Everything Nac

Approximately 60 Stephen F. Austin State University interior design students recently participated in a charrette, an intense design period, to help plan and design a new fire station for the Douglass Volunteer Fire Department.

During this three-day period, eight teams of interior design students of various classifications engaged in every phase of the design process, which started with a visit to the proposed building site. Students visited the site off Texas Highway 21 in Douglass to obtain measurements and sketch the location. Douglass fire department personnel were on hand to answer questions.

Students also toured the Appleby Volunteer Fire Department to gain a better understanding of how a fire station operates and to visualize the layout of a station.

“It was very eye opening to see the ground zero of a project and how it all starts,” said Jordan Sims, Euless sophomore. “I realized there is a lot more you have to take into consideration such as tree location when building a project.”

On the second day of the charrette, James Scott with Mueller Inc., a company that specializes in steel buildings and metal roofing, gave a presentation on steel buildings, and Lonnie Tatum, former fire chief with Highland Village and current consultant with Kirkpatrick Architectural Studio in Denton, presented on fire departments. Students also interviewed members of the Douglass Volunteer Fire Department about their vision for the new facility.

“The presentations gave me a better understanding of what needs to be included in a fire station. It’s different than what you see on TV,” Sims said.

This project required students to create a workable plan for the facility. Students were given building criteria that included specifics the department hopes to incorporate into the new station. In their plans, teams prepared schematics and implemented Americans with Disabilities Act requirements and security as well as a floor plan with exterior and interior elevations and perspectives, materials, and color schemes. On the final day of the charrette, students presented their project plans to members of the Douglass Volunteer Fire Department.

“We as faculty members feel strongly about the importance of offering our talents and our students’ talents to the community and giving back what we can through design,” said Sally Ann Swearingen, associate professor of interior design at SFA.

Each year as a volunteer service to the community, SFA’s interior design department participates in a similar project. Past projects include working with the Boys and Girls Club in Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Douglass as well as Love In the Name of Christ, a nonprofit Christian organization.

Dr. Mitzi Perritt, professor, and Leisha Bridwell, associate professor, also were involved in the project.

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

Stephen F. Austin State University students enrolled in entry-level kinesiology courses partnered with SFA’s athletics department and student-athletes to host a Be The Match National Marrow Donor Program community drive on the university campus.

Approximately 100 SFA students in courses taught by Patty Berthot, SFA lecturer in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Science, and many student-athletes worked to promote the drive and encourage others to become bone marrow donors.

“This program is really important. I’m biased because one of my best friends had a bone marrow transplant in the 1990s,” Berthot said. “It’s great to see students working to help others.”

During a four-day period, students set up tents in front of the Baker Pattillo Student Center and near the statue of Stephen F. Austin to spread awareness and sign up donors. As a prelude to the Battle of the Piney Woods football game, the effort also served as a competition between SFA and Sam Houston State University to see which institution could sign up the most people for the registry. SFA had 257 people sign up to become donors, and students logged more than 186 volunteer hours.

“We are using this football rivalry to do something good,” said Loree McCary, SFA assistant athletic director. “With the two groups of students working together, we made this a very successful drive.”

SFA’s women’s basketball team first became involved with Be The Match in 2011. Since then, SFA athletics has adopted the program and collaborated with Berthot to continue bringing drives to campus.

Be The Match has managed the largest and most diverse bone marrow registry in the world during the past 25 years, according to the organization’s website. People who sign up for the registry commit to being a marrow donor until their 61st birthday or until they wish to be removed from the registry. Bone marrow transplants can help save patients battling certain types of blood cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma, and genetic diseases.

Brian Allison, community engagement representative for Be The Match, was on site helping educate potential donors.

“We work with patients in every state who are battling blood or bone illnesses,” Allison said. “Basically, if their doctor tells them their only chance for survival is a stem cell or marrow transplant, they have to find a matching donor. About 30 percent of the patients will have a match within their family, but 70 percent do not, so they must rely on a stranger to save their life.”

Allison spoke to several SFA classes, including Berthot’s. Berthot explained how the community drive provided a real-world example of concepts discussed in class.

For more information on Be The Match, visit bethematch.org.

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