Everything Nac

The acclaimed PBS documentary “The Neches River: Wild Heart of East Texas” will be featured in a public screening from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Sept. 29 at Turner Auditorium in the Griffith Fine Arts Building, 2222 N. Alumni Drive, on the Stephen F. Austin State University campus. Admission is free for the event, which is open to all ages and includes a 30-minute Q&A session with filmmakers and featured experts. Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

The acclaimed PBS documentary “The Neches River: Wild Heart of East Texas” will be featured in a public screening from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Sept. 29 at Turner Auditorium in the Griffith Fine Arts Building, 2222 N. Alumni Drive, on the Stephen F. Austin State University campus.

The one-hour documentary celebrates the hidden beauty, rich history and critical environmental value of one of Texas’ last wild rivers. Through stunning cinematography and the stories of those who know the river best, the film introduces viewers to the people who live along, enjoy, study and work to conserve the Neches River and its rare bottomland hardwood forests. Their stories are as diverse as the plants, wildlife and landscapes that call the Neches River home.

Following the screening, audience members are invited to stay for a 30-minute Q&A session beginning at 7 p.m. with members of the film team and featured experts, including:

• Ellen Temple, producer
• Curtis Craven, director and cinematographer
• Julie Shackelford, Texas director, The Conservation Fund
• Eric Keith, botanist
• Jonathan Gerland, environmental historian

The event offers East Texans an opportunity to experience the Neches River on the big screen, meet the people behind the film and learn more about the natural and cultural resources that make the Neches River watershed one of Texas’ most remarkable landscapes.

The event is free and open to all ages. Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

For more information, contact Jenny Sanders at jenny@spire-solutions.net or
(936) 225-2175.

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 40 academic facilities, 11 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 over 120 areas of study. Learn more at sfasu.edu.

Ten Stephen F. Austin State University students capped off their summer I term “Discovering Business” course in the Nelson Rusche College of Business with a trip to Latvia from July 22 to Aug. 2. Old Town in Riga, Latvia’s capital, was one of their stops.

Ten Stephen F. Austin State University students capped off their summer I term “Discovering Business” course in the Nelson Rusche College of Business with a trip to Latvia from July 22 to Aug. 2.

The study abroad course, now in its fourth year, is designed to introduce incoming first-year and current students of all majors to business concepts and principles while helping them meet fellow Lumberjacks and faculty members before the fall semester starts.

“I decided to take the course because I’ve never done anything like it before, and I thought it was a great way to travel and earn credit,” said Rebecca Oyeniyi, a finance sophomore from Houston. “The trip definitely exceeded my expectations; I didn’t think that it would be that fun and that I would make so many friends along the way. My experience was genuinely immersive, having not been outside the U.S. before. It truly felt like I was in a different world.”

In Riga, Latvia’s capital, students toured Old Town, including the Dome Cathedral, Latvia’s largest medieval church, which dates back to 1211 and features a grand organ with nearly 7,000 pipes. They also explored the Art Nouveau district, where around 800 buildings were built in this style between 1901 and 1914.

In Bauska, where the Mūsa and Mēmele rivers meet to form the Lielupe River, students explored Baltic history through medieval castle ruins and palaces designed by architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli for the Duchy of Courland. The medieval theme continued through tours of the red-brick castle in Turaida and the Livonia Order Castle in Cēsis before students jumped forward in time with their visit to Līgatne’s Soviet-era bunker, once a top-secret shelter for the political elite in the event of nuclear war.

Students also took in nature at Ķemeri National Park, where they visited the Great Ķemeri Bog Boardwalk and the Baltic Sea coast. In Sigulda, they viewed the Gauja Valley’s sandstone cliffs, and, in the Abava River Valley, they toured Sabile, home of the world’s northernmost open-air vineyard; Kuldīga’s Ventas Rumba, Europe’s widest waterfall; and the Riežupe Sand Caves, which were once quarried for glass production.

Between visiting Latvia’s historic sites and nature reserves, students explored the city’s businesses with tours of Avenie, a dairy-free, plant-based ice cream maker and factory; Silver Standard Houses, a manufacturer specializing in energy-efficient timber-frame houses, prefabricated building components and roof trusses; the Laima Chocolate Factory and Museum, where sweets have been crafted for over a century; and Erenpreiss, a city bicycle manufacturer continuing the legacy of Gustavs Erenpreiss, Latvia’s largest bike producer in the 1930s.

“My favorite business to visit was Sliver Standard Houses because I was able to see behind the scenes of house construction,” Oyeniyi said. “We got to see the plans for future designs. It was also really cool seeing the difference in the build of American versus European houses.”

Faculty members who teach the “Discovering Business” course hope the connections students made during the trip will contribute to their success at SFA.

“I hope the friendships the students developed continue to grow throughout their respective tenures as SFA students,” said Dr. Drew Thornley, associate professor of legal studies, who co-taught the course and led the trip with Dr. Ryan Phelps, associate professor of economics. “I believe the trip helped students become more culturally aware and sensitive and that the trip opened students’ eyes to the myriad possibilities travel and business can afford them.”

The next “Discovering Business” course, open to both undergraduate and graduate students of all majors, will explore businesses in Greece from Jan. 5 to 15. For more information on this study abroad opportunity, email Dr. Robert McDermand, course instructor, at mcdermanrd@sfasu.edu.

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 40 academic facilities, 11 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 over 120 areas of study. Learn more at sfasu.edu.

By University Marketing Communications

SFA Gardens’ monthly Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series will feature a presentation by Brooke McGown, research and development coordinator at J. Berry Nursery, at 7 p.m. Sept. 10 in the Brundrett Conservation Education Building at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center.

SFA Gardens’ monthly Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series will feature a presentation by Brooke McGown, research and development coordinator at J. Berry Nursery, at 7 p.m. Sept. 10 in the Brundrett Conservation Education Building at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center. She will present “Who Is J. Berry Nursery, and What Does a Research and Development Coordinator Do?”

McGown earned her bachelor’s degree in agricultural services and development from Tarleton State University. She began her career at J. Berry Nursery in Grand Saline in sales, but found that research and development was a better fit. McGown will discuss her eight years as coordinator and exciting new innovations at J. Berry Nursery.

The Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series is held the second Thursday of each month and includes a plant raffle after the program. The lecture is free and open to the public; however, 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.

For more information, call (936) 468-4129, email sfagardens@sfasu.edu or visit sfasu.edu/gardens.

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 40 academic facilities, 11 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 over 120 areas of study. Learn more at sfasu.edu.

By University Marketing Communications