Everything Nac

With the ringing of a bell, Sam Houston, played by Stephen F. Austin State University junior Sarah Hutchins, comes to life in a living wax museum at Millard’s Crossing Historic Village in Nacogdoches. As a group of third-grade students gathers around her, Hutchins, dressed in a fringe jacket and black hat, reflects to the early 1900s while sharing Sam Houston’s story.

“He did a lot in his day. He lived with the Cherokees and had a very good relationship with them. He was a politician in Texas and Tennessee and a war hero in both states,” Hutchins explained to an attentive group of students. “He made Texas what it is today, and he was like the George Washington of Texas.”

For more than 20 years, SFA, area schools and Millard’s Crossing Historic Village have worked together to bring the past to life in an interactive field trip known as Pioneer Days. Roz Couch, assistant director for Millard’s Crossing Historic Village, said the collaboration is wonderful.

“Part of our mission at Milliard’s Crossing is to connect the generations. I think it’s important for children to learn that people who lived in the old days weren’t that different than we are now. They still had to eat, wash their clothes, do chores and go to school,” Couch said. “I think it’s wonderful for students to find out where they came from so they can appreciate the hard work and struggles their ancestors had and appreciate all the benefits and advantages they have in the 21st century.”

During the event, SFA elementary education students interact with third graders though a variety of experiential learning activities, such as the living wax museum.

“It’s really neat interacting with the children,” Hutchins said. “It’s fun to put the students in the context of this time and have them enjoy a period they are probably unfamiliar with.”

In the living wax museum tour, students walk through the Millard-Lee House, which dates to 1837, and engage in conversations with various characters such as Anna Raguet and Lera Millard Thomas. Students learn about each person’s contributions to the city, state and nation.

“First, we looked at curriculum for third grade, and then we figured out what we wanted the students to take away from their experience,” said Emma Avery, SFA senior elementary education major who portrayed Lera Millard Thomas. “It’s really fun to see the students get excited when they ring the bell and we come to life.”

Additional activities for participants included attending school in a one-room schoolhouse, hand washing clothes, playing pioneer games, plowing a garden, making toys from corncobs and feathers, and more. At each station, SFA students were dressed in traditional pioneer clothing and discussed aspects of life in the early 1900s.

Event coordinator and organizer Dr. Vicki Thomas, assistant professor of elementary education at SFA, said this event serves a dual purpose. It provides SFA students a platform to practice skills and methods learned in class while also educating area children about Texas history.

“Some of our best practices as teachers are using role playing and experiential learning. Hands-on activities like ones used during Pioneer Days really make concepts and lessons concrete for both our teacher candidates and for our area third graders,” Thomas said.

To prepare for this event, approximately 50 SFA students in Thomas’ classes researched the history of Millard’s Crossing, life in the early 1900s and influential people from the time period. Students also prepared lesson plans in line with the Texas Education Agency’s essential knowledge and skills standards. Through performance-based activities, SFA students practiced lesson planning and managing groups of students.

The April 19 and 21 event served approximately 300 third graders from various schools in Nacogdoches County.

The online Bachelor of Business Administration degree program within Stephen F. Austin State University’s Nelson Rusche College of Business is ranked among the top 50 best online undergraduate business programs in the nation, according to College Choice, an independent online publication dedicated to helping students discover the right college.

The publication recognized SFA as the 28th best program in the nation based on the university’s reputation and affordability.

The online degree program began at SFA in fall 2011 after several years of working to create the courses, said Dr. Susan Jennings, online program coordinator and adviser at SFA. Jennings said she is pleased with the recognition and proud of the program.

SFA’s online Bachelor of Business Administration degree program allows students who have completed required courses to finish their general business degree through Web-based classes.

The general business major includes courses selected from various academic disciplines within the Nelson Rusche College of Business. The program provides students who are limited by time and distance with an option to complete their degrees.

“This program is designed to help students complete their degree in a non-traditional setting,” Jennings said. “Having been a non-traditional student myself in obtaining my undergraduate degree, I am an advocate for this type of program.”

SFA senior Morgan Toney, who is currently enrolled in the online program, also praised its benefits.

“This program has not only saved me money and time, but it also allowed me to stay home and take care of my kids before they started school,” Toney said. “I wouldn’t have been able to attend college for years had this program not been available to me. It offers people the opportunity to get a good degree from a respected business school, and it allows them to work around their schedules, families and jobs. It’s a gift because not everyone can drop everything and drive to a campus.”

The degree is fully accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International, the longest-serving global association dedicated to advancing management education worldwide.

For more information, contact Jennings at (936) 468-1634 or sjennings@sfasu.edu.

Clarinetist Dr. Mary Druhan will perform in a trio concert at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 27, in the Music Recital Hall in the Wright Music Building on the Stephen F. Austin State University campus.

Druhan, associate professor of clarinet at Texas A&M University Commerce, will be joined by TAMU-Commerce colleague Dr. Luis Sanchez, piano, and Dr. Sue Barber, professor of bassoon at James Madison University, when they present works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Julius Fucik, Karl Goepfart and Mikhail Glinka.

Among the works for clarinet, bassoon and piano to be performed are Beethoven’s Trio in B-flat major, op. 11, and Glinka’s Trio Pathétique in d minor, according to Dr. Christopher Ayer, professor of clarinet in the SFA School of Music.

“The most well known of these works is the Glinka,” Ayer said, “which showcases all of the instruments in the trio and will be an instant audience favorite.”

Druhan has enjoyed an active performing career in the United States, Germany, Spain, Italy, Great Britain, Thailand and Puerto Rico. She became a member of the Dallas Wind Symphony in 2003 and has since also performed with the Dallas Festival of Modern Music, Triforia Winds, Shreveport Symphony, Shreveport Opera, East Texas Symphony, Plano Symphony and the Color of Sound chamber series.

Barber serves as chair of the woodwind area at the James Madison University School of Music. She is a member of the resident faculty ensemble The Montpelier Wind Quintet. During the summer, she is a member of the artist/teaching faculty at the Brevard Music Festival in Brevard, North Carolina. She is an active freelance bassoonist, performing regularly with the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, Roanoke Symphony, Opera Roanoke, Opera on The James and the Williamsburg Sinfonia.

For more than two decades, Sanchez has maintained an active career as soloist, collaborative artist and teacher. He has appeared in concerts in the United States, South America, Europe and Asia. Since 2011, he has presented lectures yearly at the Texas Music Teachers Association Convention, and he is a 2011 and 2013 TMTA Collegiate Teacher of Year nominee.

While on the SFA campus, Druhan and Barber will present a master class for SFA clarinetists and bassoonists. Druhan will also present a separate workshop on coping with performance related injuries for all music students. She has suffered from and is undergoing treatment for a serious playing-related injury, which inspired her research into musician injury, prevention and recovery, Ayer said.

Admission to the concert is free. For more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu.

Sixty-five Girl Scouts attended an informative and hands-on science, technology, engineering and math day organized by the Stephen F. Austin State University College of Sciences and Mathematics this month.

Begun in 2011, the annual Girl Scout STEM Day is hosted by SFA’s STEM Research and Learning Center. Through hands-on learning discoveries, the event is designed for girls to cultivate an early interest in the STEM fields.

“We had approximately 65 Girl Scouts attending our annual Girl Scout STEM Day, which is an increase from 50 attendees last year,” said Julie Sandifer, the SFA STEM Research and Learning Center K-12 outreach coordinator. “The theme was ‘Science is my Superpower’ and was designed for girls kindergarten through sixth grade.”

Girl Scouts who attended the Saturday afternoon event worked with SFA faculty and staff members to make fossils, learn how to use microscopes and computer coding on iPads, and investigated engineering in science with origami. Participants also examined the golden ratio in nature, investigated the properties of fungi, and explored the world of reptiles, bugs and animals with the interactive Wildlife on the Move presentation by K.C. Rudy, an SFA alumnus and co-owner of Wildlife on the Move, a Dallas-based company that is dedicated to helping children develop an appreciation for nature and fostering a stewardship for Earth’s wildlife.