Everything Nac

The online Master of Public Administration program offered through the Stephen F. Austin State University Department of Government was recently recognized as one of the top 30 most affordable in the nation according to College Values Online.

College Values Online reviewed 150 such degrees offered through non-profit, regionally accredited schools. According to the ranking organization’s website, SFA’s online Master of Public Administration students gain real-world experience through research projects, graduate assistantships and internships.

“The affordability of the SFA program is to ensure that a quality master’s program in public administration becomes available to all,” said Dr. Kwame Antwi-Boasiako, chair of the SFA Department of Government. “The fully-online program allows our faculty members to utilize all available technological outlets to communicate effectively with our students. Our faculty is committed to reaching out to our students so it’s not just another online program but a committed and dedicated one with a quality education.”

The program offered through SFA is one that Antwi-Boasiako said “combines theory with pragmatic approach.” For more information on the program, visit www.sfasu.edu/government/123.asp.

The Orchestra of the Pines at Stephen F. Austin State University will present the program “Sibelius and Shostakovich” when the orchestra performs at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

Under the direction of Dr. Gene H. Moon, director of orchestras at SFA, the Orchestra of the Pines will perform works by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius and Russian composer and pianist Dmitri Shostakovich. Leonard Chow, a recent graduate of SFA, will return to Nacogdoches to perform the first movement of Sibelius’ Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47 with the Orchestra of the Pines. Chow completed his Master of Music degree at SFA in May 2016 and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of Houston. He studied with Jennifer Dalmas during his time at SFA.

Moon explained that Sibelius longed to become a great violinist, beginning playing the instrument late in life, at the age of 14, but he never quite achieved great skill.

“His fascination and ambition led him to compose the only concerto in his oeuvre – his hauntingly thoughtful violin concerto,” Moon said. “The concerto is by far one the most popular concerti performed around the world, including at SFA. In addition to Leonard performing the work, two winners of the Schmidbauer Competition in the past have also performed the concerto with the SFA Orchestra of the Pines.”

Shostakovich wrote music during “some of the most devastating moments in history,” Moon said. After harsh criticism and fear for his life during Joseph Stalin’s dictatorship over the Soviet Union, Shostakovich composed “a heroic and courageous work in his Fifth Symphony,” according to Moon.

“Consisting of four movements, his Fifth Symphony tells a story of a people enduring and overcoming daunting hardships, eventually reaching a triumphant climax in the end,” Moon said. “While the symphony is entrenched in a Russian sociopolitical climate, any person whose life is full of similar adversities may resonate with Shostakovich’s work.

“The music resonates with many profound experiences in my life,” he said. “To conduct the work is to hear Shostakovich skillfully put into music what many can never put into words. The music has depth, expanse and limitless reaching plateaus.”

The performance is a 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 visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu.

It all began with an idea — a vision to create a space for Stephen F. Austin State University school psychology students and campus volunteers to gain hands-on, real-world experience in a supervised learning environment.

Two and a half years ago, Dr. Nina Ellis-Hervey, then assistant professor of assessment for doctoral and master’s students in SFA’s school psychology program, envisioned an assessment center for psychology students.

“I felt like the program was missing assessment experience opportunities for students,” Ellis-Hervey said. “I realized assessment was key, and sometimes you want to feel comfortable with the process before you walk into it as a career.”

After recruiting students to help and going through the procedures to create the facility, Ellis-Hervey’s vision became a reality, and the SFA School Psychology Assessment Center opened on the second floor of the Human Services Building on the university campus.

“Since this center is so new, the students know they are pioneers,” Ellis-Hervey said. “I didn’t do this alone, and I never take full credit for the center. If it were not for the students, the center would not be standing.”

Ellis-Hervey now serves as director of the School Psychology Assessment Center and said she is proud of the center’s success.

“The center has really grown. I went from telling people we had a center and having our first two clients to now having a waiting list of more than 20 clients,” Ellis-Hervey said. “I know there is a need, which is great because students are not only getting training experiences, but they also are seeing diverse people of different walks of life, backgrounds and cultures.”

The center is a clinical and research resource for SFA students. It also is a graduate training center within the Department of Human Services and the school psychology program. The center’s mission is to provide affordable, quality mental health assessment and care to people on campus and in the community.

“I’m very thankful to the SFA, Nacogdoches and Lufkin communities for the support,” Ellis-Hervey said. “We’ve had people come to the center from all over. I’m happy people feel comfortable leaving a piece of their lives in our hands and expecting and working with us to find answers.”

The center provides psychological assessment services for the measurement of disorders that affect psychological, emotional, academic and occupational functioning. Disorders include attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, learning disabilities, depression and anxiety, neurocognitive disorders such as nonverbal learning disabilities, psychosis and thought disorders, personality disorder, and autism spectrum disorders.

Graduate students in the school psychology program administer the tests to clients. Ellis-Hervey, who supervises the students, is a trained and licensed psychologist and is a licensed specialist in school psychology.

“The center prepares students to be ready for the world of work. I live by the principle of real-world experience,” Ellis-Hervey said. “I feel this center offers students the chance to see clients and understand the assessment process and become not only better school psychologists, but better licensed psychologists. I want to ensure our students have the training they need to be able to adapt in the places they choose to work.”

To schedule an appointment or for more information, contact the center at (936) 468-1306.

Approximately 50 Stephen F. Austin State University students and faculty members affiliated with the human development and family studies program recently volunteered at the Greater East Texas Community Action Program Head Start Family Fun Night.

This event engaged children enrolled in GETCAP Head Start and their families and involved a variety of activities for attendees such as musical chairs, face painting and dancing. SFA students in the human development and family studies program and courses, members of the Jacks Council on Family Relations and Sigma Lambda Gamma sorority members volunteered during the event and worked many of the activity booths.

SFA Sugar Land senior Kristin Freeman is a human development and family studies intern at Head Start in Nacogdoches and helps promote, assist and document the events the program hosts. Freeman volunteered at Family Fun Night and said she was pleased with the number of participants.

“The event taught me that when the community gets involved, everyone has a great time,” Freeman said. “Each person or group of people brings a certain spark that lights up the room and adds a bit more excitement to the atmosphere around everyone.”

Family Fun Night benefited GETCAP Head Start, families and children, as well as SFA students.

“The event was a great success and engaged several hundred children and their families,” said Dr. Flora Farago, assistant professor in SFA’s School of Human Sciences. “Students benefited by learning about developmentally appropriate activities for children and witnessing how community agencies incorporate child development theories and practice family engagement.”

Alongside Farago, Dr. Lisa Mize, associate professor in the School of Human Sciences, volunteered during the event.