Meet Past Award Recipients

What does receiving the GRACAS Award mean to you?

Receiving the GRACAS award affirms my role as a student and researcher. The support provided by the Fresno State academic community affirms the value of my scientific contributions. GRACAS represents an important step toward my long-term goal of pursuing a PhD in clinical psychology

Briefly describe your research, project, or area of focus.

My thesis project aims to expand upon the view of acculturative stress as an acute stressor and to examine acculturative stress and its impact on attitudes toward the law among Latinx individuals. The possible relationship between these two factors is important to consider when seeking to understand what experiences might impact perceptions toward the law. Moreover, this research holds important implications to inform both prevention and culturally responsive justice policies.

What are your future academic or career goals?

I aim to pursue a Clinical Psychology PhD and continue conducting research.

What does receiving the GRACAS Award mean to you?

Receiving the GRACAS Award is a meaningful validation of my dedication to research. It provides crucial financial support that allows me to fully focus on my project and present my findings at national conferences.

Briefly describe your research, project, or area of focus.

My research focuses on understanding how Chalcone; certain plant-derived compounds act as nematicides. Using CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing in C. elegans, I work to identify the specific genes and protein targets responsible for resistance, aiming to uncover new mechanisms for sustainable pest control.

What are your future academic or career goals?

My goal is to pursue a PhD to enable me be a principal investigator in an academic or industrial research setting, leading a lab dedicated to solving pressing agricultural and biomedical challenges through innovative biotechnology. 

What does receiving the GRACAS Award mean to you?

Receiving the GRACAS Award affirms the value of the questions I carry into my work as a community college administrator and scholar. It strengthens my confidence that this research matters and that equity-focused faculty experiences in community colleges remain an underexplored and important area of study. Most importantly, it reminds me that practitioner-informed scholarship can meaningfully contribute to institutional change.

Briefly describe your research, project, or area of focus.

My research examines the lived experiences of faculty of color engaged in equity-based pedagogical training in California community colleges. Using a phenomenological approach, the study explores how administrative intention, institutional culture, and professional learning structures can produce unintended impacts that shape faculty meaning-making and belonging. The goal is to inform more intentional, humane, and effective equity-centered professional learning.

What are your future academic or career goals?

My future academic and professional goals include continuing research that bridges scholarship and practice in community college leadership, faculty development, and equity. I aim to publish, present, and collaborate in ways that advance systemic change and culturally responsive institutional leadership.

What does receiving the GRACAS Award mean to you?

Receiving the GRACAS Award reminds me that hard work and consistency pay off. I’m grateful for the support I’ve had at Fresno State, and it motivates me to keep learning, lead with purpose, and represent Fresno State with pride.

Briefly describe your research, project, or area of focus.

My research looks at what helps or slows down approval of tall mass-timber buildings (6+ stories) in California, Oregon, and Washington. I compared real projects and building codes and interviewed architects, engineers, developers, and code officials to identify the biggest permitting barriers and what changes could make approvals more consistent and predictable across West Coast cities.

What are your future academic or career goals?

My goal is to build a career in construction management with a focus on sustainable building delivery and quality project execution. In the long term, I want to move into project management leadership and help scale low-carbon building solutions like mass timber.

What does receiving the GRACAS Award mean to you?

Receiving the GRACAS Award is meaningful because it recognizes the work I do to support equity and representation in higher education. It affirms that the voices and experiences I center in my work matter and deserve visibility.

Briefly describe your research, project, or area of focus.

My research focuses on the experiences of Black women faculty in California community colleges and how institutional practices impact their work and sense of belonging. I use qualitative research to center their voices and highlight both challenges and strategies for change.

What are your future academic or career goals?

My goal is to continue advancing equity-focused research in higher education while supporting institutional change that improves the experiences of Black faculty and students. I hope to use my work to inform policy, practice, and leadership in community colleges.

What does receiving the GRACAS Award mean to you?

Receiving the GRACAS Award is very meaningful to me because it recognizes my hard work and commitment to research during my graduate studies. It also motivates me to continue developing my skills and contributing positively to my field.

Briefly describe your research, project, or area of focus.

My research investigates herbicide resistance in shepherd’s purse by combining greenhouse dose-response assays with molecular analysis of the ALS gene. I focus on identifying resistance-conferring point mutations and understanding how polyploidy influences resistance evolution at the molecular level.

What are your future academic or career goals?

My goal is to pursue a PhD in molecular biology and apply molecular and genetic approaches to address environmental and sustainability challenges. Through research, I hope to contribute to solutions that reduce environmental impact and support long-term ecological resilience.

What does receiving the GRACAS Award mean to you?

Receiving the GRACAS Award means a great deal to me because it recognizes the effort I put into my academic work, research, and service while balancing financial and personal responsibilities as a graduate student. It affirms that my contributions are valued and motivates me to continue working toward impactful, service-oriented work in agriculture.

Briefly describe your research, project, or area of focus.

My research focuses on mapping and managing soil salinity using precision agriculture tools such as electromagnetic induction sensors and GIS-based spatial analysis. By integrating field measurements with laboratory data, my work aims to support site-specific soil and water management strategies that improve crop productivity and sustainability.

What are your future academic or career goals?

My goal is to pursue a career in applied agricultural research and extension, where I can translate data-driven soil and water management research into practical solutions for farmers. I aim to support sustainable and resilient agricultural systems through precision agriculture and outreach-based programs.

What does receiving the GRACAS Award mean to you?

I am deeply honored to receive GRACAS Award. To me, it’s far more than a recognition of my work, it reflects CSU Fresno’s genuine commitment to the most sensitive, urgent, and too-often overlooked dissertations. This affirmation strengthens my resolve to continue advocating for a part of our population that is frequently ignored, and to keep doing the work that ensures their experiences are seen, valued, and never skipped over again.

Briefly describe your research, project, or area of focus.

As worldwide displacement intensifies and refugee enrollments in California community colleges continue to rise, this study will respond to an urgent obligation for educators to reimagine pedagogy, belonging, and student support, particularly for Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) refugee students whose cultural wealth is too often discounted through deficit-based perspectives. 
Guided by Yosso’s (2005) Community Cultural Wealth framework, the project will center the lived experiences of resettled MENA refugee students and will ask how they mobilize CCW capitals to navigate community college, which capitals matter most and why, what cultural insights can better equip faculty and staff, and what or who most meaningfully assisted students in reaching success. 
To capture the depth and humanity of these stories, the study will recruit participants through purposeful and snowball sampling, collect a demographic survey, and then conduct semi-structured, pláticas-informed interview via video phone, or in-person in a neutral, participant-comfortable setting.

What are your future academic or career goals?

I am committed to supporting and advocating for students who have been marginalized by any barriers, in any form, and through every means necessary. I want to step into a greater administrative role where I can create lasting, meaningful change at a broader level, ensuring every student feels seen, supported, and empowered to thrive. At the same time, I hope to deepen and expand what we know about marginalized student experiences through continued research and teaching, so that our work is not only compassionate, but transformative.

What does receiving the GRACAS Award mean to you?

Receiving the GRACAS Award meant the world to me. Not only will it allow me to conduct my research thanks to the funds awarded, but it really gave me a sense of validation. Receiving the award was like being told "You got this, we believe in you. Keep up the good work" and that is something so special and precious to me above all else.

Briefly describe your research, project, or area of focus.

Broadly, my research is centered on AI and more specifically on AI literacy, AI in education and learning, and how AI is impacting human behavior and interaction. The specific research that won this award will be looking at how people judge the competencies of someone who has said that they use AI and whether or not one's own AI literacy and AI self-efficacy lead to certain assumptions and judgements. 

What are your future academic or career goals?

I want to teach. Ultimately, I plan on pursuing a PhD, but in the meantime, I will be attending CSU Fresno for a second master's degree (in Linguistics) while teaching part-time either at a community college or as a K-12 substitute.

What does receiving the GRACAS Award mean to you?

Receiving the GRACAS Award means a great deal to me because it recognizes not only my work, but my identity as a student. As a first-generation student, being seen and affirmed for my abilities reminds me that my efforts matter and to keep going. 

Briefly describe your research, project, or area of focus.

My research focuses on understanding impostor syndrome among first-generation Latinx college students, with attention to how contextual university factors and mentorship shape these experiences.

What are your future academic or career goals?

My future goal is to work as a data analyst in institutional research or become a professor, using research and data analysis to advance educational equity. I hope to apply this work to support first-generation and underserved communities in the Central Valley.