Lyles College of Engineering Commencement Ceremony

Graduate Dean's Medalist:

Ronald Shrestha
M.S. Construction Management

An international student from Nepal, Ronald earned his M.S. in construction management with a 4.0 GPA. He previously earned his B.S. in civil engineering from Kathmandu Engineering College. 

During his master’s program, he worked as a graduate fellow at the Fresno State Transportation Institute, where he researched transportation infrastructure and coordinated outreach events that connected students with industry professionals and showcased construction and transportation careers to Valley K-12 students. 

Noted for his scholarly contributions, Ronald played a key role in a statewide initiative to examine alternative project delivery methods in California transportation agencies. His work resulted in numerous publications and presentations at professional conferences throughout the U.S.

Ronald currently works as a construction manager with the Montez Group, a Bay Area construction management firm that leads major public transportation infrastructure initiatives.  

Undergraduate Dean’s Medalist:

Byron Alessandro Toledo Salazar
B.S. Civil Engineering

An international student from Ecuador, Alessandro earned his B.S. in civil engineering with a 3.95 GPA. As a Hans and Anna Beck Honors Scholar, he has exemplified scholarly achievement in areas of structural design, geotechnical engineering, hydrology, transportation, environmental engineering, and a specific focus on urban water systems. 

Alessandro has dedicated three years as a student research assistant and contributed to key projects in water distribution systems and infrastructure modeling, among others. He has presented and published his work multiple times at the local and international level, and was recently selected as the Region 9 Outstanding Civil Engineering Student by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), which represents over 180,000 members. 

On campus, Alessandro has led the Fresno State ASCE chapter as president and participated in multiple organizations, including the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, Society of Women in Engineering and the Digital Innovation and Research Club. He has also been an active member of Tau Beta Pi Engineering Society, Phi Kappa Phi Collegiate Honors Society, and the Chi Epsilon Civil Engineering Society. 

With an Engineer in Training certification, he completed internships with top engineering firms, including AKEL Engineering Group and Arcadis. Going forward, he intends to pursue a Ph.D. in civil and environmental engineering, where he hopes to advance sustainable water infrastructure systems through research and innovation.