Two members of Stephen F. Austin State University’s Future Business Leaders of America chapter earned honors at the collegiate FBLA National Leadership Conference in Dallas recently. Pictured, from left, are Dr. Marice Kelly, assistant professor of business communication and legal studies at SFA and faculty advisor for the university’s FBLA chapter; Julian Ieva, treasurer of SFA’s FBLA chapter and accounting senior from Houston; and Jessica Frasier, president of SFA’s FBLA chapter and general business senior Bay City. Ieva earned first place in the Foundations of Finance Competition, while Frasier earned fifth place in the Finance Case Competition.

Two students in Stephen F. Austin State University’s Nelson Rusche College of Business earned top honors at the collegiate Future Business Leaders of America National Leadership Conference, which hosted an estimated 1,100 FBLA members last month in Dallas.

Jessica Frasier, president of SFA’s FBLA chapter and general business senior from Bay City, earned fifth place in the Finance Case Competition, and Julian Ieva, treasurer of SFA’s FBLA chapter and accounting senior from Houston, earned first place in the Foundations of Finance Competition.

The topic for the Finance Case Competition was a subject Frasier said she was already passionate and knowledgeable about: healthy eating on a budget.

“So to prepare, I spent the majority of the time researching specific sources to back up my claims,” Frasier said. “Then I gave the presentation to anyone who would listen, from doing it in the mirror to showing it to my roommates for feedback.”

Frasier tries not to overdo the rehearsing on competition day, though.

“It’s always important to prepare yourself in the few hours before you compete,” she said. “But don’t over-rehearse the morning of. Take a deep breath and be confident in yourself.”

Instead of preparing for the Foundations of Finance test by studying, Ieva’s secret to competition success was teaching the content to someone else.

“I tutored someone in finance all spring, which kept the material fresh and really helped reinforce the fundamentals,” he said. “Explaining the concepts over and over ended up being the best kind of prep without me even realizing it.”

As faculty advisor for SFA’s FBLA chapter, Dr. Marice Kelly attends nearly all of the organization’s regular meetings and knows how much work Frasier and Ieva have put into preparing for these competitions.

“Jessica’s and Julian’s recent FBLA NLC wins show their dedication and drive to succeed,” said Kelly, assistant professor of business communication and legal studies at SFA. “They both were finalists, meaning they were in the top 10 in each competition. This was their second time attending FBLA NLC, and they came prepared to win.”

Frasier and Ieva will both graduate in December 2025. Kelly said she’s one of many who will miss them when they leave SFA to pursue their careers in financial advising and accounting, respectively.

“Jessica and Julian have been faithful FBLA officers for two years,” she said. “Their ideas have helped this student organization thrive, and I will miss them. ”

For more information on SFA’s FBLA student chapter, visit sfasu.edu/bcls.

ABOUT STEPHEN F. AUSTIN STATE UNIVERSITY

Stephen F. Austin State University, the newest member of The University of Texas System, began a century ago as a teachers’ college in Texas’ oldest town, Nacogdoches. Today, it has grown into a regional institution comprising six colleges — business, education, fine arts, forestry and agriculture, liberal and applied arts, and sciences and mathematics. Accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, SFA enrolls approximately 11,000 students while providing the academic breadth of a state university with the personalized attention of a private school. The main campus encompasses 421 acres that include 40 academic facilities, 11 residence halls, and 68 acres of recreational trails that wind through its six gardens. The university offers more than 80 bachelor’s degrees, more than 40 master’s degrees and four doctoral degrees covering over 120 areas of study. Learn more at sfasu.edu.

By University Marketing Communications

Stephen F. Austin State University’s Center for Professional and Continuing Education and the James I. Perkins College of Education’s School of Human Sciences will offer Justin Ward’s Moveable Feast Traveling Culinary School Workshops from June 28 to July 11 on campus. Ward is a native of Nacogdoches and graduate of Nacogdoches High School who has worked as a professionally trained chef and baker in Paris for over 10 years.

In Nacogdoches, locals and visitors can find award-winning barbecue, unforgettable tacos and chicken-fried steak the size of your head. However, for a limited time, Stephen F. Austin State University will offer the opportunity to cook and enjoy French cuisine, as well.

SFA’s Center for Professional and Continuing Education and the James I. Perkins College of Education’s School of Human Sciences will collaborate to offer Justin Ward’s Moveable Feast Traveling Culinary School workshops from June 28 to July 11 in the Human Sciences Building North, Room 204.

The Moveable Feast Traveling Culinary School will offer several workshops for adults and a baking class for children ages 8 and up. Workshops include lessons on choux pastry, croissants, French breads, knife skills, French and Italian meringue method macarons, French sauces, puff pastry, soufflé, and tarts. Additionally, there will be opportunities to prepare and enjoy four-course French dining experiences.

Participants get to enjoy their own creations following the workshop and can take multiple classes while the workshops are available.

“French cuisine is the first place to start when desiring to become a better cook,” Ward said. “This is because the French were the first to organize and name the processes of cooking such as, sauté, sear, blanche, roast, and baste. The first culinary dictionary was written by the French and even the culinary words we use in English come directly from French. Their approach to cuisine is very logical, structured and methodical. You learn ‘base recipes’ which creates tried-and-true structure for subsequent creativity.”

Ward, a native of Nacogdoches and graduate of Nacogdoches High School, is returning to his hometown after working as a chef in Paris for over 10 years and living in Europe since 2004.

“It’s great to return to Nacogdoches to teach because I can ‘have my cake and eat it too,’ meaning that I can both work and spend quality time with my parents,” Ward said. “Since the pandemic, I routinely leave my home in France to do these culinary tours across the United States, but I usually don’t have the opportunity to spend a lot of time in Nacogdoches.”

Ward’s love for cooking was passed down from his grandmother, Elsie Ward, who cooked southern specialties like buttered biscuits, fried pies and tea cakes and sold them in local businesses. She passed this passion for cooking down to her sons, including Ward’s father.

After finishing high school, Ward graduated with a music degree from Jackson College of Ministries in Jackson, Mississippi, and then moved to Bucharest, Romania to work for a church organization.

Ward never imagined becoming a professional Parisian chef when he was a child, but the passion for cooking was always present.

“My father and most of his five brothers enjoyed cooking, so I grew up in a family culture of men in the kitchen. As a teenager, anytime my mother would leave me home alone, she would return to a house with a kitchen in complete disarray and to a proud son displaying his experiments,” Ward said. “When graduating from Nacogdoches High School, I did research culinary schools, but chose to get a degree in music instead. In my life’s experience, I have found that curiosity and courage can lead you to places, experiences and opportunities that you never even dreamed of before.”

However, before leaving Romania, Ward applied to the prestigious Parisian culinary school, L’école Ferrandi and began his culinary studies where he worked in a variety of restaurants and bakeries, such as Conseil des Prud’hommes de Paris and Le Boulanger de la Tour — the bakery of the world-famous restaurant Tour d’Argent, which the Disney movie “Ratatouille” was based on.

Ward began teaching public and private classes in France and abroad.

“One of my strengths throughout these past 10-plus years of teaching has been to present information, teach new skills, new flavors, new textures and experiences in a way that people do not feel judged or silly for not already possessing this knowledge,” Ward said. “I think that as we get older and wiser, we understand the joy and privilege of learning, and bettering ourselves, our behavior, our gifts and service to others.”

For more information, visit gosfa.com/PACEmoveablefeast.

ABOUT STEPHEN F. AUSTIN STATE UNIVERSITY

Stephen F. Austin State University, the newest member of The University of Texas System, began a century ago as a teachers’ college in Texas’ oldest town, Nacogdoches. Today, it has grown into a regional institution comprising six colleges — business, education, fine arts, forestry and agriculture, liberal and applied arts, and sciences and mathematics. Accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, SFA enrolls approximately 11,000 students while providing the academic breadth of a state university with the personalized attention of a private school. The main campus encompasses 421 acres that include 40 academic facilities, 11 residence halls, and 68 acres of recreational trails that wind through its six gardens. The university offers more than 80 bachelor’s degrees, more than 40 master’s degrees and four doctoral degrees covering over 120 areas of study. Learn more at sfasu.edu.

By University Marketing Communications