Everything Nac

Ashlee Brewster, a 2013 Stephen F. Austin State University graduate, was named the 2016-17 Teacher of the Year for Mountainview Elementary School in Waco.

“I am incredibly honored to have achieved this award,” Brewster said. “I feel as a teacher, I must be a role model to my students. I hope through this achievement, I have inspired them to do their best to reach their goals.”

Brewster has taught second grade at Mountainview since August 2014, but her passion for teaching reaches back to her childhood.

“As a child, I wanted to be a teacher,” Brewster said. “This dream was confirmed when my teacher asked me to peer tutor another student in elementary school.”

Brewster has always loved interacting with children. As a teenager, she babysat for families in her hometown, Rosebud. In high school, she served as a mentor in pre-kindergarten and first grade classrooms.

“These experiences led me to my future career choice in teaching early-childhood-aged children,” Brewster said.

Brewster entered college with 30 dual credit hours and graduated from SFA summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in interdisciplinary studies. While at SFA, she worked as a Math 127 and 128 tutor at the Academic Assistance and Resource Center and as a teacher’s aide in the toddler classroom at the Early Childhood Laboratory — two of her favorite places, she said.

“From student progress to relationship building, I feel that my path to teaching has been very rewarding,” Brewster said.

As an elementary teacher, Brewster believes students learn best by doing.

“I believe the inquiry-based approach to learning is the best way to teach,” Brewster said. “I love teaching hands-on and engaging lessons. I connect our concepts to real-life experiences through questioning so my students can see the purpose in learning the content.”

Along with teaching, Brewster serves on various committees and is involved with a number of programs, including the Hospitality Committee, Pedagogical Leadership Team, Waco ISD Succeed Mentor Program and more. Additionally, she works in partnership with Baylor University pre-service teachers.

The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Music will host a guest flute and harpsichord recital at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 1, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

Part of the Cole Performing Arts Series, the concert will feature Eva Amsler, professor of flute at Florida State University, and Shalev Ad-El, music director of Israel’s highest ranking chamber orchestra, Netania, Kibbutz chamber orchestra.

The program will feature works of Georg Philipp Telemann, Arcangelo Corelli, J.S. Bach, C.P.E. Bach and W.F. Bach. Dr. Christina Guenther, professor of flute at SFA, will join Amsler in performing W.F. Bach’s Duo G Major for two flutes.

Professor of flute at Florida State University since 2001, Amsler spent 20 years of orchestral playing in Switzerland and serving on the faculty of the Vorarlberg State Conservatory of Music in Feldkirch, Austria. As a pioneer on authentic interpretation of Baroque music on modern flute and an advocate of new music, including for piccolo, alto and bass flute, she enjoys a worldwide career as a performer and teacher.

Ad-El was born in Israel and graduated from the Royal Conservatory of the Hague. He frequents some of the world’s most prestigious venues, such as Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, Suntury of Tokyo, Brugge festival, Bachfest of Leipzig and LG Centre of Seoul. Ad-El is a member of Philharmonic Stradivari Soloists Berlin, il Gardellino and The Dorian Consort.

Both artists will present master classes in addition to their concert, and Amsler will also teach a dynamic integration (body awareness) class.

The concert is a joint presentation of the SFA College of Fine Arts and School of Music.

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 (888) 240-ARTS or visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz was in Nacogdoches recently and visited with Stephen F. Austin State University administrators and supporters at the Juanita Curry Boynton House. After a welcome from SFA President Baker Pattillo, pictured at right, Cruz discussed a variety of topics, including the effects of the nationalized student loan program and immigration reform on higher education. Cruz also heard reports from deans and representatives of each of the six colleges that comprise SFA.

Stephen F. Austin State University has been named one of the top 10 best value colleges in the nation for its online master’s degree in early childhood education by College Values Online, a website dedicated to helping students select the best university for them.

“As faculty members, we are proud of the knowledge and experiences our students gain through the innovative and diverse degree program at SFA,” said Dr. Susan Casey, program coordinator for SFA’s online master’s degree in early childhood education. “We are excited about the recognition because it validates the degrees our students receive and enables them to further their career opportunities.”

The ranking criteria include awards and recognition, 20-year net return on investments, customization options, innovative programs, scholarship and internship opportunities, related student organizations and more.

“In today’s world of diverse experiences, there are various challenges in the work place, and knowledge is the key to unlocking the potential of all of our graduate students,” Casey said. “This degree will open the door for them as they enter the work environment in hospitals, early childhood state intervention programs, childcare centers, day care licensing, lead teacher roles and many other fields. Our world will always have children to educate, and the master’s degree opens endless possibilities.”

SFA’s Master of Education in early childhood education is a 36-credit hour program and is designed to develop specialized competency in organizing programs for young children and families through in-depth study and research related to child growth and development, theoretical underpinnings of classroom practice, development of learning strategies and sociological and psychological factors influencing behavior in young children.

Courses are offered completely online through SFA’s learning management system, Desire2Learn, and they are taught in half-semester formats. Students may determine the pace at which they progress, but generally, it takes two years to complete the program.

“Our early childhood master’s degree program allows students to fully participate in active learning no matter where they live,” Casey said.

For more information, visit http://www.sfasu.edu/elementaryed/103.asp.

Stephen F. Austin State University students enrolled in an advertising and promotion course in the Rusche College of Business are embarking on a challenge to help counter violent extremism as part of a national competition.

In Edventure’s Peer to Peer: Challenging Extremism competition, students must create and activate their own social media campaigns to challenge violent extremist ideology, propaganda and recruitment by creating positive, alternative or counter narratives, according to the competition’s guidelines.

Dr. Marlene Kahla, professor in SFA’s Department of Management, Marketing and International Business, explained that although the project may be in its initial planning stage, the students are already working to effectively promote their message.

Students have organized into departments, such as account planning, creative, media and social media, finance and research and are evaluating ideas for logos, tag lines and the overall campaign theme.

“This project is a great opportunity for students to develop a campaign from the ground up,” Kahla said. “They will be involved with every aspect of the campaign and learn a variety of creative and tactical skills.”

As a prelude to the project, Dr. Michael Tkacik, director of SFA’s School of Honors, spoke to the class about the definitions of terrorism and violent extremism to help lay the foundation for the students’ research.

“This background discussion of terrorism is important because it allows us to understand the motives and behavior of violent extremists,” Tkacik said. “Just as important, it allows us to begin to see the shape of future behavior and counter it.”

Throughout the semester, students will continue to research and build the campaign.