SFA University
September 23, 2016 - Networking has proven key for Stephen F. Austin State University senior international business major Kelly Gomez, who, because of her connections, was able to intern at Green Ibérica, a shipping container company in Vigo, Spain.
For three months, the tall pines of East Texas were replaced with the sandy beaches of Spain as Gomez, a Cleburne, Texas, native, gained real-world, corporate experience handling imports, inspections and invoices for Green Ibérica, an agent of the Evergreen Line.
During the 2015 spring semester, Gomez studied abroad in France at La Rochelle Business School, where she met people from around the world. The connections she made in France helped her land the Spain internship.
“Networking is very important, and it helped me a lot,” Gomez said. “I wouldn’t have had this chance if I hadn’t met my friend when studying in France.”
In Spain, Gomez began her training in imports. “That’s what I did most of the time. However, I did a little bit of everything,” Gomez said. She added her responsibilities included inspecting containers for damages and translating shipping and merchandise information into English.
Gomez was a top-point earner in SFA’s Rusche College of Business’ Student Success Passport Program and received a $1,000 scholarship, which she used for her airline ticket to Spain and to enroll in an internship course at SFA. The Student Success Passport Program offers students an opportunity to build their professional skill set through workshops, conferences and online assignments while competing for scholarships.
Megan Sellers, coordinator of career success and corporate engagement in the Rusche College of Business, said the scholarship component of this program offers students unique experiential learning opportunities.
“Experiences, such as Kelly’s internship, can be quite expensive, and participation in the Passport Program gives students the option to have those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities while also building their professional skills and networks,” Sellers said. “I can’t imagine a more rewarding experience.”
As an international business major, Gomez said she loves to travel and experience different cultures. She has already used the skills she learned during her internship to her advantage during a job interview.
“I had an interview recently, and it was for logistics, which was a lot of what I learned in Spain. I explained everything I had done and talked about being in a different culture,” Gomez said. “The internship experience will help me in any interview.”
September 22, 2016 - Nathaniel Briggs always knew he wanted to help people; he just didn’t know how to achieve his goal. When Briggs first entered college, he was a music education major, however, Briggs, now a Stephen F. Austin State University graduate student in the counseling program, soon realized he “loved people more than music” and changed his major.
Intrigued by the way people think, Briggs of Saginaw, Texas, serves as a counselor-in-training in SFA’s Counseling Clinic, which is provided by the university’s Department of Human Services’ counselor education program.
The program offers three degree tracks: clinical mental health counseling, school counseling and rehabilitation counseling. Briggs, like many other SFA students in the program, has the opportunity to put his education into real-world practice by working in the clinic.
“The clinic provides myriad opportunities,” Briggs said. “We help people from all walks of life, therefore, we receive a broader experience by working with different clients whether they are children, adults or couples.”
The clinic is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and is located in the Human Services Building, Room 201, on the SFA campus. The clinic offers individual, couples, family and group counseling, consultations, assessments, intakes, screenings and referrals to SFA students and local community residents.
Amanda Pruit, director of the Counseling Clinic and a licensed professional counselor, explained the clinic is an educational tool.
“The clinic and amazing faculty members are the jewels in this program,” Pruit said. “It’s an outstanding training tool. It is a tremendous advantage for our students to be able to take what they are learning in the classroom and apply it to real-world settings.”
Students who are in the internship and practicum portion of the 60-hour counselor education program utilize the Counseling Clinic for hands-on learning, and Pruit is available to assist the students as the on-site director.
“I think our graduate students leave with a much broader skill set than programs that don’t offer on-site training,” Pruit said. “SFA provides many resources to support our students, including the opportunity to observe and create their professional identity.”
Because it is a training clinic, sessions are recorded with the client’s consent, and the recordings are used as training videos. Also, every student in the program is required to obtain observation hours. Ideally, Pruit said students can watch the counselors-in-training through observation bays attached to each room in the clinic, but the recordings offer another option for students to observe.
“There aren’t really any limitations to whom we can serve,” Pruit said. “It’s really nice because the graduate students are trained in a variety of skills so they are able to serve any issue.”
The clinic runs like an off-site facility with graduate assistants managing the office alongside interns and the practicum students providing the counseling services. Graduate assistant Brittani Woodstock oversees the clients’ files, payments and confidentiality.
Counseling services costs are determined by a variable fee scale based on net family income and family size, typically ranging from $5 to $20 per visit. To schedule an appointment or for more information, contact the clinic at (936) 468-1041.
September 20, 2016 - The following students received degrees from Stephen F. Austin State University during August commencement exercises:
HOMETOWN, STATE; ZIP, NAME, DEGREE, MAJOR, COLLEGE
Center, TX
75935, April Renee Broomfield, Bachelor of Business Administration, PACC - Professional Accountancy, Nelson Rusche College of Business
75935, April Renee Broomfield, Master of Professional Accountancy, PACC - Professional Accountancy, Nelson Rusche College of Business
75935, Elena Carolina Gonzalez, Bachelor of Business Administration, MGMT - Management, Nelson Rusche College of Business
75935, Joel Everett Koonce, Bachelor of Arts, THTR - Theatre, College of Fine Arts
75935, Lane Michael O'Brien, Bachelor of Business Administration, GBUS - General Business, Nelson Rusche College of Business
Tenaha, TX
75974, Brandi Nicole Taylor, Bachelor of Science, BIOL - Biology, College of Sciences and Mathematics
Timpson, TX
75975, Tatum Mallory Greer, Bachelor of Science, KINE - Kinesiology, James I. Perkins College of Education
75975, Stacey K Mikesh, Master of Professional Accountancy, ACCT - Accounting, Nelson Rusche College of Business
September 17, 2016 - Faculty members of the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Music will be the featured performers during the annual Pi Kappa Lambda Music Faculty Showcase at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, September 22, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.
"This concert is a showcase featuring the talents of our diverse performing faculty," said Deborah Dalton, SFA associate professor of voice and president of the local chapter of Pi Kappa Lambda, the national music honor society.
"In addition, all proceeds benefit the Pi Kappa Lambda scholarship we give each year to the sophomore music major with the highest grade point average," Dalton said. "For the past few years, awards were given to several sophomores with 4.0 grade-point averages."
The musicians have selected a wide range of musical styles and will perform in a variety of solo and ensemble settings.
Among the composers' works to be performed are Astor Piazzolla, Giovanni Dettori, Isaac Albéniz, Henri Duparc, William Bolcom and Gary Schocker.
Nathan Nabb, alto saxophone, and Brad Meyer, marimba, will perform Piazzolla’s Café 1930, Mvt. II from “Histoire du Tango.” Mario Ajero, piano, will perform Dettori’s “Lady Gaga Fugue,” and Andrew Parr, piano, will perform Albéniz’s “Rondeña” from “Iberia.” Christina Guenther, flute, and Ron Petti, piano, will perform Schocker’s “Airborne,” and Dalton, mezzo-soprano, and Mary Cooper, piano, will perform Bolcom’s “Lime Jello Marshmallow Cottage Cheese Surprise.”
Other performers include Kimberley LaGraff, mezzo-soprano; Scott LaGraff, baritone; Deb Scott, trombone; Nita Hudson, mezzo-soprano; Richard G. Leonberger, tenor; Emily Milius, soprano; Geneva Fung, piano; and Emily Mitchell, harp.
"This is one of the most popular concerts of the year because there is truly something for everyone, from sopranos and saxophones to trombones and tenors," Dalton said.
The recital is a joint presentation of the SFA College of Fine Arts and School of Music and is a part of the 2016-2017 Cole Performing Arts Series. Cole Concert Hall is located in the Wright Music Building at 2210 Alumni Drive.
Tickets are $12 for adults, $8 for seniors and $5 for students. For tickets or more information, please visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu or call (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS.
September 15, 2016 - Stephen F. Austin State University’s SFA Gardens will host a special presentation at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 6, in the Brundrett Conservation Education Building at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center, 2900 Raguet St. Brent Heath, a third-generation bulb grower, will present “Bulbs of the Deep South.”
Brent is a co-owner with his wife, Becky, of Brent and Becky’s Bulbs, a Virginia-based wholesale and retail mail-order bulb catalog and website business that offers numerous types of bulbs for sale to botanical gardens, cities, universities, landscape designers and gardeners across the country. The Heaths are daffodil hybridizers and have a number of small, multi-flowered, fragrant hybrids.
The couple has co-authored two books, “Daffodils for North American Gardens” and “Tulips for North American Gardens.” The Heaths also have both been featured guests on national television programs, including “The Victory Garden,” “Karen’s Garden” and “Martha Stewart.”
The Heaths have received numerous recognitions, including a Gold Medal of Honor from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society in January 2001 and an individual Commercial Gold Medal from the American Horticultural Society in June 2001. In August 2002, the Garden Writer’s Association presented the Heaths with a lifetime achievement award by inducting them into the Garden Writer’s Hall of Fame.
The Wall Street Journal voted Brent and Becky’s Bulbs the “Best Bulb Company in America,” and in April 2003, the American Daffodil Society awarded Brent with a Gold Medal of Honor for popularizing and promoting the use of daffodils.
The cost of the seminar is $10, and tickets can be purchased online at sfagardens.sfasu.edu. Parking is available at the nearby Raguet Elementary School, 2428 Raguet St., with continual shuttle service to the Brundrett Conservation Education Building.
For more information, call (936) 468-4129 or email sfagardens@sfasu.edu.
September 13, 2016 NACOGDOCHES, Texas — Stephen F. Austin State University’s SFA Gardens will host its annual Fabulous Fall Festival Plant Sale from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, October 1, at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center, 2900 Raguet St., in historic Nacogdoches.
The sale will feature a variety of hard-to-find, “Texas-tough” plants, including Texas natives, heirlooms, tropicals, perennials, shrubs, trees and exclusive SFA introductions. Most of the featured plants are extensively trialed before being offered to the public and are produced by staff members and volunteers of the SFA Gardens.
This popular event benefits the SFA Mast Arboretum, PNPC, Ruby M. Mize Azalea Garden and Gayla Mize Garden, along with educational programs that are hosted monthly at the gardens. Educational programs provided at the SFA Gardens reach more than 15,000 participants annually.
Parking will be available at SFA’s Janice A. Pattillo Early Childhood Research Center, 2428 Raguet St., and visitors are encouraged to arrive early and bring a wagon for their plants.
For more information and a list of available plants, call (936) 468-4404 or visit www.sfagardens.sfasu.edu two weeks before the sale.
September 12, 2016 NACOGDOCHES, Texas — Stephen F. Austin State University officials and staff members are offering assistance to students displaced by the abrupt closure of ITT Technical Institute’s resident campuses.
“SFA will work with ITT Tech students to determine how to use their credits,” said Monique Cossich, executive director of enrollment management in SFA’s Office of Admissions. “If a student wants to enroll for the current fall semester, he or she needs to contact our office as soon as possible because the deadline for fall registration is 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14. We will work with the student in regard to obstacles he or she might experience, such as difficulty in getting transcripts.”
Last week, ITT Educational Services Inc. announced it would discontinue operations of its ITT Technical Institutes, in line with a U.S. Department of Education directive, according to an article by Reuters. The closure will affect more than 8,000 employees and approximately 40,000 students.
“We want students to feel comfortable contacting us and letting us help them in this stressful time,” Cossich said. “Students also may be interested in applying for spring 2017, which we can help them facilitate.”
Transferring students are, of course, welcome to enroll in any degree plan offered through SFA’s six colleges, though Cossich said SFA’s Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences is a good choice for ITT Tech students affected by the closure.
“The Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences allows students to apply credits earned through vocational or technical programs, community college credits, military training and occupational licensure or certifications toward the degree. Many of the ITT Tech students will fall into one of these categories and thus could benefit from this degree program,” Cossich said.
Students can call (936) 468-2504 to speak to an SFA admissions counselor.
September 2, 2016 - Dr. Stephen Mullin, chair of the Stephen F. Austin State University Department of Biology, had a chapter published in an Oxford University Press book that provides techniques for biologists who conduct conservation-oriented research.
“My chapter is titled Experimental Applications and deals with ways by which biologists can work with reptile species, in either field or laboratory settings, to examine behavioral, physiological or ecological responses to manipulative experiments,” Mullin explained. “As both scientists and the general public know, Earth is not static — think climate change, for example. So, it is important to understand how different species can respond to changes in the various parameters with which they interact in their habitats. My chapter describes the current state of our knowledge about those experimental applications that are specific to conservation objectives and that involve species of reptiles.”
The book, “Reptile Ecology and Conservation: A Handbook of Techniques,” is the 13th in a series published by Oxford titled “Techniques in Ecology and Conservation.” Proceeds from the sale of the series are used to ship free copies of books to scientists based at institutions or agencies in developing nations.
“This is a fairly narrow area of biology, but one that I’ve been working in for more than 25 years,” Mullin said. “The book is meant as a resource for researchers who want summaries of current techniques and their applications to conservation objectives.”
August 30, 2016 - Stephen F. Austin State University’s Gwen and Ed Cole Audiology Lab recently received the 2016 Best of Nacogdoches Award by The Daily Sentinel, which annually honors the achievements and accomplishments of local service providers and businesses.
Award recipients are recognized for their positive impact in the community and quality service they provide to their clients. Awards are distributed based on service or business category. This is the second year that the Cole Audiology Lab has received the award in the audiologist category.
“I am passionate about hearing health care and the opportunity to improve the quality of life of individuals,” said Dr. Kelly Jobe, director of the lab and clinical instructor. “Receiving this award is meaningful because the community is in a sense saying ‘job well done.’ It feels great to make a positive impact in the lives of our patients and community.”
SFA’s Cole Audiology Lab’s function is twofold. First, the lab serves as a hands-on learning facility for graduate students studying speech pathology. Students are required to complete 30 hours of audiology clinical practicum, which they can obtain at the lab. Additionally, students can apply their classroom instruction in a practical way by testing each other in the lab for course assignments, Jobe said.
Second, the Cole Audiology Lab also is open to the public. The lab provides comprehensive diagnostic hearing evaluations such as electrophysiological testing, which records the electrical activity and pathways of the auditory brainstem; aural rehabilitation such as hearing aid evaluations, fittings and follow-up care; and preventative care such as noise protection awareness.
Lab audiologists can evaluate and treat balance disorders and children with auditory processing disorders. The lab collaborates with Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital and serves Nacogdoches Independent School District, private schools and surrounding communities with school hearing screenings.
The lab is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. with appointments available from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday and is located on the SFA campus in the Human Services Building, Room 205, 2100 North Raguet St. For more information, call (936) 468-7109.
August 29, 2016 - A thrum of light chatter and crinkling snack bags filled the Academic Assistance and Resource Center on the Stephen F. Austin State University campus as 45 incoming first-generation freshmen settled into their afternoon break.
Fresh out of a training module on Microsoft’s OneDrive file sharing application — preceded by an hourlong session on dealing with stress — students of the Generation Jacks Summer Leadership Academy continued to buzz with excitement.
“I love it,” said Ashlynn Beard of Arlington, incoming SFA freshman and GenJack academy participant. “The group already feels like a family. I feel like I really can open up to a lot of people in here because we have all gone through the same or similar things with our parents. Probably all of our parents struggled because they didn’t go to college and things were probably a lot harder for them.”
Generation Jacks began in fall 2014 as the brainchild of Dr. Marc Guidry, associate dean of the College of Liberal and Applied Arts, and Dr. Michael Walker, assistant dean of Student Affairs Support Services and associate professor of psychology.
“I got an email from SFA about GenJacks, my mom and I talked about all the perks and decided this is what I wanted to do,” said Denis Castillo of Grand Prairie, an incoming SFA freshman and academy participant. “What stood out to me about the program was the fact that all four years of college, we are going to be with the same group of people until we graduate. If we fall behind, someone here will be able to help.”
The aim of GenJacks is to provide an academic and social support system for first-generation students who often don’t have the benefit of a close family member with college experience.
“There has never been a program like GenJacks at SFA before, so we are charting new territory, creating higher expectations for our first-generation students, and breaking through barriers to help them become both scholars and servant-leaders at SFA,” Guidry said. “The difference between when we started the program three years ago and now is like night and day. We have never done a weeklong summer leadership academy with our students until now. We believe this new, concentrated orientation to SFA is going to boost our students and enable them to go even higher.”
Begun on Sunday, the academy is a crash course on all things college. GenJacks wake up at 7 a.m. each day and attend a consortium of sessions, modules and student-led reflections on the day’s events. The sessions teach them everything from understanding financial aid to time management.
“The rigor is intentional,” said Chelsea Heidbrink, SFA coordinator of student success. “It isn’t to bog them down or overwhelm them, but really just to give them as many tools, resources and information as we can to ensure they don’t have any doubts about their abilities or about choosing to spend their future here at SFA.”
The academy itself is an extension of the overall GenJacks program, which allows first-generation students to take courses together for their first three semesters. They then become mentors to new first-generation students and to high school students seeking to attend college.
“This highly integrated approach to student engagement, both academically, professionally and socially, will continue to demonstrate success for our students,” Walker said. “It will embody the SFA Way and provide those transformative experiences that will allow our GenJacks graduates to succeed well beyond our campus.”
GenJacks participants and leaders raved about the academy and the bonds already forged in a few days’ time.
“I am most excited to see them transform themselves in just a week,” Heidbrink said. “First-generation students are incredible students. I was a first-generation student, as well, and so it is personal for me, too. FG students are resilient and determined and for me to see that come to fruition as it relates to college is just a really amazing experience — for them and for me.”
According to data collected and kept by Guidry and Walker, retention rates have improved for first-generation students participating in GenJacks. GenJacks, as a whole, also have a higher GPA than their first-generation peers who are not in the program.
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