They both took breaks in their pursuit of higher education — five years and two-plus decades — but Ryan Delmore and Michelle Gradowitz made up for lost time once they got to California State University, Bakersfield. So much so that the two will graduate next week as the top undergraduate and graduate students of 2023.
“I was the oldest one in the cohort, so this is nice,” said Gradowitz, 48, who will earn her master’s degree in social work on May 19. “I went back a few years later, surrounded by 20-year-olds, so this is some validation for a woman of a certain age.”
Gradowitz and 30-year-old Delmore, who will receive his bachelor’s degree in biochemistry, were honored Wednesday with the President’s Medal by CSUB President Lynnette Zelezny at a ceremony in the Tejon Ranch Plaza. Zelezny introduced the President’s Medal for the top undergraduate and graduates students in 2019, and it has since become a CSUB tradition during the spring commencement season.
“Ryan and Michelle embody the CSUB spirit of excellence in academics and research with a dedication to serving our community,” she said. “The bar at CSUB is very high, and they’ve raised it even more. I can’t wait to see what they do to move the world forward.”
Karlo Lopez, a faculty member and researcher at CSUB, called Delmore “among the top students I have ever encountered. He started college with a level of personal discipline that is uncommon among his peers.”
But Delmore wasn’t ready for college when he graduated from Centennial High in Bakersfield.
“If you talked to anybody in high school and told them I would get this award, their jaw would drop,” he said, adding that he “wasn’t very studious.”
Delmore needed direction and got plenty of it in the U.S. Navy, where he was promoted and eventually oversaw dozens of crew members. He thought about remaining in the service, but “I knew college was always an option for me.”
When he returned to Bakersfield, he and his wife, Mary, both attended CSUB as business majors and became parents to son, Noah, almost 2. Mary stuck with her major, graduating last fall with a degree in business, but Delmore changed course, no longer able to ignore his passion for chemistry and biology.
Lopez was assigned to Delmore as his academic adviser, immediately saw the new science student’s potential and invited him to join him in the lab. The research the two are conducting is intended to advance therapies in the fight against cancer. Recently, Delmore made an important breakthrough, crystallizing a protein that is a necessary process in the eventual development of a cancer drug.
“I was super-excited,” he said. “To think we could have the potential to help people or save lives, that’s a great feeling.”
Delmore also was active in the CSUB Veterans Club and Veterans Success Center, which helps veterans and their dependents access benefits like the G.I. Bill.
“The transition from the military to college can be tough and getting to hang out in here with other student veterans is great, especially when you’re in a class surrounded by 18-year-olds who may not understand you as well,” he said.
Next up for Delmore is the California Institute of Technology, where he will pursue his Ph.D., with hopes of someday having his own research lab at a university — maybe even CSUB.
“It’s definitely a plus to stay close to family,” he said.
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