Everything Nac

Ellie Borrego, Stephen F. Austin State University senior from Houston majoring in interdisciplinary studies with an emphasis in elementary education, helps a Día de los Libros participant select a book to read. Día de los Libros is a bilingual family event celebrating a yearlong commitment to Bookjoy — a movement encouraging families to read together.

Seated in a new outdoor learning space called “Class in the Grass,” SFA students and children from Brooks-Quinn-Jones Elementary School and their families participated in Día de los Libros, a bilingual family event celebrating a yearlong commitment to Bookjoy — a movement encouraging families to read together.

Dr. Lauren Burrow, SFA associate professor of elementary education, and almost 30 of her students partnered with BQJ first-grade teachers Kelsey Watkins, SFA alumna, and Kylie Altier to bring this event to life in Nacogdoches while similar events were hosted nationwide.

“It started as a Mexican holiday and was popularized in the U.S. by Mexican-American children’s author Pat Mora,” Burrow said. “This family-friendly event celebrated diverse cultures, promoted fun with literacy and welcomed the BQJ community to the newest learning space on their campus — Class in the Grass.”

This is the third year SFA students have participated. As part of their coursework, students were required to plan activities based on a previous Spanish-English poetry lesson SFA students taught at BQJ. Activities included a scavenger hunt de colores (colors), decorating luchadora (wrestler) masks, making oceans in a bottle, bowling with manzanas (apples) and family read-aloud time with books from the Nacogdoches Public Library.

“For SFA students, this provided an authentic opportunity to learn more about how to incorporate diverse languages and cultures into traditional lessons while also providing them the unique opportunity to connect with the community in a non-traditional learning space,” Burrow said. “Also, this helped students realize teaching should involve the whole family, and teaching often occurs outside of normal school hours.”

For information about programs in the James I. Perkins College of Education, visit sfasu.edu/education.

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

Son Pham, a doctoral student enrolled in Stephen F. Austin State University’s Doctor of Education in educational leadership program, traveled more than 8,700 miles from his home in Vietnam to discover a solution to the social and organizational issues facing his country’s higher education system.

Son Pham, a doctoral student enrolled in Stephen F. Austin State University’s Doctor of Education in educational leadership program, traveled more than 8,700 miles from his home in Vietnam to discover a solution to the social and organizational issues facing his country’s higher education system. He believes stepping outside of his country will help him find a new approach.

“In Vietnam, we have a lot of limitations to observe and investigate what is happening in our systems,” Pham said. “I believe by applying updated theories of education management with the view of comparative education, various current problems in Vietnamese education will be clarified and improved.”

Before becoming a Lumberjack, Pham worked in a senior-level position at Hoa Sen University where he led a nationwide communication campaign to reach high school students. Through his efforts, student enrollment almost doubled from about 6,800 to more than 12,200 students. The victory was bittersweet.

While enrollment and interest in the university increased, thousands of students failed the Vietnam national entrance exam. This roadblock encouraged Pham to analyze why this occurred and research how to improve the admission selection process and the effectiveness of public education management. He said this became his obsession.

“It pushed me to self-study to make it clear that there are many problems below the iceberg of this national college entrance examination, including central planning from the minister of education and the demand of society, training quotas control and corruption, linkage to the industrial labor force and more,” he said.

A connection in Houston brought Pham and his family to Texas, and he soon learned about SFA. In summer 2017, he enrolled in his first doctoral courses in the James I. Perkins College of Education after undergoing the extensive and competitive admissions process for international students and interviewing with doctoral program faculty members.

When he visited SFA, he said he “had a feeling” this was the university for him.

“First impressions are very important. When I was on campus, I had a nice, warm feeling,” Pham said. “The professor who interviewed me was caring.”

The university’s supportive and family-like atmosphere made Pham comfortable in selecting the school to continue his education.

“Even after some time, I can say this is the right choice. The faculty members support me, and I feel like they care about my progress and offer me opportunities,” he said.

As a doctoral student, Pham also doubles as a doctoral research assistant for the program. While he admits there has been a steep learning curve, he said he is thankful for the support, community contacts and opportunities the program has allowed him thus far.

Uprooting his family from Vietnam was difficult, but Pham praises SFA’s Office of International Programs for making the transition as smooth as possible. He has participated in a variety of campus events, such as the Office of Multicultural Affairs’ poverty simulation and diversity conference. He also read Vietnamese poetry during the Department of Languages, Cultures and Communication’s international poetry evening. For him, it is easy to continue his global education by becoming involved in the many cultural events on campus.

“I’m grateful to the international program for their support,” he said.

Throughout his educational journey, Pham has traveled to 16 countries and five continents to gain new perspectives. He earned his master’s degree in France and his undergraduate degree in Vietnam. At SFA, he will continue to seek advice from leaders and research ways to improve the educational system of his home country.

“Educational leaders have committed to work not only with but also on behalf of others who often might be the disadvantaged, disenfranchised, invisible and forgotten in our imperfect social systems,” Pham said. “I have faith in the education profession to make a difference, to bring about positive social change and to better society. Educational leadership is really the ‘profession of hope.’”

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