Everything Nac

The Stephen F. Austin State University equine program successfully exhibited two weanling colts from the university’s breeding program at the 2017 American Paint Horse Association World Championship Show held in Fort Worth.

Make Me Move, a solid paint-bred colt, was named Reserve Breeder’s Trust Futurity Champion and placed sixth in the solid paint-bred Weanling Stallions Class, while Remember the Name, also a solid paint-bred colt, placed fifth in the same class.

“The success of this world show, coupled with the success of the Palomino Horse Breeders Association World Show when I showed Missbehavenhollywood, another SFA-owned horse, puts us on the map as not only contenders in the show pen, but also as breeders of world show-quality horses,” said Michaelle Coker, SFA equine center supervisor. “This will only boost our program and help us reach our goals of a winning show team and a viable breeding program.”

The colts were born this winter at SFA’s Walter C. Todd Agricultural Research Center and are a significant milestone in the growth of the university’s equine program that received a donation of seven broodmares in 2015 from Trudy Day and Nancy Batzloff.

“It’s a very small brood mare herd, but it’s mighty,” Coker said. “Fifty-percent of our broodmare herd had offspring competing at the world championship show this year.”

In addition to Make Me Move and Remember the Name, SFA-born Smokn Lopin was shown by a representative of Hat Creek Ranch and placed fourth in Open Ranch Riding and eighth in Open Ranch Trail Riding.

Coker said she believes this is the first time that a university has shown a horse they bred at the American Paint Horse Association World Championship.

Students are an integral component of the expanding program and play key roles in every aspect of foaling, training and showing.

Kelsey Chatigny and Sarah Bone, both senior animal science majors, were enrolled in the equine reproduction course that monitored the gestation and birth of both colts. They continued their direct involvement through an independent study course designed to prepare students to work in the equine industry. With assistance from Coker, Bone and Chatigny fed, groomed, trained and exercised the colts six days a week in preparation for the world show.

“We spent the entire summer at the equine center at all times of the day,” Chatigny said. “We learned a lot of time management and organizational skills.”

Their steadfast care undoubtedly paid off as the two colts were led through a litany of inspections from judges who examined everything from the colts’ teeth to the manner in which they move.

To learn more about the SFA equine program, contact Michaelle Coker at cokermk@sfasu.edu.

Story by Sarah Fuller, Stephen F. Austin State University Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture outreach coordinator.

Renowned cellist Nikola Nino Ružević will present a guest recital at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6, in Cole Concert Hall on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University.

Ružević, who is associate professor of cello and chamber music and the coordinator of chamber music studies at the University of North Texas, will perform with his wife, pianist Lara Ružević.

The program will feature Ludwig van Beethoven’s Sonata for Cello, Sergei Rachmaninoff’s “Vocalise,” and Croatian cello compositions. The concert will also feature a cello ensemble composition involving students of Dr. Evgeni Raychev, instructor of cello in the SFA School of Music.

A native of Croatia, Ružević has performed in many countries around the world where he has received critical acclaim for his artistry. An active soloist and chamber musician, Ružević has performed in world-renowned halls, such as The Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Musikverein in Vienna, and Suntory Hall in Tokyo.

Ružević has held teaching positions at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, University of Texas at Arlington and University of Zagreb, Croatia.

Lara Ruzevic is an international concert pianist and pedagogue. Her career has taken her to Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, Austria, Slovakia and the U.S. Active as a chamber musician and a collaborative artist, she has been on faculty of numerous music festivals and frequently performs with UNT music faculty and students.

Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students and youth. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu.

Stephen F. Austin State University’s Office of International Programs is hosting 14 exchange students from six different locations this semester.

“This has been one of the most diverse groups of foreign exchange students the university has hosted,” Heather Catton, SFA director of international programs, said.

The group comprises two students from Pakistan, two from Tunisia, five from France, three from the United Kingdom, one from Taiwan and one from Malta. Eleven of the students are undergraduates while three are graduate students.

The students participate in exchanges through different programs.

Two programs are offered by the U.S. State Department: Global UGRAD, which is part of a broader effort to promote a better understanding of the U.S. abroad, especially among future world leaders, and the Thomas Jefferson Scholarship, which allows students to develop a deeper understanding of American culture and gain new skills that will help them further the economic growth and development of their country.

Along with the U.S. State Department programs, students come from the Rose Bruford theatre exchange program, the LaRochelle business exchange program and the ISEP world-wide study abroad program.

Sujata Panjwani, a Pakistan exchange student through the Global UGRAD program, said studying in America will help both her education and personal growth.

“I have a great desire to enhance and share my knowledge and explore the widely diversified cultures in the U.S.,” Panjwani said. “Being a Pakistani and coming from a different culture, I have a lot to share in terms of my beliefs, perception and ideology.”

Mariem Hmidy, an exchange student from Tunisia through the Thomas Jefferson Scholarship, believes her time in America will benefit her when she returns home.

“Tunisia needs its young citizens to help make the country better,” Hmidy said. “Tunisia needs active young people to help its economic and political needs. This exchange program teaches me how to be a better citizen.”

While at SFA, Hmidy will undergo career preparation activities in the fall and an internship in the spring.

The SFA Office of International Programs works to ensure the students thrive during their time at the university. The program works to help students easily transition to living in America. Many exchange students deal with a myriad of issues and new challenges, such as introductions to new and different foods, academic course offerings and lack of public transportation. The office also verifies that credits acquired at SFA will transfer when the exchange students return to their home countries.

Catton said she encourages the exchange students to participate in different activities while studying abroad.

“A lot of students get to experience what life is like at a U.S. university while they are here, such as enjoying social clubs and joining fraternities and sororities. Many foreign colleges do not have the same social opportunities we do in the U.S., so these students really take advantage of those activities while here.”

The Office of International Programs hopes to expand the number of exchange programs SFA offers. In the spring, Catton said they are planning to add Université Jean Monnet in France to the list of participants.

For more information about international programs at SFA, visit http://www.sfasu.edu/oip/.

Emily Brown is a marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University.