College of Arts and Humanities
2011 Arts and Humanities Dean's Medalists
Undergraduate Nominees
Art and Design
Julia Scott
Julia J. Scott
is the recipient of several scholarships and awards that include
the Walter and Al Sunderland Huston Award for Excellence in Art,
the Candlelight Guild Award, the Susan Mon Pere Memorial Art
Scholarship and the Gay Student Alliance Network Award through the
Bulldog Pride Scholarships. She was accepted to and completed the
College of Arts and Humanities Honors Program and is currently
President of the United Student Pride, an organization that serves
the campus’ GLBT community. Along with a fellow student,
Julia entered and won the competition to design and paint the new
Conley Art Building mural. She plans to further her artistic
endeavors by pursuing a Master’s degree at Fresno State in
the fall.
Communication
Stephanie Hartzell
As someone
who has often fallen outside of traditional definitions of
normalcy, Stephanie Hartzell has come to embrace her unique
identity and she has developed a passion for empowering others to
do the same. Stephanie elected to major in Communication after
learning that it provided both a unique perspective on social
justice issues as well as serving as an excellent foundation for
law school. Stephanie is the principal author of a group essay that
was accepted for presentation at the 2011 Undergraduate Scholars
Conference held in conjunction with the Western States
Communication Association Convention. She has also assisted in the
planning of the department’s annual Peach Blossom Festival.
After graduation, Stephanie plans to pursue a Master’s degree
in Communication after which she intends to attend law school.
Stephanie’s long-term goal is to work toward empowering
traditionally marginalized groups to promote empowerment and
advocate for equality.
English
Jamie Barker
Jamie Barker
came to Fresno State when she was thirty-four. She worked on her
degree for twenty years. During that time, while raising four
children, she founded and directed Dakota House, a community center
in “the Dakota Corridor” a dangerous and impoverished
Fresno neighborhood. She and her family lived at Dakota House,
providing twenty-four hour support to at-risk children. She is a
fine writer and plans to enter an MFA Creative Writing program and
then to teach writing in the state prisons. Jamie Barker:
“Most inmates have stories to tell. And in the telling, they
find healing for themselves and bring encouragement to
others.”
Linguistics
Britney Neufeld
Britney
Neufeld is earning her degrees in Linguistics Interdisciplinary
Studies and International Business. She has a 3.93 cumulative GPA
and maintained 4.0 major GPA. She is a President’s Scholar
and a member of various honor organizations including Sigma Alpha
Lambda, Golden Key, Phi Kappa Phi, Beta Gamma Sigma, Craig Business
Scholars and honors program. Britney has volunteered over 50 hours
a year for a variety of organizations throughout the community and
is currently constructing an undergraduate thesis. She has been an
intern at the State Capitol and received a full scholarship to
study for an academic year in Germany.
Media, Communications and Journalism
Cassidy Smith
Cassidy Smith, a
Smittcamp scholar, is a broadcast journalism major, with minors in
Spanish and media arts. Community service has played an important
role in Cassidy’s four years at Fresno State as an inaugural
and continuing Richter Center ambassador and the president of
Smittcamp’s student leadership group (COPS). In December
2010, the Sanger Herald published her 10,000 words, seven-article
independent research project on local real estate. She has interned
at Fresno Magazine, the Fresno Bee, the international Carmel Bach
Festival and the U.S. House of Representatives as a Kenneth L.
Maddy Institute scholar. She hopes to pursue a graduate degree in
journalism or global communication.
Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures
Adriana Sánchez
Adriana
Sánchez moved to the US from Mexico as a young child and
grew up in Tulare. Adriana is the first in her family to obtain a
college degree, and she has a triple major in Political Science,
Chicano and Latin American Studies, and Spanish. Adriana’s
will and desire to raise public consciousness and promote social
change continually inspires her, both in the academic arena and in
her personal involvement with the current political debate
concerning immigration. In Adriana’s quest to improve the
lives of the underprivileged, she has been heavily involved with
children who are English learners and with the DREAM Act. It is
notable that Adriana has achieved high academic marks in her three
majors, has invested much of herself in her community, and has paid
for her entire education by holding three jobs throughout her years
of study. Adriana will enter the MA program in International
Relations at Fresno State in Fall 2011.
Music
Elisa Moles
Elisa Moles, a
music performance major and chemistry minor, is a Smittcamp Family
Honors College student with a 4.0 GPA. She is the principal flutist
in both the Fresno State Wind and Symphony Orchestras and flutist
of the President’s Woodwind Quintet. Honors include Fresno
State Concerto Competition Finalist, performing with the
Intercollegiate Northwestern Honor Band, and a featured soloist
with the Fresno State Wind Orchestra in Chicago. Elisa shares her
music through teaching and performing at local schools and rest
homes. She plans to earn her Master’s and Doctoral degrees in
flute performance with goals of playing in a professional symphony
and teaching at the university level.
Philosophy
Abdullah Hanifi
Abdulah’s
parents fled Afghanistan in 1980 after the Soviet invasion. They
struggled to make it to the United States and eventually came to
reside in Central California. Growing up, Abdullah excelled and
skipped the 8th grade. He attended University High School
eventually becoming a Fresno State Bulldog. He is the third sibling
to graduate from Fresno State. He participated in the College of
Arts and Humanities Honors Program, conducts clinical research
through UCSF and is an active member of the Bulldog Pantry’s
leadership team. Since 2008 he has been tutoring disadvantaged
youth at the Tutoring Club of Clovis.
Theatre Arts
Kyle Carlson
Since age five,
Kyle Carlson has won many awards and accolades as a competitive
dancer. At age seven, Kyle began his studies in gymnastics at Break
the Barriers alongside other children with various abilities and
disabilities. Kyle was afforded opportunities to travel the world
through his association with Break the Barriers and advocate for
inclusion for all people regardless of physical or mental
abilities. Having worked with Break the Barriers for ten years,
Kyle is currently the assistant director of both the dance and
gymnastic departments in addition to being the maintenance man.
Roosevelt High School recently hired him to teach theatre movement,
where he instructs high school students in gymnastics, juggling,
pantomime, stage combat, clowning, and fencing.
Graduate Nominees
Art and Design
Chris Scharnick
Chris
Scharnick’s paintings are about his personal experiences
dealing with the affects of schizophrenia – a mental illness
suffered by a member of his immediate family. His work expresses
his feelings about his childhood hardships and abuse he suffered
resulting from living with a schizophrenic, his struggle to
understand the disease, and his own fear of developing this
hereditary illness. Chris states that “The process of making
this work was very therapeutic for me and I feel it has also helped
others to open up and discuss their own hardships. My hope is that
the experiences that I have depicted in my work, of growing up in a
broken home under poverty and abuse, may help others, (primarily
troubled youth) in making the right decisions in life. There is
hope; and people can overcome difficult starts in life.”
Chris intends to continue his artistic development and pursue an
MFA in Art.
Communication
Maria López
A
native of Los Angeles, Maria López decided to enroll at
Fresno State to broaden her personal and educational experiences
outside of southern California. Her Master’s studies center
around her interests in applications of intercultural communication
and how it enhances organizational structures. Maria’s
Master’s project is an internal communication audit focused
on intercultural issues of a local organization. While completing
her Master’s degree in Communication, Maria has enjoyed
full-time employment working with several Fresno County schools
through the AVID program – a program designed to enhance and
expand high school student eligibility for college admission.
English
Mario Rosado
Born and raised
outside of Los Angeles to parents from Mexico and Puerto Rico, no
one better represents a typical Fresno State student than Mario
Rosado. His academic achievements and ideals are sterling examples
of leadership and creativity of the highest quality. His excellent
teaching record, his involvement with the Chicano Writers and
Artists Association and his acceptance into such prestigious
writing conferences as Tin House and the Napa Writers Conference
are testaments to his maturity as a scholar and thinker. A
promising young writer, Mario’s work will add a lasting
contribution to the evolving body of American letters.
Linguistics
Kristine G. Vanderhoof
Kristi
Vanderhoof earned her degree in Linguistics (TESOL) in December
2010. The Division of Graduate Studies awarded her an assistantship
to conduct research for her paper, “Comparing the spelling
development of adult ESL and basic education students,” which
she was accepted to present at the national COABE and CCAE
conference in April. Kristi has served in leadership positions in
the Linguistics Club and assisted with hosting WECOL and Saroyan
CATESOL conferences at Fresno State. She has worked at Career
Services and at the American English Institute. She hopes to become
a community college professor and will consider doctorate programs
in language education.
Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures
Julio Garcia-Puente
Julio
García has earned a 4.0, and has been accepted to the Ph.D.
programs in Spanish literature of various prestigious universities.
Julio’s research presents the break in the episteme that
destroys the symbolic order that places the colonized subject as
the agent of change and as possessor of his own past, present and
destiny. The second chapter of his thesis has been sent as an
article for publication, and he is currently working on a second
article. Having come to the US at the age of 18, it is impressive
that Julio learned to speak English by attending night classes
while working as a farm laborer during the day, and furthermore
managed to graduate from college with honors. Julio promotes
Mexican and Latin American culture and literature through his
involvement with student groups and with community centers.
Music
Lisa M. Howell
Lisa M. Howell,
soprano, completes an MA in vocal performance (with distinction).
Lisa has enjoyed many performance opportunities, including
recitals, opera scenes productions, full roles in three operas, and
multiple oratorio roles during her studies here at Fresno State.
Lisa has also had the opportunity to work as a director at both
Fresno State and College of the Sequoias. She is an adjunct
instructor at COS, where she teaches applied voice lessons and
class voice. She is a member of the National Association of
Teachers of Singing and the Music Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi.
Lisa intends to pursue a Doctor of Musical Arts degree with the
ultimate goal of becoming a tenured professor of voice and
opera.
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