health and Human Services – Lydiate, who is from Dunedin, New Zealand, completed an M.S. in Communicative Disorders with a 4.0 GPA. He was the first deaf student admitted to the mathematics program at Otago University in New Zealand and then was the only deaf student in the credential program at Fresno State. Although newly married and a father, he invested many hours studying and completing research papers and projects to achieve his goal of becoming a high school mathematics teacher for deaf students. Lydiate has been actively involved with the deaf and hard of hearing community through his work as a volunteer in several conferences, tutoring deaf students in algebra and teaching Sunday School to the deaf. He uses his acting talents to teach math through skits. Lydiate wants to develop mathematical language in American Sign Language and provide teaching assistance to parents of deaf and hard-of-hearing children.
Vanessa A. Gonzales, College of Science and Mathematics – Gonzales, who is from Strathmore, completed an M.S. in Biology with a 3.88 GPA. She says her parents instilled the importance of education from a very young age, encouraging her to seek a career that would bring her joy and help others. She found that in biology. Gonzales developed a taxonomic key for crab larvae in the San Francisco Bay estuary, which led to a significant publication that will be used by future scientists studying the crab populations there and and in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. She is working as a part-time instructor at a community college. Her goal is to become a full-time community college instructor and to share her passion for biology with others.
Luke Aaron Fleeman Martinez, College of Social Sciences –Martinez, who is from Tulare, completed an M.A. in History with a 4.0 GPA. He received a Ronald E. McNair Scholarship and is a member of the Phi Alpha Theta honors society. At Fresno State, he has been a teaching and research assistant and attended a summer study program in Italy. Described as deft, thoughtful and insightful in his approach to research and professional work, Martinez has been an editor of the graduate student journal Hindsight. His thesis explores the 1752 French and Indian raid on the Miami settlement at Pickawillany in present-day southwestern Ohio as a case study in exploring native ritual violence, cultural brokers and native diplomacy. Martinez’s master’s thesis was nominated for the Outstanding Thesis Award. He will pursue a Ph.D. in History at the University of Pittsburgh.
Palingwinde Yves Ouedraogo, Division of Student Affairs – Ouedraogo, who is from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, Africa, completed an M.A. in International Relations with a 3.87 GPA. Coming from an impoverished background in West Africa, he fears that illiteracy could have been his destiny had his parents not invested in his education. When he arrived in the United States from West Africa, Ouedraogo held a bachelor’s degree in law but did not speak English. After attending Kent State University, he enrolled in Fresno State’s American English Institute. Ouedraogo has been committed to his education and to serving the campus community as a volunteer for many organizations. He has helped countless graduate students acclimate to the campus and Fresno community. He participated in internships for California’s U.S. Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein. Ouedraogo plans to pursue a Ph.D. with a goal of working for an international institution involved in development of poor nations.
Related links:
Centennial Commencement set for May 21
