Everything Nac

Erika Bazaldua Holland, a 2014 Stephen F. Austin State University mass media graduate who anchors KLTV’s “East Texas News” at midday and 5 p.m., will serve as the interviewer for the fourth installment of the Nelson Rusche Distinguished Lecture Series. The free event featuring bestselling author, entrepreneur and Sprinkles Cupcakes founder Candace Nelson is open to the public and scheduled for 7:30 p.m. March 26 in SFA’s Baker Pattillo Student Center Grand Ballroom.

An Arlington native, Holland started her career in media at an early age when she worked as a “kid DJ” for ABC’s Radio Disney from ages 11 to 18. While at SFA, she was involved in the university’s TV programs and several organizations, including Alpha Chi Omega sorority and Jack Walkers. She earned SFA Alumni Association’s Lumberjack Pride Award in 2018.

Following her graduation from SFA, Holland began working at KTRE/KLTV as a reporter. She was later promoted to weekend anchor/producer and the weekday morning anchor on “Good Morning East Texas.”

In 2021, Holland married KLTV evening news anchor Blake Holland. They welcomed their daughter in summer 2023.

Outside work, Holland loves spending time with her family, cheering on the Texas Rangers and serving the community. She is a member of the Big Bend Conservancy board of directors, the main philanthropic body for the national park in Texas. In addition to her state and national park conservation efforts, Holland advocates for heart health, mental health and spreading awareness about foster children in need of forever families.

For the fourth installment of the Nelson Rusche Distinguished Lecture Series, Holland will interview Candace Nelson, a “Shark Tank” guest shark, New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author, and an expert in turning one’s passion into a profitable business. Nelson revolutionized the baking industry when she left a career in finance to start Sprinkles, the world’s first cupcake bakery and Cupcake ATM.

Free tickets for the event are available at the Charles Bright Visitor Center in downtown Nacogdoches or on campus at the student center information desk and the McGee Business Building, Room 137.

To purchase tickets for the 6 p.m. private reception and book signing, contact SFA’s Office of Development at (936) 468-5406 or rsvp@sfasu.edu. Tickets cost $100.

For more information about the lecture series, visit sfasu.edu/rusche.

ABOUT STEPHEN F. AUSTIN STATE UNIVERSITY

Stephen F. Austin State University, the newest member of The University of Texas System, began a century ago as a teachers’ college in Texas’ oldest town, Nacogdoches. Today, it has grown into a regional institution comprising six colleges — business, education, fine arts, forestry and agriculture, liberal and applied arts, and sciences and mathematics. Accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, SFA enrolls approximately 11,000 students while providing the academic breadth of a state university with the personalized attention of a private school. The main campus encompasses 421 acres that include 37 academic facilities, nine residence halls, and 68 acres of recreational trails that wind through its six gardens. The university offers more than 80 bachelor’s degrees, more than 40 master’s degrees and four doctoral degrees covering more than 120 areas of study. Learn more at sfasu.edu.

By University Marketing Communications

Stephen F. Austin State University’s SFA Gardens will host the monthly Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series at 7 p.m. March 14 in the Brundrett Conservation Education Building at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center, located at 2900 Raguet St.

Jordan Cunningham, SFA Gardens greenhouse and nursery manager, will present “Plant Sale Preview: Plants You Shouldn’t Live Without.”

Cunningham received a Bachelor of Science in horticulture from SFA in 2015. While attending the university, she was employed as a student worker with SFA Gardens and participated in internships with Moore Farms Botanical Garden in Lake City, South Carolina, and with Disney Horticulture in Orlando, Florida. After earning her degree, Cunningham worked as a garden supervisor at the Dallas Arboretum before returning to Nacogdoches.

Cunningham joined SFA Gardens full time in 2017 as the greenhouse technician, training under former research associate Dawn Stover. In 2022, she became the gardens greenhouse and nursery manager, with main responsibilities including supervising staff members, volunteers and student assistants to maintain the greenhouse and nursery areas. She oversees the planning and production of plants that go through the garden’s facilities, those used in research and the thousands sold at SFA Gardens’ popular biannual plant sales.

The Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series is held the second Thursday of each month and includes a rare plant raffle after the program. The lecture is free and open to the public, but donations to the lecture series fund are always appreciated.

Parking is available at the PNPC, 2900 Raguet St., or Raguet Elementary School, 2708 Raguet St.

ABOUT STEPHEN F. AUSTIN STATE UNIVERSITY

Stephen F. Austin State University, the newest member of The University of Texas System, began a century ago as a teachers’ college in Texas’ oldest town, Nacogdoches. Today, it has grown into a regional institution comprising six colleges — business, education, fine arts, forestry and agriculture, liberal and applied arts, and sciences and mathematics. Accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, SFA enrolls approximately 11,000 students while providing the academic breadth of a state university with the personalized attention of a private school. The main campus encompasses 421 acres that include 37 academic facilities, nine residence halls, and 68 acres of recreational trails that wind through its six gardens. The university offers more than 80 bachelor’s degrees, more than 40 master’s degrees and four doctoral degrees covering more than 120 areas of study. Learn more at sfasu.edu.

By University Marketing Communications

For more information, email sfagardens@sfasu.edu.

Stephen F. Austin State University’s Symphony Orchestra, directed by Dr. Gregory Grabowski, will perform the music of Late Classical Era/Early Romantic German composers W.A. Mozart and Felix Mendelssohn when the student ensemble performs at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 27, in W.M. Turner Auditorium, Griffith Fine Arts Building, on the SFA campus.

Music faculty member Dr. Jennifer Dalmas, violin, will be featured on Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto.

“Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto is a cornerstone of the violin repertoire and combines virtuosity with beautiful lyricism,” said Grabowski, director of orchestral activities at SFA. “It’s incredibly challenging for the soloist while also being accessible for audiences.”

Mozart’s Symphony No. 38, nicknamed “Prague,” showcases Mozart’s “brilliance as a composer, balancing vibrant energy and moments of serene beauty. While classical in essence, Mozart begins to push the boundaries with a longer introduction, more interesting harmonies, and all around greater complexity,” explains Grabowski.

“Together with Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, this program features two staples in the orchestral canon that have rightly lasted the test of time,” he added.

Concert tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students and youth. To purchase tickets, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit finearts.sfasu.edu. For additional information, contact the SFA School of Music at (936) 468-4602.

Students in Stephen F. Austin State University’s secondary education program created book-based activity kits for children to enjoy while their caregivers study, work or visit campus.

Intended for children in pre-K through sixth grade, the kits can be found on a book cart on the first floor of SFA’s Steen Library. Currently, there are 15 books to choose from that have adjoining activity kits with instructions.

The books can be checked out from the library services desk and enjoyed anywhere in the library then returned to the same desk. Children are welcome to keep the kits, which include things like coloring sheets, word games and scissors for cutouts, as well as extension activities that they can do at home and information about the author and illustrator.

Students in education studies professor Dr. Heather Olson Beal’s “Sociocultural and Historic Perspectives in American Education” course selected books from the Steen Library curriculum collection to create the literacy activity kits. Created with assistance from research librarian Tina Oswald, Olson Beal hopes the activity kits will make the campus more family friendly.

“It’s beneficial to my students in an introductory course because it’s a real, hands-on project wherein they are developing fun activities to do that are loosely associated with a book in the library’s curriculum collection,” Olson Beal said. “I hope it’s beneficial to faculty, staff, students and even community members with young children who visit the library. Seems like a win-win!”

Sarah Cook, a junior theatre education major from Brownsboro, Texas, and Mac Burns, a junior theatre education major from Belton, Texas, selected the book “Pink is for Blobfish” by Jess Keating. Their activity for this book was a matching game for kids to sort pictures of different animals into their respective colors.

“I think the kids will enjoy the activity portion of the kit most because it grabs their attention and helps them relate things from the book to the activity,” Cook said. “Projects like these bring us together to strive toward a common goal: bettering the education of students. To be a part of something like this has been a wonderful experience.”

Olson Beal said 45 kits were made last semester and are only available while supplies last.

For more information about the activity kits, contact Oswald at toswald@sfasu.edu or call (936) 468-1861.

ABOUT STEPHEN F. AUSTIN STATE UNIVERSITY

Stephen F. Austin State University, the newest member of The University of Texas System, began a century ago as a teachers’ college in Texas’ oldest town, Nacogdoches. Today, it has grown into a regional institution comprising six colleges — business, education, fine arts, forestry and agriculture, liberal and applied arts, and sciences and mathematics. Accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, SFA enrolls approximately 11,000 students while providing the academic breadth of a state university with the personalized attention of a private school. The main campus encompasses 421 acres that include 37 academic facilities, nine residence halls, and 68 acres of recreational trails that wind through its six gardens. The university offers more than 80 bachelor’s degrees, more than 40 master’s degrees and four doctoral degrees covering more than 120 areas of study. Learn more at sfasu.edu.

By Parastoo Nikravesh, senior marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University