Everything Nac

Dr. Linda Bobo, professor and director of the athletic training program at Stephen F. Austin State University, served as a volunteer medical staff member during the three-day Pan-American Cadet and Junior Championships in Costa Rica.

During the event, Bobo worked as an athletic trainer alongside three other medical staff members. Together, they were responsible for the care of 42 athletes ranging from ages 12 to 17.

The Pan-American Taekwondo Union hosted the event, which included poomsae, a combination of basic actions and movements exercised with an imaginary opponent; and gyoroogi, where athletes spar opponent to opponent.

Bobo has volunteered with this organization since 2007 and has had the opportunity to work with Olympic-hopeful athletes.

“I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with elite athletes who were qualifying for the Olympics,” Bobo said. “This year I worked with the younger age groups. I enjoy the international travel and working with these athletes, who are very spirited, intelligent, goal oriented and thankful for our services.”

As an athletic trainer at the Pan-American Cadet and Junior Championships, Bobo administered manual therapy, traditional taping and wrapping, soft tissue stretching, injury management, acute care management and more. She said she uses opportunities like this to stay current in her field, as she believes professors should live what they teach in the classroom.

“I’m able to reflect on the opportunities and give my students real-time application of my practical experience,” Bobo said. “In these venues, you have a table and that’s about it. Students see how you have to think outside of the box and how you can use your athletic training skills in a non-pristine setting.”

In class, Bobo utilizes a case-study approach to educate her students. She explained how she shares her experience in Costa Rica to remind students how to adapt in an environment and how to handle the age variance when working as an athletic trainer in a non-traditional, combative sport.

“What you learn in a textbook is not always protocol for what you need to do on the scene. That’s why it’s important for me to take my experiences back and share them with the class,” Bobo said.

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

The International Arts Series will kick off with a concert from Costa Rican musician Humberto Vargas at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 27, at the Cole Concert Hall on the Stephen F. Austin State University campus.

The series, hosted by the Department of Languages, Cultures and Communications, brings well-known foreign artists to campus each semester. The artists are from areas and cultures that represent the languages taught in the department: Spanish, French, German and Portuguese.

The program allows the SFA and Nacogdoches communities to experience authentic, foreign cultures that are found typically in larger U.S. cities.

Dr. Jeana Paul-Ureña, chair of the department, believes that exposing students and the community to different cultures is important.

“Since we don’t have access to many foreign foods, films or international artistic production like bigger cities do, we bring foreign culture to Nacogdoches,” she said.

Each time the department brings different artists to campus, they stay for one week. The artists perform one night and also visit classes throughout the week to talk with students, which gives students a chance to meet them and discuss their cultures and art.

“The students get to meet someone who is a representative of the cultures we study,” Paul-Ureña said. “It is a unique opportunity for students who may not be able to travel to get exposure to a different part of the world.”

The series will feature three performing artists, two visiting scholars and an International Poetry night, where SFA students and professors will read international poetry this semester.

Vargas is a well-known pop musician from Latin America who has been performing for over 30 years. He has won awards for his songs “Dilo de una vez” and “Piedra, Papel, Tijera,” which translate to “Say it all at once” and “Stone, Paper, Scissors” respectively. Vargas won the top award at the Viña del Mar International Song Festival in 2006.

Nicaraguan folk musician Luís Enrique Mejía Godoy will perform a concert at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 26 in Liberal Arts North 142. Godoy is known for his protest songs throughout the Spanish speaking world and has inspired revolutions against dictatorships. He has worked with many U.S. icons as well, such as Pete Seeger.

The last performance will be Los Llaneros, a folklore group from Venezuela. Los Llaneros will perform at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 2 in Dugas Liberal Arts North, Room 142. They will perform again at the Day of the Dead Festival on the square in downtown Nacogdoches the evening of Nov. 4.

International Poetry Night will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Cole Arts Center Nov. 8. International scholars include Rogério de Souza Sergio Ferreira from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Clara Ramos from Salvador Bahia, Brazil.

The series is free to the public. For more information, email jpaulurena@sfasu.edu.

By Emily Brown, marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University.

A Stephen F. Austin State University expert on Texas politics and U.S. presidential elections will provide oversight for the academic integrity of SFA’s athletic programs.

Dr. Ken Collier has been named faculty athletic representative by Dr. Baker Pattillo, university president.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association requires each of its member institutions to appoint a faculty athletics representative, who must be on the faculty or administrative staff and may not hold a position in the athletics department, according to Robert Hill, director of SFA athletics.

“Faculty athletics representatives play an important role on college campuses, serving as an advocate for student-athlete well-being, in addition to overseeing academic integrity,” Hill said.

A member of the SFA faculty since 1999, Collier graduated from Longview High School and attended Kilgore College before enrolling at the University of Texas, where he earned both a bachelor’s and doctoral degree in government.

Collier teaches courses on the presidency, elections and Texas politics and is completing a book on presidential speechwriting. He is the author of “Between the Branches: The White House Office of Legislative Affairs” and co-author of “Lone Star Politics,” a textbook on Texas politics currently in its fifth edition. Collier has published articles in journals, including the Journal of Politics, White House Studies, Presidential Studies Quarterly, Public Choice, and Social Science Quarterly.

Prior to joining the SFA faculty, Collier taught at UT and at the University of Kansas, where he also was involved in web design for the athletic department.

Collier is married to Sandy Benavides Collier. Their daughter, Nicole, is a graduate of Austin College and is completing a master’s degree in non-profit management.

Collier replaces Professor Emeritus Dale Perritt, who previously served as the faculty athletics representative. Perritt retired from the SFA Department of Agriculture in August.

Stephen F. Austin State University students in the School of Human Sciences recently met with Christina Balduf and Kinsey Jeffers, representatives from the East Texas Food Bank, to kick off a six-week Cooking Matters program.

During a class presentation, Balduf outlined the food bank’s mission and services as well as discussed hunger insecurities families in the area encounter. The food bank is a nonprofit organization that distributes food to more than 200 partner agencies in an effort to feed children, the working poor and seniors throughout 26 counties in East Texas.

Balduf also provided students an overview of the Share Our Strength’s Cooking Matters program, which teaches families at risk of hunger how to get more food for their money and better nourishment.

This is the third year SFA community nutrition classes have partnered with the East Texas Food Bank to provide this program. Justin Pelham, food, nutrition and dietetics clinical instructor at SFA, is using this program as a class project.

“The Cooking Matters program provides real-world experience at the undergraduate level,” Pelham said. “Students are able to showcase their expertise from the nutrition education standpoint in addition to adequate cooking preparation for meals on a budget.”

Students will take on various roles during the program such as marketers, chef instructor, nutrition specialist, grocery shopper and class manager.

“Students enjoy active learning with hands-on programs that extend beyond the general lecture classroom,” Pelham said. “Students can make a community impact and take away personal experiences they can apply toward their résumés and future jobs.”

Cooking Matters classes will begin Oct. 9 and continue each Monday through Nov. 13. Classes will begin at 4 p.m. with a 30-minute nutrition education portion in the Human Sciences Building North, Room 204. The cooking segment will take place from around 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. in the Human Sciences Building North, Room 211.

This year, the program is open to SFA faculty and staff members who could benefit from nutrition education and enhanced cooking skills. Pelham explained the class has partnered with SFA Campus Recreation’s Employee Wellness program so participants can count this program toward their wellness hours.

The program is divided into lessons with the first four classes comprising one-hour lectures and an hour of cooking. SFA students will purchase the needed groceries, and participants will be able to take the food home after the demonstration. The fifth lesson will be at a local grocery story and include games, food comparisons, a budgeting exercise and more. The final lesson is a celebration and potluck.

To sign up for Cooking Matters, contact Jessica Waguespack, Employee Wellness coordinator, at (936) 468-6056 or waguespaja@sfasu.edu.

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

The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Art and the Friends of the Visual Arts will present a free, one-night screening of “Landfill Harmonic” at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6, in The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches.

“Landfill Harmonic” follows the Recycled Orchestra of Cateura, a Paraguayan musical group that plays instruments made entirely out of garbage. When their story goes viral, the orchestra is catapulted into the global spotlight.

Under the guidance of idealistic music director Favio Chavez, the orchestra must navigate a strange new world of arenas and sold-out concerts. However, when a natural disaster strikes their community, Chavez must find a way to keep the orchestra intact and provide a source of hope for their town, according to the website landfillharmonicmovie.com, which also describes the documentary as “a testimony to the transformative power of music and the resilience of the human spirit.”

The 84-minute film is directed by Brad Allgood and Graham Townsley and produced by Juliana Penaranda. The 2015 film won numerous awards at film festivals throughout the nation, including best documentary, best music documentary, best family friendly feature and several audience awards.

This screening is part of the School of Art’s monthly Friday Film Series and is sponsored in part by William Arscott, Nacogdoches Film Festival, Karon Gillespie, Mike Mollot, David Kulhavy, Brad Maule, John and Kristen Heath, Galleria Z, Jill Carrington, Jean Stephens, Jim and Mary Neal, Richard Orton, Nacogdoches Junior Forum and Main Street Nacogdoches.

The Cole Art Center is located at 329 E. Main St. For more information, call (936) 468-1131.

The Omojo Percussion Duo will perform a guest recital at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5, in Cole Concert Hall on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University as part of the SFA School of Music’s Calliope Concert Series.

Oliver Molina and Joe W. Moore III will perform duo works by living composers. Their goal is to highlight living composers that are composing exciting and interesting works for the percussion duo idiom.

Moore’s four-movement “Secrets We Keep” was inspired by “the secret truths we all have but don’t always share,” the composer said. Each movement is individually titled: Whispering – speaking under your breath; Concealing – hidden agenda; Withholding – half-truths; Revealing – coming to light.

“Ultimately, my goal was to write an intimate work of art that both the performers and the audience would enjoy on stage and in their seats, respectively,” Moore said.

Also featured is Ivan Trevino’s “Hold Fast,” a vibraphone and drum set duo commissioned by a consortium of 28 percussionists and colleges across the U.S.

“The piece is groove-heavy and technically very challenging,” Trevino said, “requiring each player to hold steady and be a foundation for the other.”

Moore is assistant professor of percussion at the University of Texas Rio Grand Valley. Prior, he was director of percussion studies at the University of Texas Brownsville. He has performed with the Rio Bravo Percussion Ensemble during their showcase performance at the 2015 Texas Music Educators Association Convention. He has performed in Ukemerge and Kaunas, Lithuania, as a soloist with the UCF Percussion Ensemble during the Ukemerge Annual Percussion Festival. Moore has also held performing positions at Walt Disney World, as a sub-list member of the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, and as a member of the Rhythm-N-Blue Drum Line for the Orlando Magic NBA team.

Molina is an assistant professor of music and assistant director of bands at Northwestern State University of Louisiana. He is a doctoral candidate in percussion performance and pedagogy at the University of Iowa. Molina has worked with and arranged for many band programs throughout the United States. He has performed with the Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps and the Southwind Drum and Bugle Corps, and has worked with the front ensembles for the Colts Drum and Bugle Corps from Dubuque, Iowa, and the Magic Drum and Bugle Corps from Orlando, Florida. Before teaching at NSU, Molina was the associate band director at University High School in Orlando.

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.