Everything Nac

As part of their annual Thanksgiving Homebound food drive, members of Stephen F. Austin State University’s Jack’s Council on Family Relations collected and donated food to 137 families, which is the most families this drive has served since it began in 2011.

JCFR is a student organization focused on building networks and helping families within the community. It is part of SFA’s School of Human Sciences.

“Our goal is to give back to the Nacogdoches community,” said Lindsey Lightfoot, JCFR president and human development and family studies major. “Sometimes Thanksgiving can be overlooked, and I think this project is a great reminder to help families, be thankful and remember the real reason for the holiday.”

Representatives from the Greater East Texas Community Action Program Head Start, East Texas Family Crisis Center and Solid Foundation visited the SFA campus Monday to collect the donations. Each organization will distribute the food to the selected families. Members of SFA’s Interfraternity Council also assisted with loading the boxes of food.

Food items were collected from university departments, clubs and organizations, and local businesses. Through this project, JCFR matches participants with families and sends participants a description of a family and a checklist of items to purchase. The checklist includes grocery items, such as potatoes, cornbread mix, vegetables and dressing. Participants also are asked to purchase a $25 gift card to help their family buy perishable items, such as meat, butter, milk and eggs.

“This has given me a great outlook on the community of Nacogdoches. I’ve seen so many local organizations come together to provide meals for these families,” Lightfoot said.

To learn more, visit sfasu.edu/hms/125.asp.

By Kasi Dickerson, senior marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University.

In a science-fair-like atmosphere, students at Raguet Elementary School select objects from among an array of recycled materials to bring their own inventions to life during Novel Engineering, a collaborative event.

In an effort to focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics-related projects, Stephen F. Austin State University, Raguet Elementary School and Nibco, an industrial and residential manufacturing company, partnered to bring Novel Engineering to Nacogdoches.

Through a combination of literature and engineering, students use “literature as the basis for engineering design challenges that help them identify problems, design realistic solutions and engage in the engineering design process while reinforcing their literacy skills,” according to novelengineering.org.

From the Department of Elementary Education, Drs. Lauren Burrow, associate professor, and Mark Montgomery, assistant professor, helped facilitate the project along with Dr. Chrissy Cross, assistant professor of secondary education and educational leadership.

“Novel Engineering was something I happened upon with my daughter — she loves science and building,” Burrow said. “Literacy is my expertise area — science is not. Novel Engineering combines the best of both of these.”

During the summer, Burrow, Montgomery and Cross hosted professional development workshops with Raguet kindergarten through fifth grade teachers to prepare for the project.

Through Novel Engineering, students in each grade level work with a selected book to read and practice problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. Then, students create an invention based on the book, which they build during the final day of the project.

As part of their field experience courses, SFA students served as project mentors as the children created their projects. Burrow said the experience helped SFA students practice skills they would use in the classroom.

“Engaging with the elementary students was a great way for our university students to practice their own critical-thinking and explore different teaching methods,” Burrow said.

Books were selected based on student interest and reading level. A bilingual book, “Maria had a little llama/Maria Tenía Una Llamita,” by Angela Dominguez, was selected for kindergarten and first grade; “Caps for Sale,” by Esphyr Slobodkina, was used for second and third grade; and “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs,” by Judi and Ronald Barrett, was chosen for fourth and fifth grade. Through a Nibco grant, Raguet Elementary School was able to purchase a book for every student, as well as materials for building their inventions. SFA students served as judges for the best inventions, and prizes were awarded to the winning students.

By Kasi Dickerson, senior marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University.

Several Stephen F. Austin State University students proved to be among the best in advertising, marketing and graphic design during the annual American Advertising Federation-Houston Student Conference and Competition.

This conference, which brings together the advertising, marketing and communications disciplines, challenged students with creating an advertising campaign for a real client. This year students created a campaign for Mattress Firm.

Many SFA students from the Department of Mass Communication, Department of Management and Marketing, and the School of Art were on the first-, second- and third-place teams.

SFA marketing students Grant Knight, Aubrey junior; and Clayton Howard, Richmond junior; mass communication students Haleigh Haupt, Kingwood senior; and Robert Breitenstein, Beaumont senior; and art student Julie McSwain, Center senior; placed first.

Mass communication juniors Coby Ward, of Logansport, Louisiana; and Jade Contreras, of Red Oak; placed second. Third-place winners include Joshua Cliffe, Huffman mass communication senior; and Elyse Guerra, Austin marketing freshman.

Drs. Marlene Kahla, professor in the Department of Management and Marketing; Seth Bradshaw, assistant professor in the Department of Mass Communication; and Daniel Anguiano, assistant professor in the School of Art, worked with students during the semester to prepare for the competition.

On the day of the conference, student teams spent the day at Houston-based advertising agencies and were given eight hours to complete an advertising campaign, which included creative, research, marketing and media plans. Teams were then given 20 minutes to present their project to a panel of judges comprising Houston advertising professionals.

“This event teaches students to effectively work with people from diverse educational backgrounds in new surroundings for a client that requests specific plans in a timely manner,” Kahla said.

Some of the host agencies included Freed Agency, Skyline, Lopez Negrete, iHeartRadio, CBS, Cox Media Group and Love Advertising.

During the second day of the conference, students attended résumé and portfolio review sessions with advertising, marketing and public relations professionals and a panel discussion about how to start in the industry.

By Kasi Dickerson, senior marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University.