Everything Nac

History can seem like a difficult subject to learn, but Stephen F. Austin State University secondary education students and staff members in the Center for Regional Heritage Research and Steen Library are using 3D printing to help bring history to life.

During the fall semester, students in a sociocultural and historic perspectives in American education course taught by Dr. Amber Wagnon, SFA assistant professor of secondary education and educational leadership, collaborated with staff members from the CRHR and Steen Library to print in 3D bowls from the Caddo Native American tribe and handles from a cannon recovered from wreckage of the La Belle ship of French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, the Sieur de La Salle.

Drs. Robert Selden, research associate, and Mark Barringer, director of college research and associate professor in history, helped with the project. Selden discussed the 3D-printing process with the students who then printed other items.

“At SFA, 3D printing is a relatively new tool and is an asset we have on our campus,” Wagnon said. “It’s important for our teacher candidates to think about meaningful ways to utilize technology in the classroom. Teaching is a field in which collaboration is important, and I was excited the students were able to work collaboratively with other groups.”

After learning the 3D-printing process, education students created lesson plans, which they taught at Woden High School. SFA interdisciplinary studies sophomore Julisa Valdez of Houston said this project taught her patience and how to be flexible in the classroom.

“We had a lot of technology problems at first, which was frustrating, but it happens to teachers every day, so the best you can do is be flexible and patient,” Valdez said. “Prior to this collaboration, I had only worked with kids in elementary or early middle school, but working with high school students had a different atmosphere. Students were ready to learn and asked a lot of great questions. This experience has made me realize what I could do to become a better teacher.”

Not only did this project introduce students to new technology, but it also brought them into the field where they gained experience with classroom management, learning theories, diversity, planning and teaching.

“I believe we learn through doing. My students want to be educators, and I want to give them the opportunity to start that journey as early as possible,” Wagnon said. “I wanted them to have the opportunity to utilize and practice the theoretical tools we spent the semester examining.”

For more information about SFA’s James I. Perkins College of Education, visit coe.sfasu.edu.

By Kasi Dickerson, senior marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University.

Several commemorative events are planned at Stephen F. Austin State University to honor President George H.W. Bush. Flowers have been placed at the handprints of the former president in the Baker Pattillo Student Center Spirit Lounge. The handprint monument serves as a tribute to five leaders who have made a permanent impression on the university. The university will observe a moment of silence at 9 a.m. Wednesday, and the carillon bells that ring from the Griffith Fine Arts Building will toll each hour on the hour.​ Pictured is Jeffrey Agouna, junior political science major and president of SFA’s Student Government Association.

As a final countdown commenced, attendees at Houston’s 99th annual Mayor’s Holiday Celebration and Tree-Lighting Ceremony at City Hall turned their attention to the event’s centerpiece — a 65-foot-tall white fir tree located in Hermann Square. Although not cloaked in purple lights and Lumberjack regalia, the Christmas tree standing in the heart of Texas’ largest city holds a distinct connection to Stephen F. Austin State University.

Earlier this year, Nacogdoches native and SFA forestry alumnus David Robinson traveled to Southwest Oregon to hand select the towering tree destined to become the cornerstone of Houston’s holiday celebrations.

“It was an honor, and I hope I get to do it again,” said Robinson, field supervisor of urban forestry for the City of Houston. “I got to see a part of the country I’ve never seen before, and it’s just amazing.”

The tree, harvested from private timberland near Medford, Oregon, is one of many large conifers from the region that will be transported across the country and displayed in large city centers.

Robinson said the City of Houston has a relationship with an individual based in the Pacific Northwest who collaborates with industrial timber companies and private landowners to locate potential large-scale Christmas trees.

“The trees are marked with GPS coordinates, and he returns during the next five to six years to fertilize and shape the tree,” Robinson said. “Once ready, the trees are marketed to cities like Houston, shopping malls or anyone in the market for a big Christmas tree.”

While much of the initial correspondence regarding desired tree specifications, such as height, is conducted through phone or email, Robinson said it is necessary to see the tree in person to make the final decision.

“We check things that don’t translate well through email and pictures, such as tree quality and different kinds of potential hazards,” Robinson said.

Following final selection, the tree is felled and transported via helicopter from the forest to a landing site, where it is placed on a flatbed truck for transport.

Robinson explained that after it arrived in Houston, the tree was trimmed and placed in a 5-foot-deep culvert buried in the ground. Due to the sheer size of the tree, guide wires are used, and the culvert is filled with gravel to stabilize it.

“Despite the size, aftercare is not too dissimilar from the way in which families care for their own live Christmas trees at home,” Robinson said.

While aftercare may be similar, decorating a tree that size reaches a whole new level of Christmas spirit.

According to Stella Pereira, office manager for the Mayor’s Office of Special Events, more than 3,000 individual LED lights adorn the tree.

Although the final honor of lighting the tree went to Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, Robinson said his own family has a tradition of selecting and decorating a tree to look forward to. He added his family’s Christmas tree will, of course, be a live tree.