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Stephen F. Austin State University senior nursing student Savana Eaton and assistant professor Dr. Angela Jones are equipping nursing students across the nation with a pocket reference card to assist them during patient interactions.

Focusing on patient health history, the card condenses essential information into cues for various assessment questions and was published online by Quality Safety Education for Nurses, a national organization dedicated to improving patient care. While Eaton created the original reference, Jones worked closely with her, expanding it to cover all aspects of the assessment history nurses perform and aligning it with the organization’s competencies.

“The idea was to give them something that was a bit of a comfort but also met the patient’s needs,” Jones said. “It helps to promote communications between the students and the instructor as well as the assigned nurses.”

Now, the card is given to every nursing student the first day of class and is required for clinical rotations.

“It’s given me a lot of confidence,” Eaton said. “It helps me going into a patient’s room knowing I have everything I need.”

Although the department has had material published by the organization before, this marks the first time a faculty and student collaboration has been published, a significant accomplishment for the School of Nursing, said Tamara Harris, director of the school.

“Nurse educators from all nursing program types across the U.S. use the evidence-based teaching strategies published on the website,” Harris said.

To view the pocket card, visit qsen.org/admission-health-history-assessment-pocket-card.

By Joanna Armstrong, senior marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University.

A Stephen F. Austin State University student’s desire to make a difference in animal conservation took her more than 8,000 miles from her hometown of Jasper to the bush of Zimbabwe, giving her the chance to walk with lions.

Krista Ward, a senior biology major and forestry minor, spent two and a half weeks in Antelope Park, a private game reserve set on 3,000 acres of savanna. Working with the volunteer organization African Impact in conjunction with the African Lion and Environmental Research Trust, she assisted with a project measuring the effects of captivity on four lions kept on the property.

Every other morning Ward would walk two lions at a time for an hour.

“It was really scary because they told us there were nine-month-old cubs, so I was thinking they were small,” she said. “They were huge, and there were four of them.”

Ward would flush the lions out of their enclosure by walking behind them, following them wherever they went on trails around the property. Because lions attack from behind, she made sure to keep them in front of her or to the side. When the lions lay down, she could safely crouch beside them and interact with them.

“The first time seeing lions was heart-stopping,” Ward said. “I felt really scared at first, but as I walked that went away.”

She and the other volunteers made toys for the cubs out of elephant poop, grass and sticks and took behavioral data that would later be compared to data from wild lions. Other days, they would go into the park and help on different projects, looking for elephants and giraffes and recording observational and behavioral data. They also toured a nearby village and interacted with the locals.

“They have a different way of life, and it was really interesting to see it because they do just fine,” Ward said. “They survive with what they have, and they make the most of it.”

When she decided to travel abroad, she went to SFA’s Office of International Programs for help. The office did not have a program in Africa, but the study abroad coordinator, Inés Maxit, was more than willing to assist her in finding the best options available. Ward researched programs online and brought her findings to Maxit, who reached out to other schools for feedback.

The office works closely with students through every step of the application process, making sure students have as seamless an experience as possible, Maxit said.

“I have met with many students after their study abroad experience, and I can see how they have grown,” she said. “It is no doubt a transformative experience.”

While Ward primarily took the trip to further her education, she was impacted in ways she didn’t expect.

“I have definitely changed because of this volunteer experience,” Ward said. “I was humbled by the cultural differences and other ways of life and respect other cultures in ways I didn’t before.”

Though traveling can be unsettling, she said, every moment of uncertainty was worth it.

“I hope anyone thinking about studying abroad would do it, because it was an amazing experience,” Ward said.

For more information about SFA’s study abroad programs, visit sfasu.edu/oip/244.asp.

By Joanna Armstrong, senior marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University.

The Stephen F. Austin State University Charter School has been ranked the best charter elementary school in Texas.

Niche, an organization dedicated to helping users find the best colleges, schools, neighborhoods and companies using data and analysis, ranks schools and districts based on statistics and reviews from students and parents. It recently ranked 315 Texas charter elementary schools, and SFA’s Charter School came out on top.

“We hope this ranking continues to build trust with our families and community and serves to influence the university teacher candidates we serve,” said Lysa Hagan, SFA Charter School director. “Every moment is a learning moment of high expectations. Each member of our school community strives for rigor and urgency within each day of learning.”

A five-star parent review on Niche.com noted, “I enjoy the positive atmosphere at the SFA Charter School. My children are learning and retaining the information. The resources made available by the university are wonderful. We have been blessed with great teachers.”

While serving more than 250 elementary students, the SFA Charter School also exists as a learning laboratory for SFA students studying in the Department of Elementary Education.

“SFA has long been a leader in teacher education,” said Dr. Judy Abbott, dean of SFA’s James I. Perkins College of Education. “SFA began as a teachers college, and we remain among the top teacher education programs in the state. As such, we attract high-quality teacher candidates. The charter school students certainly benefit from this. If you want to be a teacher, it’s widely known that SFA is the place to be.”

In addition to the Department of Elementary Education, various other university departments, such as the Department of Kinesiology and Health Science and the Department of Human Services, partner with the charter school to provide college students with opportunities to work with elementary students. Many university faculty members also use the school for research opportunities.

To learn more about SFA’s Department of Elementary Education, visit sfasu.edu/elementaryed. For more information about the SFA Charter School, visit sfasu.edu/charter_school.

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

A group of students and faculty from Stephen F. Austin State University’s Department of Computer Science recently attended the 2018 Grace Hopper Celebration in Houston, the world’s largest annual gathering of women technologists.

The event celebrates the late Grace Hopper, Navy rear admiral and pioneer in the field of computer science, and brings together women from across the country to discuss research, career interests and emerging technology and participate in professional development activities, said Dr. Deborah Dunn, professor and chair of the department.

“It is critical and extremely beneficial for students to attend events like the Grace Hopper Celebration,” Dunn said. “It not only gives them an opportunity to network with other women in the field, but it also allows them to attend sessions to learn more about the topics they find interesting.”

While at the event, several of the students interviewed with companies, and some even received offers for jobs and internships, Dunn said.

Ariel Inman, junior computer information systems major of Lufkin, was able to speak to representatives from companies like Google, Microsoft and Apple about what they look for in employees.

“That is an experience you can’t find anywhere else,” Inman said. “This opportunity enabled me to go outside of my comfort zone and better prepare myself for the workforce.”

By Joanna Armstrong, senior marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University.

Stephen F. Austin State University music faculty members J.D. Salas and Daniel Chapa will present a tuba and euphonium recital with collaborative pianist Hyun Ji Oh in the opening event of the 14th annual SFA Octubafest celebration.

The concert is at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 17, in Cole Concert Hall and is part of the SFA Friends of Music Concert Series.

Octubafest is an international concert and recital series started by the Harvey Phillips Foundation to showcase the tuba and euphonium as solo instruments, according to Salas.

“Throughout the month of October, universities around the world will host celebrations, including guest artist recitals, chamber music concerts and other tuba-euphonium related events,” he said.

Salas will perform J.E. Barat’s “Introduction and Dance” and Frank Gulino’s “Onwards and Upwards,” which is a piece commissioned in 2017 by a consortium in which Salas was involved. He will also perform “Squareman’s Jazz” by Ben McMillan.

“This is a piece for unaccompanied tuba that I will be interpreting a little differently by using several effects pedals to further highlight the various styles in the piece,” Salas said.

Chapa, performing on euphonium, will showcase one of his favorite arrangements of Felix Mendelssohn’s “Songs Without Words (Op. 53 No. 4).”

“I first encountered this piece in one of my music theory classes during my time as graduate student at the University of North Texas,” he said. “After analyzing and listening to the beautiful melodic line, I also noticed the melody stayed in the upper voice for the entirety of the song. This type of scoring made Mendelssohn’s song and several others very easy to arrange and a lot of fun to play!”

On trombone, Chapa will perform “Song for Ina” by Philip Sparke, The piece was originally composed for euphonium solo with brass band. There have been several adaptations of the piece including this particular arrangement of solo trombone with a tuba-euphonium quintet.

Chapa will also perform McMillan’s “Tomes of Hardened Steel,” which was composed for tuba and CD. The composer writes, “Initially I wasn’t intending to create an orchestral sound, but the more I played around with the gems of ideas, the more I found it leaning towards an epic fantasy film score in three movements – ‘Across the Plains,’ ‘Fountain of Dusklight’ and ‘Juggernaut.’ Though the title suggest a vague story, I prefer to leave the specifics up to the listener.”

Concert tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students and youth. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu.