OUR OUTSTANDING GRADUATE STUDENTS

In celebration of Graduate Student Appreciation Week, we are pleased to express appreciation for the many contributions to the university and the community that our graduate students make as they strive towards their academic goals. We are pleased to recognize some of our students as Outstanding Graduate Students. These students were selected by graduate faculty to be recognized. We invite you to read about each of these outstanding students. Events scheduled by departments

Kathy Blumer is pursuing her graduate degree in Music, and is a very successful choir director/teacher for all age levels. In the Fresno area she taught for several years at Roosevelt School of the Arts; currently she is teaching at the elementary level in the Clovis Unified School District. Her groups have performed at many contests and festivals, consistently earning top ratings. In 1999 she directed the Mariposa-Merced California Music Educators Association Honor Choir. A long-time active member in the American Choral Directors Association, Kathy was asked to be a participant at their California summer conference on a panel addressing the needs of beginning teachers. In Fresno, Kathy is active as vocal coach at Roger Rockas, as an actor at Second Space, and as a member of the worship team at First Presbyterian Church. Kathy graduated from University of the Pacific magna cum laude in 1981. She is married and has three children.

Master of Physical Therapy graduate student Julie DeYoung is one of those students who "gets involved." She has volunteered extensively within the program, the university, and the community. Still, she maintained outstanding academic standing in the professional physical therapy program, and received several scholarships.

In addition, Julie became a certified Fallproof Balance and Mobility Instructor which involved over 100 hours of on-line studies and six all-day Saturdays on campus for testing and passing rigorous competency exams. Again, this was above and beyond her regular studies in the professional physical therapy program. Julie taught her first Fallproof Balance and Mobility class to seniors at risk for falling during Spring 2004 semester. Julie’s professional goals are to pursue doctoral studies and become an independent practitioner. With her drive, ambition, enthusiasm and intelligence there is no doubt she will inspire us all in her future endeavors.

Maureen Gillespie is completing her Master of Arts in Special Education degree in the Department of Counseling, Special Education, and Rehabilitation. Her focus is the area of mild/moderate disabilities. Maureen is a special education teacher at Kingsburg Elementary School. She is involved as a support teacher for student council and in planning fund-raising activities for red ribbon week, drama productions, and science camp.

This semester, in collaboration with her administrator and other teachers, Maureen will complete her master's project entitled, "Social Emotional Connection." This project is a response to the need for students to learn social as well as academic skills. She will utilize a guide that she is developing for her master's project to train general and special education teachers to integrate social skills into their morning curriculum. The social emotional curriculum will meet the needs of all students, but particularly those with emotional and behavioral problems who have had difficulty succeeding in general education classrooms.

Crystal Johnson is getting an MA in Kinesiology. She marvels at all the opportunities she has had while a graduate student at Fresno State.

Some of the experiences that she has been able to plan, direct, and participate in as the Sport Psychology club president and or just as a graduate student are: being a member of the first Sport Psychology Consulting Team made up of graduate students and professors; inviting guest lecturers for the Kinesiology Pedagogy Conference; publishing a mental skills article for youth sports; presenting a poster at the Association for the Advancement of Applied Sport Psychology (AAASP) conference in Philadelphia; being a guest lecturer for an undergraduate psychology class; raising funds and walking in the Cancer Society’s Relay For Life; assisting in the organization at the club’s first Workshop for Coaches and Athletes; helping organize the 2002 and 2004 Southwest Sport and Exercise Psychology Symposiums; and presenting at a Track and Field Clinic. Crystal has also had many teaching opportunities throughout her graduate experience, and received several honors and awards.

Crystal says that "the success that I have been able to accomplish here has been a direct result of the wonderful professors in our program and department. The overall success of the Sport Psychology Program is indeed a tribute to all the ‘blood, sweat and tears’ that have been sacrificed by both students and professors. Each has encouraged the pursuit of knowledge and truth that exists between the mind and body. Just believe and then go and do!"

Yumi Kinoshita is finishing her Master of Arts in Art degree this semester. Dr. Gina Strumwasser, her advisor, calls her "an extraordinary student and a special young woman who is tremendously capable, willing to learn, and prepared to give wholeheartedly to any project that she endeavors." Yumi's master's thesis, Michelangelo Merici Da Caravaggio, the Italian Baroque Painter, studies the importance and uniqueness of Caravaggio, and discusses him and his work in a historical context. Recently, Ms. Kinoshita was accepted into the MFA program at UC Santa Barbara.

Theresa Ann Leveque graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree from California State University, Fresno, Department of Social Work Education in December 2000, with a GPA of 3.75. She will graduate with a Master of Social Work degree from the Department of Social Work Education this semester with a GPA of 4.00. In addition she will earn a credential in the Pupil Personnel Services, in order to qualify as a social worker in the school system.

Ms Leveque has worked as a teaching assistant with the California Nutrition Network for Healthy, Active Families at the university during the past year. This program is administered through the Department of Social Work Education, in the College of Health and Human Services. She worked providing education to low-income children, foster parents and women with disabilities. She based her thesis, Effecting Behavior Change in a Multidisciplinary Approach to School-Based Health Education Training, Ages 8-12, on this work. Ms. Leveque’s commitment to children and families has made her an excellent teaching assistant. She plans to travel upon graduation. When she returns, she is planning to enter a doctoral program in Social Work to further her interest in education and in research.

Michelle Mahoney earned her M.A. from the Department of Communication in December 2003, and she is the Department’s nominee for the University Graduate Medal. Michelle excelled in her graduate classes while working full time as a high school English teacher and forensics coach. Her interest in public communication and public relations resulted in a career change, and she is now the Public Information Officer for Madera Unified School District. She is responsible for maintaining the media and public relations of a 17,000-student school district, and she played a central role in passing the first school bond measure in Madera’s history. In addition to a career change, while earning her M.A. Michelle also took on the role as a new mother.

Kristen Mattox who received her undergraduate degree from our university is pursuing a master’s in Kinesiology. She is balancing several roles: student, wife, and mother of four young sons while maintaing a 4.0 G.P.A.

Motivated to be more than just a student while doing graduate work,she has joined the Sport Psychology Club and has participated in several events. She has helped raise funds for the Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, and assisted in hosting a coach’s workshop for community coaches and athletes. This spring she is coordinating the Southwest Regional Sport and Exercise Psychology Symposium to be held here at California State University, Fresno. She is a recipient of the Jazmyn Breeze Gilbert Award and earned an Educational Research Project Grant.

Her thesis is on the high school experiences of female athletes and the role homophobia and lesbian labeling might have on these experiences. Kristen hopes to learn whether or not young female athletes are rejecting athletics because of homophobia and lesbian labeling.

Sarah Meyer has kept very busy while working on her master’s degree in Kinesiology. Besides being a wife and mother she worked at the YMCA as a fitness director and I also taught classes at Fresno State. Sarah feels that it’s important to get the most out of her education and have the real “graduate experience.”

She has been a member of the sport psychology club and also served the secretary/treasurer. As a part of that club she helped organize a coach and athlete workshop on mental training, and participated in the Relay for Life event in which she raised over $300 for the American Cancer Society.

Another part of her “graduate experience” is pursuing research ideas and professional development opportunities. Her thesis, Assessment of Physical Education Programs in Elementary Schools, is an evaluation of elementary school physical education. There is a real need to improve the status of physical education in schools to help slow the epidemic of childhood obesity. Sarah received a Research Merit Award from the Division of Graduate Studies to help her finish thesis.

Sarah attended several conferences such as the AAHPERD National conference in San Diego, AAASP National conference in Philadelphia, a CAHPERD state conference and presented at the Southwest Sport and Exercise Symposium.

Sarah routinely donates her time as a personal trainer to her church for an annual fundraiser and also to the men and women serving our country at the Air National Guard Base in Fresno. She is also one of the founding members of a group called Moms That Care that participates in community service projects on a regular basis.

After graduation Sarah plans to start her own performance enhancement consulting business here in the valley. She will continue to stay active in the field by attending conferences and submitting articles for publication. Sarah says her dream is to teach at the junior college level and hopefully impact a student’s life the way that hers was impacted.

Michelle Meyers entered the MS in Physics program at Fresno State in Fall 2003. During her first semester here at Fresno State, she took 11 units of graduate physics core courses with a full load of TA duties (20 hours/week). Her research interests lie in astrophysics. She has undertaken an independent study project on the periodicity of a mysterious cataclysmic variable, and she will be doing her graduation project on accurately calculating the mass of another important cataclysmic variable. She is the co-author of “Star Formation and the Interstellar Medium in Four Dwarf Irregular Galaxies,” published in The Astrophysical Journal in 2003. After her graduation (expected in Fall 2004—only three semesters), she will be applying to a variety of graduate schools for a Ph.D. She eventually plans to work in industry as a researcher.

Michelle grew up in a small town in western Washington. She received her bachelor of science degree in physics from the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in May 2003. Michelle narrowly missed being declared the top physics major of the year. She then received another diploma—a marriage license—in June 2003.

Michelle is an outstanding, talented and dedicated student with exceptional promise for success to perform graduate-level research at any school in the world. She is a hard-working, intelligent, motivated, very friendly and sincere student, who takes her studies extremely seriously. We are very fortunate that Michelle decided to join the Physics program.

Ivana was born in Belgrade Yugoslavia where she attended a specialized high school with a Natural Science emphasis. In 1998, Ivana started as an undergraduate in the CSU Fresno physics program, and she graduated in 2002 with a Magna Cum Laude. During her undergraduate studies Ivana won many scholarships and awards: the Harry C. Burbridge Scholarship, the Outstanding Physics Student Award for 2001, and she was also nominated for the prestigious Dean’s Medal. In 2002, Ivana joined our MS physics program and has continued her outstanding academic work. Ivana is an excellent graduate student with a GPA of 3.89.

Her research interests lie in the area of theoretical physics. She has done research with Dr. Gerardo Munoz on vector constants of the motion and orbits in the classical and relativistic Coulomb/Kepler problems. During the Fall 2003 semester, Ivana gave an interesting talk on her research to the Physics Department. In 2002, she attended the Pacific Coast Gravity Meeting at UC Davis. She is always up-to-date in her research fields. She decided that, with or without a grant support, she'd attend the annual UCLA Symposium on Sources and Detection of Dark Matter and Dark Energy in the Universe in February 2004. The department appreciated her strong will and awarded her $200 to fulfill her research desires.

Ivana has received high praise as a TA from both her students and the faculty. In addition to her outstanding academic and TA work, Ivana is the mother of two ambitious children (9 and 11) who can often be seen at the Friday Physics colloquium taking notes. Not only is Ivana an excellent student, but she is also raising the next generation of Fresno State physics students.

Gita Rajani, a graduate student in Rehabilitation Counseling already has three national presentations. She was selected to represent Fresno State in the statewide research competition. The findings of her study on recruitment in rehabilitation was solicited by the Federal government is being used in their planning. She is preparing her study for publication. Gita has been a leader in the Central California Cultural Society of India for 22 years, organizing fundraisers, blood drives and other activities for juveniles with diabetes, homeless and other disadvantaged persons. Gita has maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA throughout her graduate program and will graduate Spring 04.

David Reynolds did his undergraduate work at Cal Poly SLO and then served four years as an officer in the Marine Corps. Dave entered the master of science program in the Physics Department at Fresno State in Fall 2002, and has been a model student in both research and TA duties. Dave has maintained a 3.67 GPA while taking more than a full load of graduate classes.

With all his academic, research, and TA work, Dave nevertheless found time to marry a fellow physics graduate student, Joy Reynolds. Dave also loves to spend many starry nights pursuing his hobby of amateur astronomy. Dave and Joy will be graduating together at the end of Summer 2004, and Dave will continue his Ph.D. work in observational astronomy at UC Riverside where he has been accepted with a full stipend. The Physics Department feels fortunate to have such an excellent student in our program.

Nicholas Anthony Valdez an outstanding student from the English Department's M.A. program (Literature option). Nick maintained a 4.0 GPA at Fresno State while also being a Teaching Associate and a McNair Scholar. As a TA, he once taught as many as four English 1L workshops, and he also taught in the Summer Bridge program. Through his church, Nick rendered community service by participating in providing meals and outreach to the needy at Fresno's California Hotel.

Nick is the recipient of a $78,000 fellowship from the University of California, Riverside, where he intends to pursue a Ph.D. in the field of 20th-Century American Literature, Film, and Cultural Studies. Before attending Fresno State, Nick earned a B.A. from UCLA and a graduated from San Joaquin Memorial High School.

		The Chemistry Department will take part in this meaningful week by hosting a lunch for Chemistry graduate students. The gathering will be held on Friday, April 30, from 12:00 - 1:30 p.m. in the Chemistry Conference Room (S382). Please call 278-2103 for further information.