The eight schools and colleges at Fresno State, along with the Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, each selected an outstanding student to honor as part of the class of 2025 Graduate Deans’ Medalists.
The deans selected an undergraduate and graduate medalist based on academic excellence, community involvement and other achievements. Fresno State’s Undergraduate Deans’ Medalists were announced on May 2.
In mid-May, one medalist from the group below will be announced as the President’s Graduate Medalist, the university’s top academic honor for a graduate 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 previously earned a B.S. degree in business administration with an emphasis in finance and a minor in economics at Fresno State. As an undergraduate, Berrett was a Craig Business Scholar and president of the organization. He is a committed entrepreneur who launched his first real estate venture by buying nine rental properties in South Bend, Indiana, at age 20, while still an undergraduate. Berrett has since expanded his real estate holdings and works as the chief operations officer of Pinnacle Investments, which revitalizes about 75 homes per year throughout the Central Valley. He is committed to giving back to the community and educating others about finance and real estate opportunities. As an M.B.A. student, Berrett was a guest lecturer for undergraduate real estate classes, sharing his experience and expertise to mentor students. He is the co-host of the Pursuit of Property podcast, which he describes as “a modern playbook for individuals chasing growth, building wealth and living with intention.” Berrett intends to continue his career as an entrepreneur and real estate investor.
Robert Cordova, College of Social Sciences
Robert Cordova, of Kingsburg, earned his M.P.A. with a 4.0 GPA. He previously earned a B.A. in East Asian Languages, Cultures and International Relations as a Smittcamp Family Honors College scholar at Fresno State. Cordova focused his master’s thesis on reducing plastic waste in California, analyzing the development of the circular economy within the state. He earned grant funds to create nine California Climate Action Corps Fellowships through a $387,000 grant for the College of Science and Mathematics. As Sustainability Club president, Cordova organized three Campus Earth Day events to engage students in environmental stewardship. As a student representative on the campus Arboretum Committee and ASI Sustainability Committee, he helped replace more than 6,000 square feet of grass with water-conserving landscaping. In 2024, he organized the planting of 4,300 pine saplings to reforest parts of the Sierra National Forest burned by the Creek Fire. After earning his degree, Cordova plans to continue his career in public service, fighting climate change and developing the circular economy in California.
Elise Guerra, College of Health and Human Services
Elise Guerra, of El Nido, earned her M.A. in speech-language pathology with a 4.0 GPA. She previously earned a B.A. in speech-language pathology from Fresno State as a Smittcamp Family Honors Scholar. Guerra’s lived experience with a severe traumatic brain injury inspired her to pursue a career as a speech-language pathologist focusing on children and adults with complex communication needs. She gained clinical experience at the Fresno State-Scottish Rite Speech and Language Clinic and through the Clovis Unified School District where she supported functional communication in children with a wide range of diagnoses. Her final externship was at the Leon S. Peters Rehabilitation Center at Community Regional Medical Center, where she once received life-changing care. There, she was responsible for the assessment and treatment of adults with language, speech and cognitive-communication disorders and for educating family members on stroke and brain injury recovery. Her experience with patients using assistive technology inspired her to develop a novel treatment on executive functioning for an adolescent with autism, which became her thesis. She presented her work at the California Speech-Language-Hearing Association Convergence this year. Guerra held leadership positions through Associated Students, Inc., including college senator. She plans to pursue a Ph.D. and return to Fresno State as 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. in educational leadership with a 4.0 GPA. Parra Guerrero’s family relocated to Porterville during his high school years, where he witnessed gaps in the resources offered to navigate the education system during the crucial period of preparing for college. After earning a business degree from Fresno State, Parra Guerrero left a career at a Fortune 500 company to pursue his passion — supporting students. Since 2018, he has served as administrative assistant for the Graduate Net Initiative and coordinated LGBTQ+ and gender programs and services and the Men’s Success Initiative through the Cross Cultural and Gender Center. He achieved personal growth through involvement with Los Danzantes de Aztlán folklórico dance program during his undergraduate studies and while pursuing his master’s degree. Parra Guerrero now reaches low-income, first-generation, college-bound high school students as the director of the university’s Upward Bound programs. After graduation, he plans to expand his research to uplift Latina/o/x student affairs leaders nationwide and pursue publication and presentation opportunities related to his research. He aspires to serve as a dean or associate vice president for student success and teach courses that emphasize leadership at the university.
Ayla Grace Mora, College of Arts and Humanities
Ayla Grace Mora, of Porterville, earned her M.A. in communication with a 3.9 GPA. She previously earned her B.S. in criminology and minor in classical guitar from Fresno State and three associates degrees in anthropology, administration of justice and communication from Porterville College. Born in Porterville, Mora’s family moved to Mexico when she was 4 years old. Growing up in 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 how her community used rhetoric and resistance to repel the cartel in an area dominated by cartel violence and oppression, and highlights how marginalized groups can reclaim agency in the face of adversity. She presented her research at the Violence in Latin American Conference in Florida, presented on human-centered design in Cuba and on intercultural fluency in Los Reyes, Mexico, where she helped establish a sister-college relationship between Porterville College and Instituto Technológico Superior de Los Reyes. Mora worked full time for the Office of Instruction at Porterville College and as a marching band instructor at Burton Unified School District in Porterville. Mora plans to become a community college professor to help equip students with tools to challenge systemic barriers and advocate for themselves and their communities.
Faviola Perez, Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management
Faviola Perez, of Fresno, earned her Ed.D. in educational leadership with a 4.0 GPA, making her a three-time Fresno State graduate. She previously earned her M.A. in teaching in 2014 and a B.A. in liberal studies in 2006. Born in Culiacán, Mexico, Perez moved to the U.S. with her family at 4 years old, and was fueled with a lifelong passion for social justice and educational advocacy after seeing her mother and brother deported. Her life’s work is distinguished with success in helping to pass California Assembly Bill 540 — granting in-state tuition rates to undocumented college students — as well as recognition as 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 academic research explored how culturally responsive pedagogy honors students’ cultural backgrounds and learning needs, counteracts deficit thinking and fosters inclusive educational environments. She currently serves as the principal at Mayfair Elementary School, where over 97% of students are socioeconomically disadvantaged and over 40% are English learners. Perez is in pursuit of policy change and systemic impact that will ensure all students are equipped to succeed in the classroom and beyond.
Mauricio Soriano, Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology
Mauricio Soriano, of Santa Maria, is the son of Salvadoran immigrants who fled during its civil war to the United States. A first-generation college student, he earned his M.S. in plant science with a 3.58 GPA. Upon graduating from high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Army as an infantryman and served two combat tours in Afghanistan while stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado. After his honorable discharge, Soriano pursued a B.A. in biological sciences at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, where he discovered a passion for plants. This interest led him to the Central Valley to study under Dr. Sharon Benes. Their research focuses on using satellite imagery to estimate forage yield in high-salinity soils irrigated with drainage reuse water — an approach that promotes water conservation but can lead to soil degradation. Soriano was recognized at a number of industry conferences and was awarded the Gerald O. Mott Graduate Student Award by the American Society of Agronomy, where he also serves as chair of the Military Veterans in Agriculture Specialty Group. Following graduation, he will continue conducting scientific research that supports the environment, agriculture and the community.
Prem Raj Timilsena, Lyles College of Engineering
Prem Raj Timilsena, of Nepal, earned his M.S. in construction management with a 4.0 GPA. He previously earned a B.S. in civil engineering from Tribhuvan University in Nepal. He contributed to multiple research projects, including the National Cooperative Highway Research Program Project 23-39, which focuses on workforce development for transportation construction inspectors. He co-authored a technical report on highway infrastructure inspection technologies published by the Mineta Transportation Institute and recognized in the Transportation Research Board Weekly. Timilsena published and presented his research on artificial intelligence in construction project management at the International Conference on Construction Engineering and Project Management 2024 in Japan. His study on engaging younger students in construction fields was accepted for publication and presentation at the Associated Schools of Construction Conference in Canada. He is a champion of the Fresno State Bluebeam User Group and has collaborated with faculty to conduct career workshops for middle and high school students. He also helped organize the K-12 Railroad Model Competition through the Fresno State Transportation Institute. He is currently an intern at Arcadis US Inc., where he has contributed to the California High-Speed Rail project. After graduation, Timilsena will transition to a full-time position with the company.
Joseph White, College of Science and Mathematics
Joseph White, of Tehachapi, earned his M.S. in physics with a 4.0 GPA. He previously earned a B.S. in physics from Fresno State. His interest in astrophysics led him to study shock formation in fluids as a foundation for future research on bow shocks around fast-moving stars in the interstellar medium. He received an award for his oral presentation on this work at the 2023 Central California Research Symposium. For his graduate thesis, he studied a statistical tool for detecting periodic behavior in astrophysical phenomena. He presented his findings at the 2024 American Physical Society Far West Section meeting and at the university’s Division of Graduate Studies. White served as a Supplemental Instruction leader and mentor since 2019. As part of the Physics Outreach program, he traveled to K-12 schools, community events and science fairs and used hands-on demonstrations of physics to spark interest in science among younger students. He served as a teaching assistant for the Department of Physics, leading lab sessions in both physics and astronomy. In recognition of his contributions, he received the Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award from the American Association of Physics Teachers. White plans to pursue a Ph.D. in geophysics.
