Everything Nac

Mylee Elsik, of Deer Park, and Owen Hawkins, of Nacogdoches, will serve as children of the court during Stephen F. Austin State University’s Homecoming celebrations Oct. 29 and 30.

Mylee is the 8-year-old daughter of Lorna Wheeler and Frank Elsik. She is the granddaughter of Robert Wheeler, a 1979 SFA alumnus.

Mylee is in the third grade at San Jacinto Elementary School and enjoys participating in soccer, ballet, acrobatics and the children’s choir at Deer Park First Baptist Church. She also is a big fan of the Lumberjacks.

Owen is the 7-year-old son of Erik and Heather Hawkins. Heather is a 2000 graduate of SFA and works in the James I. Perkins College of Education’s dean’s office. Erik plans to graduate from SFA in 2023.

Owen is a second-grade student at Central Heights Elementary. He loves animals and enjoys being a member of the swim team and playing soccer and basketball. He plans to someday participate during the Olympics in swimming and become a zookeeper after graduating from SFA in 2032.

Mylee and Owen will ride in the Homecoming parade and participate in the crowning of the SFA Homecoming queen during halftime of the SFA versus Abilene Christian University football game, which begins at 4 p.m. Oct. 30 at Homer Bryce Stadium on the SFA campus.

It was inevitable that José Rodrigo Uresti would become a teacher. As a child, he sat at a little desk he received for Christmas, where he pretended to teach his younger sister and cousin about the intricacies of math and history, and later graded the papers he assigned.

Now enrolled in Stephen F. Austin State University’s deaf and hard of hearing educator preparation program, Uresti, who is deaf, is taking the steps to make his calling a career. His goal is to become a U.S. government teacher for students who are deaf and hard of hearing. He transferred to SFA in spring 2021 to pursue a bachelor’s degree in deaf education.

“My ultimate goal is for all students who are deaf and hard of hearing to have a teacher who is a role model for them, who understands deaf culture, who communicates in American Sign Language and shows them that a deaf person is able to do anything while serving and representing the deaf community, and who shows them that every community can be united,” Uresti said.

A native of McAllen near the Texas and Mexico border, Uresti transferred to SFA instead of other institutions closer to the Rio Grande Valley because it is the only public university in Texas offering an undergraduate degree in deaf and hard of hearing education. The program equips candidates to teach students who are deaf and hard of hearing in prekindergarten through 12th grade settings.

“Their philosophy is for us to be ready to serve, educate and advocate for students who are deaf and hard of hearing; to ensure we are the best candidates to teach every student; to make sure their needs are met; to serve the diversity of all students and to be as inclusive as possible,” Uresti said.

The program offers coursework in ASL, as well as courses specific to the unique learning needs of students who are deaf and hard of hearing.

“SFA’s deaf education program has a 100% employment rate upon graduation,” said Dr. Lindsey Kennon, SFA assistant professor in the deaf and hard of hearing educator preparation program. “Deaf education is a high-needs teaching field, which means there are currently more vacancies than we can fill in Texas.”

Uresti’s interest in teaching government developed early in life. His father worked in municipal government for 15 years, which sparked an interest. He also credits U.S. President Joe Biden and Jim Darling, former mayor of McAllen, as influences, saying, “They are the most considerate influences because of how they demonstrate tireless service for citizens across their communities.”

Uresti’s passion for government led him to Washington D.C., where he served for three months as a congressional intern for Congressman Vicente Gonzalez, representative of the 15th Congressional District of Texas. During the internship, Uresti visited the U.S. Capitol and conversed with fellow interns about politics and matters regarding the deaf and hard of hearing community.

“I want to share my internship experience with my future students and tell them what I did and the functions of the governmental process — how it operates within the legislative, executive and judicial branches,” Uresti said. “I want to inspire them with firsthand accounts of the reality of our country’s government.”

Uresti plans to graduate from SFA in spring 2023 and said he’ll likely continue his studies, working toward a master’s degree in public affairs with a concentration in public administration. In addition to teaching public school, he also desires to serve on the McAllen City Council.

By Nathan Wicker, senior marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University

Stephen F. Austin State University School of Theatre, in collaboration with Panola College Theatre, will present Ellen McLaughlin’ play “Ajax in Iraq” Nov. 9 through 13 at the Community House in Center.

Past and present collide in McLaughlin’s mash-up of Sophocles’ classic tragedy “Ajax” with the modern-day war in Iraq. The play follows the parallel narratives of Ajax, an ancient Greek military hero, and A.J., a modern female American soldier, both undone by the betrayal of a commanding officer. Athena, goddess of war, coolly presides over the whole. Inspired by material collected from interviews with Iraq war veterans and their families, “Ajax in Iraq” explores the timeless struggle soldiers face in trying to make sense of war.

“Ajax in Iraq” will be presented at 7:30 nightly Tuesday through Saturday, Nov. 9 through 13, in Community House, 425 San Augustine St. in Center. The play was particularly suited for SFA School of Theatre Director Cleo House Jr.’s idea to develop a show in collaboration with a nearby junior college, according to Dr. Slade Billew, assistant professor of theatre at SFA.

“We have had a good relationship with Panola over the years, so we thought they would be the perfect partner to test this idea,” he said. Billew and Karen King, professor of theatre at Panola, selected McLaughlin’s play.

“We were looking for something that spoke to ongoing issues and concerns in our country and our region particularly,” Billew said. “The experience of soldiers and veterans is an important ongoing conversation, and this play does an excellent job of exploring the timelessness of those questions by connecting the contemporary war in Iraq with the oldest known war in the western tradition, the Trojan War.”

The play also worked well to divide between two locations two casts of students that are only able to all be in the same place occasionally. The play follows two stories simultaneously – the first being Ajax, a soldier in the Trojan war who is driven to destructive behavior by the influence of the goddess Athena.

“This part is loosely based on Sophocles’ ancient play ‘Ajax,’ but it has been updated in its language by the playwright,” Billew said. “The other part of the play is centered on the experience of contemporary soldiers in the Iraq war. It focuses specifically on the experience of a female soldier, A.J., whose journey mirrors that of Ajax. The contemporary parts of the play were created by McLaughlin from interviews with soldiers and veterans of the Iraq war, as well as their families.”

Billew said he believes it is important that the experiences of soldiers, veterans and their families “are seen and shared with the larger community.”

“Often, these groups suffer in silence,” he said, “and the play offers an artistic way for audiences who don’t know these stories to come to a better understanding of the experiences of our military community in a way that is respectful, but also honest about the difficulties of that experience for soldiers themselves and everyone in their lives.”

Of particular challenge in this collaboration is creating a production with two teams that don’t get to be “in the same space regularly,” Billew said.

“In some ways, the tools we have developed through the pandemic for communicating and creating over distances have been helpful here,” he said. “Also, we are performing the show in Center – not at SFA or Panola. The people and leadership of Center have been really supportive and great in working with us. We have about five days to turn a community house into a theatre and figure out how the show works in that space.”

The play’s subject matter and plot also present challenges in directing, Billew said.

“Different students have different levels of relationship to the experience of the military, so some of them are really thinking about these issues deeply for the first time,” he explained. “Also, because we are collaborating, the students have to be even more adaptable than normal. When we do have the chance to all be together, they have to really focus and learn to quickly to work with people they have just met.”

Billew said he hopes military men and women and their families who come to the play “feel seen and believe that we have done our best to reflect some parts of their experience.”

“I hope other audience members get an insight into a part of our country that is often opaque to the average citizen,” he added.

Containing adult language, adult content and a scene of sexual violence, “Ajax in Iraq” is for mature audiences.

General ticket prices are: adult, $15; senior (62+) $10; SFA faculty/staff, $7.50; youth, $7.50; student, $5. Purchase tickets at boxoffice.sfasu.edu or call (936) 468-6407. For questions about the play, contact the School of Theatre at (936) 468-4003. A pre-recorded performance of the show will also be available for purchase a full 72-hour period between Nov. 11 and 13. Cost is $29.95 Access to that may be purchased through get.broadwayondemand.com.