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