Meet CSU’s Spring 2026 Valedictorians
Valedictorians from five of Cleveland State University’s eight colleges will be recognized Saturday, May 9, at the Spring 2026 Commencement ceremonies for their achievements within their colleges and beyond.
Join us in congratulating them all!
Leilah Flores – Monte Ahuja College of Business
Flores, of North Olmsted, Ohio, has been named valedictorian of the Monte Ahuja College of Business at Cleveland State University.
She will earn a bachelor’s degree in health care management with a certificate in health informatics. Flores maintained a 3.94 GPA and was named to the dean’s or president’s list each semester.
During her time at CSU, Flores has grown from an introverted student into a confident and well-rounded individual. Encouraged by her parents to strive for excellence, she made an immediate impact academically and maintained consistent high achievement.
She received numerous honors, including induction into the Beta Gamma Sigma Business Honor Society and acceptance into the Glasscock Scholars Program as a freshman. She later served as vice president of the Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society for first-year students, helping plan events, coordinate budgets and assist with inductions. She is also a member of the National Society of Leadership and Success.
Flores’ professional experience includes working as an insurance specialist at Meduit handling workers’ compensation and Veterans Affairs medical billing, serving as a patient service specialist at Cleveland Clinic assisting with post-discharge appointment scheduling, and currently working as a project talent intern at Team NEO, where she provides administrative support and maintains Salesforce records.
“From my academics and professional life, to who I am as an individual, I believe I portray all the necessary attributes to represent CSU as a Valedictorian,” said Flores. “I have worked extremely hard to get to this point from day one, and I am grateful to have spent the last four years at this college.”
Vivian France – Levin College of Public Affairs and Education
France, of Cleveland, Ohio, has been named valedictorian of the Levin College of Public Affairs and Education at Cleveland State University.
She will earn a Bachelor of Arts in political science and criminology with a concentration in pre-law.
After overcoming early adversity, France, a first-generation college student, excelled at CSU while working full-time and maintaining a full course load. She worked more than 70 hours per week during summer and winter breaks. Her strong work ethic earned her an academic scholarship and the Provost’s Award, reinforcing her commitment to making a difference and leading her to pursue a pre-law track.
France joined Phi Alpha Delta and the Pre-Law Society, where she advanced to the executive board and later served as president. In that role, she led meetings, delivered presentations on a variety of topics and invited guest speakers to share their expertise. She also developed her own knowledge base and remained committed to supporting fellow students navigating the path to law school.
Her commitment to service extends beyond CSU. During the summer of 2025, France volunteered at Laura’s Home, a women’s shelter on Cleveland’s west side, where she worked with vulnerable populations on sensitive issues. She also served as a tutor at Seeds of Literacy, a free education program that helps adults earn their GED. Believing education can create opportunity, she supported learners of all ages and backgrounds across a range of subjects.
Additionally, France continued to develop as a leader through internships, including a position at Pregnant with Possibilities Resource Center in Maple Heights. There, she supported daily operations and provided direct assistance to clients, including pregnant women and new mothers in need. This experience strengthened her skills in professionalism, communication, interpersonal relationships and sensitivity, contributing to her continued success.
She currently interns with the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office in the Major Trial Unit, which includes the homicide and special victims divisions. In this role, she has further developed and applied skills gained from previous experiences while becoming familiar with law office operations and court proceedings. She also assists attorneys with a wide range of tasks.
“As I finish up my fourth and final year at CSU and prepare to apply to law school in the fall, I am full of gratitude in every way,” said France. “I can look back and truly see that my entire life has led me to the exact place I am supposed to be today. I am forever grateful to CSU and the amazing peers, professors and staff that I have had the privilege of meeting along the way, who have encouraged, supported and helped me greatly.”
Sarah McCartney – College of Arts and Sciences
McCartney, from Lorain, Ohio, has been named valedictorian of the College of Arts and Sciences at Cleveland State University.
She will earn a Bachelor of Arts in both psychology and sociology, with minors in neuroscience and religious studies. McCartney was named to the President’s List each semester.
As a student in the Mandel Honors College, McCartney’s interest in emotional and behavioral development began as a camp counselor, where she supported children with diverse needs and developed a passion for promoting well-being.
At CSU, she expanded this commitment through involvement in Psychology Club, induction into Psi Chi and service as a volunteer crisis counselor with Crisis Text Line, experiences that strengthened her empathy and underscored the importance of accessible mental health care. She also joined the Healthy Relationships Lab under Dr. Elizabeth Goncy, contributing to research on parental monitoring and youth relationships, presenting findings at the 2025 Midwestern Psychological Conference and assisting with a manuscript currently under review.
McCartney designed and conducted an independent honors thesis examining parental acceptance, religiosity and their influence on guilt and shame in young adulthood, earning a Psi Chi Regional Research Award and the work is currently under review for publication.
She also applied her research through the Cleveland Clinic’s Summer Treatment Program, supporting children with ADHD and related conditions while addressing inequities in access to care.
Throughout her senior year, McCartney assumed leadership roles facilitating and promoting social-emotional growth in children, contributed to research in the Multimethod Assessment of Personality and Psychopathology Lab and launched a second independent study on academic self-efficacy in young adults with ADHD symptoms.
This summer, she will serve as a lead intern in the Summer Treatment Program, and in the fall, will begin Cleveland State University’s psychology graduate program, where she will earn her M.A. and Psy.S. while continuing to support children.
“Cleveland State has shown me that education is far more than what occurs on campus. Education is a lifelong responsibility to take what is learned within the university walls and leave an impact outside of them,” she said. “CSU empowers students to show innovation, determination and initiative. My time as an undergraduate student has been defined by my passion for applying knowledge and research to meaningful actions that promote success and well-being in underserved communities.”
Grace Moon – Washkewicz College of Engineering
Moon, from Geneva, Ohio, has been named valedictorian of the Washkewicz College of Engineering at Cleveland State University.
She will earn a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering with a minor in mathematics. Moon was named to the President’s List each semester and maintained a 4.0 GPA.
Since she was young, Moon has had a curious mind that continued to grow throughout her education. She discovered tennis but remained focused on what she does best: helping others succeed. That commitment continued in her church’s youth group, where she participated in mission trips. She said taking pride in helping communities in need has been one of the most rewarding experiences of her life.
As she pursued her degree at CSU, she chose engineering because it combined her passions for problem-solving, STEM and measurable outcomes. The path felt like a natural fit. Although she faced the added anxiety of dorm life and studying away from home, she persevered. By her junior year, she had gained confidence and built stronger personal connections, further solidifying her commitment to an engineering degree.
Throughout her journey, Moon secured her first engineering internship with Nexus Engineering Group as an instrumentation and controls intern. She conducted on-site inventories of oil and gas instrumentation to update client compliance documentation and communicated with clients and vendors about designs, budgets and timelines.
She also completed design work, including electrical line diagrams, location plans, equipment schematics and P&IDs, and played an integral role in developing and implementing I/O lists and preliminary budget proposals. She even climbed a reactor to photograph its temperature and pressure transmitters at the top.
The internship also led to a full-time job offer, which she will begin after graduation.
“Whether it was in my academic studies, personal relationships or my own independence, I strove to learn [and] that desire for learning serves me well,” said Moon. “I am on track to graduate with honors, I have a job lined up with the company I interned with and am able to live on my own without constant help and intervention from my family support system!”
Sydney Wisnor – College of Health
Wisnor, from Elyria, Ohio, has been named valedictorian of the College of Health at Cleveland State University.
She will earn a Bachelor of Science in health sciences on the pre-occupational therapy track, with a minor in neuroscience. Wisnor maintained a 4.0 GPA and was named to the dean’s or president’s list each semester.
At the heart of her time as a student is her commitment to service. Over the past four years, she has logged more than 300 hours of volunteer work, most of it at GiGi’s Playhouse Cleveland, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering individuals with Down syndrome and their families. From tutoring to leading teen exercise classes, her dedication is evident.
As her passion for learning has grown during her time at CSU, she has also worked to help her peers succeed. She served as a neuroscience lab teaching assistant, helping students learn neuroanatomy and neuroscience systems using human brain specimens and models.
Wisnor’s enthusiasm for helping others led her to develop a spreadsheet-based cataloging system to track 200 brain specimens, greatly improving efficiency and organization. She also served as president of the Pre-Occupational Therapy Association, leading meetings that helped students expand their knowledge of occupational therapy and gain valuable clinical and volunteer experience.
In fall 2026, she will attend CSU’s Doctor of Occupational Therapy program, with a projected graduation date of 2029. She hopes to work as an occupational therapist for children with neurological conditions or cancer.
“Throughout my time at CSU, I have formed meaningful relationships, gained substantial knowledge about health sciences and have been given unforgettable, formative experiences,” Wisnor said. “This has helped shape the student and individual I am today.”
Congratulations to each of our valedictorians!