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 2024 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 May 1.
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:
Kiana Crisosto, College of Science and Mathematics
Kiana Crisosto, of Kerman, earned her M.A. in psychology, emphasis in general/experimental, with a 4.0 GPA. She previously earned a B.A. in psychology from Fresno State. Crisosto, a first-generation student, became fascinated with underlying biases and decision-making processes after witnessing political discussions as a high schooler. She participated in research programs as an undergraduate, focusing on bias, partisanship and decision-making, which led to her master’s thesis on how race influences persuasive outcomes. Crisosto received the Graduate Student Research and Creative Activities Support Award and presented her thesis at the Western Psychological Association conference. She was a teaching assistant for psychology courses and a statistics consultant for the Graduate Student Success Center. Crisosto was an intern and research assistant for the Central Valley Health Policy Institute, helping to improve equitable housing prioritization in Fresno and Madera counties. She credits her graduate adviser, Dr. Spee Kosloff, with guiding and supporting her as a researcher. Crisosto wants to be a research and data analyst for California or in public health, and she wants to produce educational videos to empower her community and student researchers.
Jennifer Duran, College of Health and Human Services
Jennifer Duran, of Fresno, earned her M.A. in communicative sciences and deaf studies, emphasis in speech-language pathology, with a 4.0 GPA. She previously earned a B.A. in speech-language pathology from Fresno State. Duran was diagnosed with hearing loss as a child, requiring her to wear bilateral hearing aids. Her lived experience led her to career goals as a speech-language pathologist working with families and people from diverse backgrounds. Duran gained experience in Fresno State’s Speech, Language and Hearing Clinic and at West Fresno Elementary and Edison Bethune Charter Academy, where she planned and implemented individual and group treatment in areas of autism, childhood speech and language, fluency and cognition, Parkinson’s and bilingualism. She also worked as a graduate student clinician and treated patients at DeMera Allergy Asthma and ENT Center for dysphagia, dysarthria, aphasia, dementia and cognition. She will be working as a speech-language pathologist after graduation. By becoming one of the few hard-of-hearing speech-language pathologists, Duran wants to set an example for individuals with different abilities who desire to become professionals within the community science and disorder discipline.
Fernando Robledo Garcia, Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management
Fernando Robledo Garcia, of Shafter, earned his M.S. in counseling with a 4.0 GPA. He previously earned a B.S. in agriculture education from Fresno State. Garcia is a first-generation Latino student with a passion to work with underserved students. He was a graduate assistant with Off-Campus Student Life where he advocated for students living off campus. He served as an academic coach with Academic Success Coaching in the Learning Center. As a Summer Bridge counselor intern, Garcia supported first-generation, low-income high school students in their transition to college. He traveled to Washington D.C. to advocate for the continuation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and to highlight the challenges that these students face and how faculty and staff can support them. He was co-founder and president of Define American Student Club; counselor for Camp Kesem; senator of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Associated Students, Inc.; and participated in the College Assistance Migrant Program. Garcia was offered a full-time position as an academic navigator at the University of California, Merced, helping first-year students get good academic standing.
Andrea Lee, Craig School of Business
Andrea Lee, of Fresno, earned her M.B.A. with a 4.0 GPA. She previously earned a B.S. in business administration, entrepreneurship at Fresno State. She completed her undergraduate degree at 19 years old and finished her master’s in only three semesters at age 21. After the successful launch of her HiLow Podcast, which focused on sharing personal experiences and research for individuals living with bipolar disorder, her entrepreneurial spirit continued. She participated in pitch competitions as a graduate student, and she completed an internship with Academic Success Coaching on campus where she developed a passion for working with students in higher education and hopes to teach some day. While she pursued her master’s, Lee worked full time as an economic development specialist for the Fresno County Economic Development Corporation, where she led business retention and expansion efforts in Fresno and Clovis. She now lives in Austin, Texas and works to help Asian entrepreneurs as a marketing and communications intern at the Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce.