Everything Nac

Typhanie Shepherd, a Stephen F. Austin State University junior from Lufkin, has been selected as this year’s William Arscott Art Scholarship recipient. Shepherd is a studying filmmaking in SFA’s School of Art cinematography program. The Friends of the Visual Arts at SFA presents the award annually.

Jeff Brewer, former assistant professor of sculpture, nominated Shepherd for the scholarship. In his nomination letter, he wrote: “I have had the pleasure of knowing, teaching and mentoring Typhanie for the last three years. She is a talented student, budding young artist and all around wonderful human being.”

Brewer went on to describe Shepherd as “a brilliant student with an inquisitive nature and a drive to succeed.”

“The enthusiasm and wit she brings to the classroom are contagious, and I am grateful to be part of it,” he wrote. “Her desire to learn and try new things is a joy to witness. Her explorations into plastic casting, welding, installation and puppetry, along with her genuine love of film and learning, mixes with her curiosity, sense of humor and painstakingly detail-oriented work ethic to make her a perfect match for the Arscott Scholarship.

“I have seen firsthand the dedication and diligence Typhanie brings to the classroom, and I look forward to watching her grow as an artist, filmmaker and a person,” he said.

The FVA awards the Arscott Scholarship annually to one SFA art student to aid them in furthering their educational and professional goals in the field of art. Arscott is the senior member of the art faculty and has worked in many artistic fields, including painting, ceramics, printmaking, sculpture and cinematography. In 1980, he established the cinematography program for the School of Art. Distinguished as both an artist and educator, Arscott has been recognized and awarded many honors, including Texas Senate Resolution No. 514, Outstanding Educator of America, Alumni Distinguished Professor and Regents Professor.

The FVA has established several scholarships in the name of retiring SFA School of Art professors who were employed in the School of Art for a minimum of 10 years before retirement and who contributed in a significant way to the mission of the Friends of the Visual Arts board and its fundraising activities. In this instance, Arscott is still working at the university after more than 55 years of teaching there and is SFA’s longest-tenured faculty member. FVA scholarship committee members unanimously decided they wanted to honor Arscott now, prior to his retirement.

A new partnership between Stephen F. Austin State University’s Lumberjack Express mobile food lab and Jo’s Diner at the Helping Other People Eat Food Pantry will give students in SFA’s hospitality administration and food, nutrition and dietetics programs more opportunities to prepare for their future careers and serve the community. It also will add kitchen space and manpower to HOPE Food Pantry to help serve more Jo’s Diner guests.

Jo’s Diner, a kitchen of HOPE established in honor of the late Martha “Jo” Price, opened July 31. As many as 50 guests, on a first-come basis, are served a free, nutritious lunch by kitchen volunteers on Wednesdays.

The diner is partially funded by a grant from the Moody Foundation and by generous donations from the community. It has limited resources and heavily relies on volunteers and community partners, according to Dr. Sharon Ninness, project director and grant writer for Jo’s Diner and a volunteer for HOPE Food Pantry.

“Bringing Lumberjack Express to Jo’s Diner extends those resources by allowing volunteers to use the mobile kitchen, as well as providing the community served a unique dining experience,” Ninness said.

Though students from the hospitality administration and food, nutrition and dietetics programs have been regularly volunteering at Jo’s Diner since September, the Lumberjack Express and Jo’s Diner partnership officially kicked off the day before Thanksgiving.

The kickoff included volunteers from the SFA men’s basketball team, who served Jo’s Diner guests less than 24 hours after beating then No. 1 Duke University in overtime.

Faculty volunteers included Dr. Donna Fickes, clinical instructor of hospitality administration; Jill Pruett, adjunct instructor of food, nutrition and dietetics; Wilma Cordova, professor of social work, who was named the 2019 Social Worker of the Year by the Texas chapter of the National Association of Social Workers; Kyle Keller, men’s basketball coach; and Dr. Mark Guidry, associate provost for Academic Affairs, who helped prepare the Cajun Thanksgiving feast for Jo’s Diner guests.

The partnership will continue in the spring semester with SFA students preparing and serving 50 meals to members of the Nacogdoches community at Jo’s Diner on the first, second and fourth Wednesdays of the month beginning Jan. 22. The Lumberjack Express mobile food lab will travel to Jo’s Diner only on the fourth Wednesday of the month.

“This partnership provides students with a venue to apply the skills they have learned while fulfilling the mission of the James I. Perkins College of Education,” Fickes said. “By developing a commitment to service that enriches the community, these students will become competent, successful, caring and enthusiastic professionals dedicated to responsible service, leadership, social justice and continued professional and intellectual development in an interconnected global society.”

Though the partnership is initially focusing on students from the hospitality administration and food, nutrition and dietetics programs in the School of Human Sciences, Fickes said all SFA students, faculty and staff are welcome to join the partnership.

“They can join it individually or by department,” Fickes said. “It would be great to get our administrators, regents and other SFA community members out on a regular basis to interact with our students and our community.”

To learn how to join the partnership, email fickesdj@sfasu.edu.

By Jo Gilmore, marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University.

Students at Stephen F. Austin State University’s Early Childhood Laboratory arrived on the chilly morning of Dec. 11 to see SFA art students inflating a 50-foot-long purple crayon sculpture on the front lawn of their school.

This semester-ending project for Professor Lauren Selden’s 3D Design class in the School of Art taught SFA students the elements and principles of design when working with 3D forms. It also helped both the college students at SFA and the pre-K students in the Early Childhood Laboratory relieve stress at the end of a busy semester.

“The children loved not only looking at but also getting inside the big, purple crayon,” said Dr. Lori Harkness, director of the Early Childhood Laboratory. “They got to enjoy reading a story inside and see how the crayon was inflated. It was an amazing experience.”

In the past, Selden’s classes have built inflatable sculptures that provided different experiences for the viewer. After voting on approximately 20 proposals, this year’s class chose an inflatable purple crayon envisioned by Dallas-area junior Jenna Lowry, who’s studying interior design in the School of Human Sciences.

The proposal included where the piece would be shown, reasons it would be an effective group project, ways students could participate with viewers and the availability of power on site.

“We needed something simple enough to complete in a short amount of time,” Lowry said. “Something creative we could all participate in and relieve the stress of finals week.”

Designed for a pre-K audience, the project helped the children learn more about colors, especially SFA’s school color, purple. Selden’s students learned how to take a 2D material, 2 mil plastic, and transform it into a large-scale 3D form. Selden said the students had to work together carefully to be successful on this scale.

“We have been doing this activity in 3D for more than 10 years,” Selden said. “It is an excellent way to explore scale and spectacle.”

The final sculpture, which was 6.5 feet tall, started with a small plastic model to ensure the elements of the crayon, from the body to the black bands to the cone, would scale correctly. For example, if a 3-foot-long sculpture inflates with a hair dryer, a 50-foot sculpture needs a regular fan.

The art students decided the crayon should lay on its side for optimum inflation. They taped purple and black plastic together to build the sculpture during three weeks of class time. The students worked together to calculate dimensions, cut the plastic, fabricate the form and test the completed form.

“We worked very efficiently and couldn’t wait for the children to see our hard work come to life.” Lowry said. “This was a unique and fun-filled experience.”

Once the sculpture was inflated in front of the Janice A. Pattillo Early Childhood Research Center, more than 40 children and 30 adults climbed through a 7-foot zipper door in groups of five to allow air to inflate the crayon to full capacity. Selden’s students read to the pre-K students, who all sat attentively inside the large crayon.

“My students were so excited to share their work,” Selden said. “Working in the community helps these artists consider their future audience while creating an experience in an unlikely environment.

“This is our entry into studying public art, site-specific art, performance and community involvement,” Selden added. “I was lucky to have such an exceptional group; they worked together and created a fun experience for the pre-K children.”

Selden finds this work so rewarding that she often participates in inflatable sculpture projects around the world. Her latest project took her to Chihuahua, Mexico, to work with professional artists and college students to create a giant inflatable piggy bank.

“That was one of my favorite experiences so far,” she said. “This kind of art involves a lot of team building, and it was fun to work with the community members, college students and professional artists in Chihuahua. There was often a language barrier between us, but making things is a universal language. I love being in situations where I get this reminder.”

For more information, email lselden@sfasu.edu.

By Jo Gilmore, marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University. Photo by Hardy Meredith

The number of Nacogdoches children living in poverty continues to rise, and students in the Stephen F. Austin State University chapter of the Phi Upsilon Omicron national honor society for family and consumer sciences are working to help the community understand the depth of this problem.

At 30.9%, the poverty rate in Nacogdoches far exceeds that of Garrison (20.6%), Lufkin (21.3%) and Longview (18.3%). It is twice the state’s poverty rate of 14.9%, according to U.S. Census Bureau data based on 2013-17 American Community Survey five-year estimates.

More than 80% of Nacogdoches Independent School District students were designated “economically disadvantaged” by the Texas Education Agency during the 2018-19 school year. This means these students were eligible for benefits from programs including the National School Lunch Program, were from families with an annual income at or below the official poverty line, and/or were eligible for benefits under the Food Stamp Act of 1977.

This data inspired Phi Upsilon Omicron members to launch a service project in mid-October that began with a nap mat donation to NISD elementary schools, progressed to an underwear and sock drive for school-age children, and culminated in a resource fair at Banita Creek Park on Nov. 16.

Tracie Estepp, a food, nutrition and dietetics senior from Georgetown and vice president of the SFA chapter of Phi Upsilon Omicron, said the service project’s focus on children in poverty also grew from experiences she had assisting homeless teenagers in Nacogdoches.

“It is difficult for these adolescents to open up about what they are experiencing, so I began to wonder what the younger children of Nacogdoches are facing,” Estepp said. “Phi U President Sierra Smith and I then met with the school social workers to see how we could help them assist these children in need. Once we got a list from them, we started reaching out to local businesses and the community.”

With help from Walmart, Phi Upsilon Omicron was able to donate 30 nap mats to NISD elementary schools. Lumberjack Harley-Davidson, M&S Pharmacy and Tipton Ford, along with several departments on the SFA campus, helped the honor society collect 813 pairs of socks and 588 pairs of underwear for NISD children in need. And local businesses and churches helped Phi Upsilon Omicron raise $1,105 in Walmart gift cards, which social workers will use to help families on an individual, case-by-case basis when other community, nonfinancial resources have been exhausted.

“As school social workers, our jobs are to reduce the barriers to learning that students face,” said Lauren Ivy Sieja, an NISD social worker. “These donations will help us assist students and families with their most basic needs.”

At the resource fair, volunteers from East Texas Community Health Services, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service office, local food pantries and businesses, and other community and SFA organizations helped those in need find information about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, sliding-scale fees for medical and dental services, and supplemental food assistance. In addition, they helped connect local residents who were looking for volunteer opportunities with organizations assisting those living in poverty.

The resource fair, “A Roadshow to a Brighter Future,” also offered inspirational activities, such as writing messages for the “Take What You Need” bulletin boards designed by Phi Upsilon Omicron members. Tailored to different NISD schools, these bulletin boards are designed to help social workers address the more emotional needs of NISD students.

“Now that we have fulfilled some of the children’s tangible needs, we are looking forward to working with the social workers next semester on our Take What You Need boards,” Estepp said. “Those will help us provide students with intangible needs, such as love, hope and encouragement.”

The service project involved collaboration with NISD social workers, City of Nacogdoches officials, the Nacogdoches Farmer’s Market and local businesses and churches. Working with these different groups across the community helps prepare SFA human sciences students for their careers.

“It’s refreshing and encouraging to see our students in this honor society apply the knowledge and insight they’ve gained in their classes to benefit families in need in the community,” said Dr. Jennifer Newquist, assistant professor in SFA’s School of Human Sciences and the faculty advisor for Phi Upsilon Omicron. “They have taken the first steps to expand their social and professional understanding as they prepare for their futures as family life professionals.”

NISD officials appreciate all the work Phi Upsilon Omicron has done to make a difference in Nacogdoches children’s lives this semester.

“We are so grateful for Phi Upsilon Omicron and for all the SFA student and staff support we receive at NISD,” Sieja said. “From the donations that Phi Upsilon Omicron collected to all of the volunteers who mentor and encourage our students, we really find ways to work together to support our community.”

To help NISD students, contact Erin Windham, coordinator of the NISD parent and patron assistant center, at ewindham@nacisd.org.

By Jo Gilmore, marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University. Photo by Les Linebarger, NISD Communications and Community Engagement