Everything Nac

Lydia J. Lim has joined the faculty of the Music Preparatory Division of the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Music as a piano teacher.

An active soloist, chamber musician and accompanist, Lim holds Bachelor of Music, Master of Music and professional study degrees from Manhattan School of Music and has taught in private music schools throughout New York and New Jersey.

She has won awards in numerous competitions, including competitions in London, England, Korea and New York.

To register for private lessons with Lim or other Music Prep instructors, contact director Pat Barnett at pbarnett@sfasu.edu or musicprep@sfasu.edu, or call (936) 468-1291. The Music Prep House is located at 3028 Raguet St. Visit www.music.sfasu.edu/prep for more information.

Through a real-world project, Stephen F. Austin State University students in the Rusche College of Business have experienced business in a professional format.

For the second year, Dr. Rajat Mishra, assistant professor in SFA’s Department of Management and Marketing, has tasked students in his project management course with creating a project as if they were implementing their plans in real life. Projects ranged from building a new disc golf course to constructing a laser tag arena in Nacogdoches.

“This class is about mentorship and community involvement,” Mishra said. “My goal with this project is to help students learn and launch their careers so they can become leaders in their fields.”

The class was divided into groups to research and plan throughout the semester. Each group was assigned an industry mentor. Mentors included Janet Watson, vice president for strategic sourcing at Baylor Scott and White Health in Dallas; Rob McCaughey, district sales manager for ArcBest in Houston; and AJ Dhakal, senior lead engineer at Schlumberger in Houston.

“This course brings the community and class together,” Mishra said. “It is a great experience for students to have access to these professionals.”

In researching their plans, groups worked with local businesses and contractors to receive advice from experienced professionals. A few students had the opportunity to work with the Nacogdoches mayor’s office to better understand how to work within city policies and gain insight on how city projects unfold.

“We always enjoy partnering with SFA students. As these students know, local ordinances and state laws are a part of doing business,” said Nacogdoches Mayor Shelley Brophy. “Hopefully, we allowed them to see that the permitting process and zoning ordinances are not difficult and how our offices assist with the ins and outs for any private citizen, company or developer wanting to open a new business in Nacogdoches.”

This course is open to all majors and is not limited to business students. Senior economics major Chris Hinton worked as the manager for his group’s disc golf course project.

“We had to get true numbers and meet with people from the field,” Hinton said. “It was a lot of fun, and we learned more of what you would do in the real world as a project manager.”

After working all semester and providing three status updates to Mishra and project mentors, students presented their final projects to a panel of mentors and Rusche College of Business professors. Mishra added students learn communication skills, how to budget, negotiation tactics and more in this course.

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

Wires, red plastic cups, magnets and other gadgets blanket the table as eager students await instructions. Dr. Hector Ochoa, assistant professor in Stephen F. Austin State University’s Department of Physics, Engineering and Astronomy, explains how students can use the household items on the table to create a speaker. Soon, students begin constructing their own devices.

This activity was part of the SFA School of Honors’ Maker Fair, an event that introduced students to various disciplines through hands-on activities.

“I really enjoyed showing students that engineering is not as complex as we think,” Ochoa said. “You can use household items to create things that we take for granted, like a speaker.”

Across the room, more students roll up their sleeves and begin to learn printmaking from Neal Cox, associate professor in the School of Art. After learning the proper way to ink a roller, students take turns running the press to print their own image of a tree.

“The goal of the Maker Fair was to provide an opportunity for honors students to interact with each other and with faculty members from across campus while also introducing them to different subjects,” said Dr. Megan Condis, assistant professor in the Department of English and Creative Writing.

The Maker Fair featured activities from four of SFA’s six colleges. Students first visited the Emerging Technologies Lab in Steen Library to participate in a virtual reality demonstration and learn about 3-D printing.

“The overall experience was amazing, and I had fun during each section,” said Jamie Morreale, junior interdisciplinary studies major pursing certification in early childhood through sixth grade education. “I loved learning new things, such as coding, making butter, virtual reality and 3-D printing. I would go to another Maker Fair.”

Sara De la Garza, Nacogdoches junior interdisciplinary studies major, also said she enjoyed the event and added that it informed her of all the resources available at SFA. De la Garza intends to become certified as a teacher of students in early childhood through sixth grade.

Students learned to code for an hour with Elizabeth Hutchison, lecturer and interim assistant to the chair of the Department of Computer Science. Additional activities included learning how to make butter and LED bracelets.

“The Maker Fair taught me creativity is more than just painting or writing; it’s a range of activities,” said Emily Crider, Arlington junior studying English and secondary education. “Any passion or hobby becomes creative the minute you add your own ideas or emotions. As college students, we’re so often inundated with grades and GPAs that we sometimes forget to just have fun. In the end, that’s what creativity is — having a good time doing what you love in your own individual way.”

Organizers are planning to host additional Maker Fairs in the future.

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

Stephen F. Austin State University students studying elementary education recently proved learning can happen anywhere.

Seated in a new outdoor learning space called “Class in the Grass,” SFA students and children from Brooks-Quinn-Jones Elementary School and their families participated in Día de los Libros, a bilingual family event celebrating a yearlong commitment to Bookjoy — a movement encouraging families to read together.

Dr. Lauren Burrow, SFA associate professor of elementary education, and almost 30 of her students partnered with BQJ first-grade teachers Kelsey Watkins, SFA alumna, and Kylie Altier to bring this event to life in Nacogdoches while similar events were hosted nationwide.

“It started as a Mexican holiday and was popularized in the U.S. by Mexican-American children’s author Pat Mora,” Burrow said. “This family-friendly event celebrated diverse cultures, promoted fun with literacy and welcomed the BQJ community to the newest learning space on their campus — Class in the Grass.”

This is the third year SFA students have participated. As part of their coursework, students were required to plan activities based on a previous Spanish-English poetry lesson SFA students taught at BQJ. Activities included a scavenger hunt de colores (colors), decorating luchadora (wrestler) masks, making oceans in a bottle, bowling with manzanas (apples) and family read-aloud time with books from the Nacogdoches Public Library.

“For SFA students, this provided an authentic opportunity to learn more about how to incorporate diverse languages and cultures into traditional lessons while also providing them the unique opportunity to connect with the community in a non-traditional learning space,” Burrow said. “Also, this helped students realize teaching should involve the whole family, and teaching often occurs outside of normal school hours.”

For information about programs in the James I. Perkins College of Education, visit sfasu.edu/education.

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

The key to progress is knowledge. But what happens when access to knowledge is hindered?

Son Pham, a doctoral student enrolled in Stephen F. Austin State University’s Doctor of Education in educational leadership program, traveled more than 8,700 miles from his home in Vietnam to discover a solution to the social and organizational issues facing his country’s higher education system. He believes stepping outside of his country will help him find a new approach.

“In Vietnam, we have a lot of limitations to observe and investigate what is happening in our systems,” Pham said. “I believe by applying updated theories of education management with the view of comparative education, various current problems in Vietnamese education will be clarified and improved.”

Before becoming a Lumberjack, Pham worked in a senior-level position at Hoa Sen University where he led a nationwide communication campaign to reach high school students. Through his efforts, student enrollment almost doubled from about 6,800 to more than 12,200 students. The victory was bittersweet.

While enrollment and interest in the university increased, thousands of students failed the Vietnam national entrance exam. This roadblock encouraged Pham to analyze why this occurred and research how to improve the admission selection process and the effectiveness of public education management. He said this became his obsession.

“It pushed me to self-study to make it clear that there are many problems below the iceberg of this national college entrance examination, including central planning from the minister of education and the demand of society, training quotas control and corruption, linkage to the industrial labor force and more,” he said.

A connection in Houston brought Pham and his family to Texas, and he soon learned about SFA. In summer 2017, he enrolled in his first doctoral courses in the James I. Perkins College of Education after undergoing the extensive and competitive admissions process for international students and interviewing with doctoral program faculty members.

When he visited SFA, he said he “had a feeling” this was the university for him.

“First impressions are very important. When I was on campus, I had a nice, warm feeling,” Pham said. “The professor who interviewed me was caring.”

The university’s supportive and family-like atmosphere made Pham comfortable in selecting the school to continue his education.

“Even after some time, I can say this is the right choice. The faculty members support me, and I feel like they care about my progress and offer me opportunities,” he said.

As a doctoral student, Pham also doubles as a doctoral research assistant for the program. While he admits there has been a steep learning curve, he said he is thankful for the support, community contacts and opportunities the program has allowed him thus far.

Uprooting his family from Vietnam was difficult, but Pham praises SFA’s Office of International Programs for making the transition as smooth as possible. He has participated in a variety of campus events, such as the Office of Multicultural Affairs’ poverty simulation and diversity conference. He also read Vietnamese poetry during the Department of Languages, Cultures and Communication’s international poetry evening. For him, it is easy to continue his global education by becoming involved in the many cultural events on campus.

“I’m grateful to the international program for their support,” he said.

Throughout his educational journey, Pham has traveled to 16 countries and five continents to gain new perspectives. He earned his master’s degree in France and his undergraduate degree in Vietnam. At SFA, he will continue to seek advice from leaders and research ways to improve the educational system of his home country.

“Educational leaders have committed to work not only with but also on behalf of others who often might be the disadvantaged, disenfranchised, invisible and forgotten in our imperfect social systems,” Pham said. “I have faith in the education profession to make a difference, to bring about positive social change and to better society. Educational leadership is really the ‘profession of hope.’”

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