Everything Nac

Members of Stephen F. Austin State University’s Jacks Council on Family Relations are gearing up for their annual food drive, Thanksgiving Homebound.

Since 2011, JCFR has participated in this project to help area families during the holidays. Each year, the number of families they serve increases. Last year, members delivered food to more than 100 families. Jaycie Case, JCFR president, said their goal this year is to feed 200 families.

“This project is one way we as a campus community can give back to the city,” Case said. “It’s a great opportunity to help someone during the holiday season.”

The group asks campus organizations, departments, faculty and staff members, students and Nacogdoches community members to donate grocery items families can use to prepare a Thanksgiving meal.

JCFR will be collecting food items between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. Nov. 6 and 7 and between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Nov. 8 at the Steen Library Hub, the first room on the left when entering the library. The group will be accepting monetary donations until Oct. 31.

Donated items will be organized into food bins that will be distributed to families through The East Texas Family Crisis Center, Solid Foundation and GETCAP Head Start.

For more information, contact JCFR at sfasujcfr@gmail.com.

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

Being on the sidelines never looked so good.

During the summer, three graduate students in Stephen F. Austin State University’s athletic training program interned as athletic trainers with the NFL and Women’s NBA.

Cody Oliver, Lufkin native, spent seven weeks working with the Houston Texans, and Chris Elliott of Nashville, Tennessee, served the Tennessee Titans. Sara Caitlin Godwin from Auburn, Alabama, interned with the New York Liberty Women’s NBA team.

During their internships, both Oliver and Elliott were tasked with helping athletes with their morning treatments, setting up and breaking down the field for daily practices, administering post-practice treatments and more.

“As far as athletic training goes, the NFL is considered one of the top jobs you can get,” Elliott said. “Being part of the NFL, seeing how it operates, and being around some of the world’s best athletes and helping them perform their best was a really cool experience.”

Both Elliott and Oliver worked with their team’s defensive backs. For Oliver, the Houston Texans’ game against the New England Patriots was a highlight of his internship.

“There was one athlete whom I worked with a lot. It was surreal when he ran out of the tunnel and onto the sidelines to play against the reigning Super Bowl Champs with 75,000 people screaming,” Oliver said. “That’s when it hit me that I was in the NFL. To see him back on the field for the first time in months and have a great game was rewarding.”

Likewise, Godwin’s work routine was similar to Oliver’s and Elliott’s. Every morning she would set up for practice, prepare equipment and administer treatments. She was the only intern for the team.

“It was great to be put into that environment and expected to perform from the get go,” Godwin said.

While in the Big Apple, Godwin experienced a change of pace and learned how to operate in a new environment.

“New York is busy and fast. It truly is the city that never sleeps and that’s kind of the attitude of the New York Liberty,” Godwin said.

The team practiced in Tarrytown, New York, and would often play in the infamous Madison Square Garden. Godwin would be on the sidelines at every game and described the experience as “surreal.”

“I was walking around the hallways thinking there were so many famous people here before me. I felt like a little fish in a big pond,” Godwin said.

Becoming an athletic trainer wasn’t always the plan for Godwin. As an undergraduate, she dabbled in chemical engineering and exercise science, but she soon began researching athletic training as a career. Oliver, however, played college baseball for four years and considered a career in the medical field. HIs passion for sports lead him to athletic training.

“I fell in love with it,” Oliver said. “I’ve been called to serve and doing this is a way to give back to athletes now that I’m not playing anymore. The feeling you get seeing an injured athlete you’ve been working with get back on the field and play the sport he loves is amazing. You can’t get that feeling from any other profession.”

Similarly, Elliott played college basketball for four years and said he was hurt about 50 percent of the time, which led to him developing a good relationship with one of the athletic trainers.

“He helped me a lot with rehab, physically and mentally. The way he mentored me and invested in me made me want to have that same relationship and be able to help other athletes like he did for me,” Elliott said. “I knew through my experiences I could be empathetic to a lot of what other college athletes are going through.”

Through SFA’s professional athletic training program led by Dr. Linda Bobo, students earn a Master of Science in athletic training and participate in various hands-on learning experiences such as internships and clinical work. Students work with athletes in various sports and work with doctors in general medical settings to gain real-world experience.

This year, Oliver is working with Diboll High School’s football team, and next year he will be working with Angelina College’s softball team. Godwin is working with Angelina College’s men’s basketball team and will work with SFA’s baseball team in the spring. Elliott is currently serving SFA’s volleyball team and will work with SFA’s track and field team in the spring.

“I had a lot of at experience coming into the program; however, I lacked confidence. Dr. Bobo’s program is rigorous and very helpful. You either sink or swim, and I chose to swim,” Oliver said. “I learned on the go, so when it came to the summer, it was a breeze. I’m really thankful for this program and all it’s done to help me in just one year.”

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

Stephen F. Austin State University’s School of Theatre opened Molière’s “Tartuffe” Tuesday night to an enthusiastic crowd. One of the funniest plays ever written, this classic of French comedy will be presented at 7:30 nightly through Saturday, Oct. 7, in W.M. Turner Auditorium on the SFA campus. Tickets are $15 for adult, $10 for senior and $7.50 for student/youth. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit theatre.sfasu.edu.

The Stephen F. Austin State University equine program successfully exhibited two weanling colts from the university’s breeding program at the 2017 American Paint Horse Association World Championship Show held in Fort Worth.

Make Me Move, a solid paint-bred colt, was named Reserve Breeder’s Trust Futurity Champion and placed sixth in the solid paint-bred Weanling Stallions Class, while Remember the Name, also a solid paint-bred colt, placed fifth in the same class.

“The success of this world show, coupled with the success of the Palomino Horse Breeders Association World Show when I showed Missbehavenhollywood, another SFA-owned horse, puts us on the map as not only contenders in the show pen, but also as breeders of world show-quality horses,” said Michaelle Coker, SFA equine center supervisor. “This will only boost our program and help us reach our goals of a winning show team and a viable breeding program.”

The colts were born this winter at SFA’s Walter C. Todd Agricultural Research Center and are a significant milestone in the growth of the university’s equine program that received a donation of seven broodmares in 2015 from Trudy Day and Nancy Batzloff.

“It’s a very small brood mare herd, but it’s mighty,” Coker said. “Fifty-percent of our broodmare herd had offspring competing at the world championship show this year.”

In addition to Make Me Move and Remember the Name, SFA-born Smokn Lopin was shown by a representative of Hat Creek Ranch and placed fourth in Open Ranch Riding and eighth in Open Ranch Trail Riding.

Coker said she believes this is the first time that a university has shown a horse they bred at the American Paint Horse Association World Championship.

Students are an integral component of the expanding program and play key roles in every aspect of foaling, training and showing.

Kelsey Chatigny and Sarah Bone, both senior animal science majors, were enrolled in the equine reproduction course that monitored the gestation and birth of both colts. They continued their direct involvement through an independent study course designed to prepare students to work in the equine industry. With assistance from Coker, Bone and Chatigny fed, groomed, trained and exercised the colts six days a week in preparation for the world show.

“We spent the entire summer at the equine center at all times of the day,” Chatigny said. “We learned a lot of time management and organizational skills.”

Their steadfast care undoubtedly paid off as the two colts were led through a litany of inspections from judges who examined everything from the colts’ teeth to the manner in which they move.

To learn more about the SFA equine program, contact Michaelle Coker at cokermk@sfasu.edu.

Story by Sarah Fuller, Stephen F. Austin State University Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture outreach coordinator.

Renowned cellist Nikola Nino Ružević will present a guest recital at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6, in Cole Concert Hall on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University.

Ružević, who is associate professor of cello and chamber music and the coordinator of chamber music studies at the University of North Texas, will perform with his wife, pianist Lara Ružević.

The program will feature Ludwig van Beethoven’s Sonata for Cello, Sergei Rachmaninoff’s “Vocalise,” and Croatian cello compositions. The concert will also feature a cello ensemble composition involving students of Dr. Evgeni Raychev, instructor of cello in the SFA School of Music.

A native of Croatia, Ružević has performed in many countries around the world where he has received critical acclaim for his artistry. An active soloist and chamber musician, Ružević has performed in world-renowned halls, such as The Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Musikverein in Vienna, and Suntory Hall in Tokyo.

Ružević has held teaching positions at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, University of Texas at Arlington and University of Zagreb, Croatia.

Lara Ruzevic is an international concert pianist and pedagogue. Her career has taken her to Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, Austria, Slovakia and the U.S. Active as a chamber musician and a collaborative artist, she has been on faculty of numerous music festivals and frequently performs with UNT music faculty and students.

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.

Stephen F. Austin State University’s Office of International Programs is hosting 14 exchange students from six different locations this semester.

“This has been one of the most diverse groups of foreign exchange students the university has hosted,” Heather Catton, SFA director of international programs, said.

The group comprises two students from Pakistan, two from Tunisia, five from France, three from the United Kingdom, one from Taiwan and one from Malta. Eleven of the students are undergraduates while three are graduate students.

The students participate in exchanges through different programs.

Two programs are offered by the U.S. State Department: Global UGRAD, which is part of a broader effort to promote a better understanding of the U.S. abroad, especially among future world leaders, and the Thomas Jefferson Scholarship, which allows students to develop a deeper understanding of American culture and gain new skills that will help them further the economic growth and development of their country.

Along with the U.S. State Department programs, students come from the Rose Bruford theatre exchange program, the LaRochelle business exchange program and the ISEP world-wide study abroad program.

Sujata Panjwani, a Pakistan exchange student through the Global UGRAD program, said studying in America will help both her education and personal growth.

“I have a great desire to enhance and share my knowledge and explore the widely diversified cultures in the U.S.,” Panjwani said. “Being a Pakistani and coming from a different culture, I have a lot to share in terms of my beliefs, perception and ideology.”

Mariem Hmidy, an exchange student from Tunisia through the Thomas Jefferson Scholarship, believes her time in America will benefit her when she returns home.

“Tunisia needs its young citizens to help make the country better,” Hmidy said. “Tunisia needs active young people to help its economic and political needs. This exchange program teaches me how to be a better citizen.”

While at SFA, Hmidy will undergo career preparation activities in the fall and an internship in the spring.

The SFA Office of International Programs works to ensure the students thrive during their time at the university. The program works to help students easily transition to living in America. Many exchange students deal with a myriad of issues and new challenges, such as introductions to new and different foods, academic course offerings and lack of public transportation. The office also verifies that credits acquired at SFA will transfer when the exchange students return to their home countries.

Catton said she encourages the exchange students to participate in different activities while studying abroad.

“A lot of students get to experience what life is like at a U.S. university while they are here, such as enjoying social clubs and joining fraternities and sororities. Many foreign colleges do not have the same social opportunities we do in the U.S., so these students really take advantage of those activities while here.”

The Office of International Programs hopes to expand the number of exchange programs SFA offers. In the spring, Catton said they are planning to add Université Jean Monnet in France to the list of participants.

For more information about international programs at SFA, visit http://www.sfasu.edu/oip/.

Emily Brown is a marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University.