Everything Nac

Playwright Donald Margulies’ “Pitching to the Star” will open the fall semester of the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Theatre’s student-directed plays.

Directed by Plano senior Cecily Maucieri, the one-act play will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 22, and at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23, in the Downstage Theatre on the SFA campus. The play is about a writer who finally gets a good break for his Hollywood script and pitches it to the star of the pilot show, according to Maucieri. Promised control over something on which he’s worked long and hard, Peter finds his integrity and his storyline attacked every time the star makes a suggestion to completely change his script and make the lead character exactly like herself.

The cast includes Lufkin senior Jacob Carr as Dick; Needville junior Alex Duty as Peter; Windsor. U.K., American Theatre Arts student Sophie Todd as Lauri; Copperas Cove freshman Bailey Van Hecke as Jennifer; Leeds, U.K., American Theatre Arts student Keely Runton as Tyne; and Red Oak freshman Beau McAfee as Dena.

The production staff includes Jamie Carroll, Dallas sophomore, as stage manager; Marie Phillips, Lewisville senior, scenic designer; Jordyn Averitte, Baytown sophomore, costume and makeup-hair designer; Gabriel Penaloza-Hernandez, Austin junior, lighting designer; Victoria Medrano, Edinburg senior, sound designer; and Jessica Benson, Chandler senior, properties master.

Maucieri is a senior teacher certification student. Past SFA productions she has worked on include “Intimate Apparel,” “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” and “MacBeth.”

“Pitching to the Star” is recommended for mature audiences. Faculty production advisor is Dr. Inga Meier.

The Downstage Theatre is located in the Griffith Fine Arts Building, 2222 Alumni Drive.

Tickets are $4. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit theatre.sfasu.edu.

Dr. Flora Farago, assistant professor in Stephen F. Austin State University’s human development and family studies program, spent three weeks in Kenya working on various nonprofit projects during the summer.

While abroad, Farago worked with colleagues from Arizona State University, Drs. Beth Blue Swadener and Amy Papacek, to establish a U.S. branch of The Girl Child Network, an organization advocating for the education and rights of women and girls in East Africa. The U.S. branch of GCN will be named “Friends of the Girl Child Network,” and it will be primarily a fundraising branch supporting GCN’s efforts of empowering girls in Kenya to lead and learn.

Additionally, Farago met with GCN leaders and early childhood scholars in Kenya to lay the groundwork for an international research collaboration, Children’s Views and Voices. This collaboration will focus on children’s views of their educational experiences, their roles in their families and communities, and their vision for their future.

“The trip reiterated the importance of taking cultural context into account when discussing, teaching and studying child development,” Farago said. “I teach several child development courses at SFA and will be integrating my Kenyan experiences and lessons learned into the courses.”

Farago also volunteered with the Jirani Project, a grassroots, nonprofit organization dedicated to the education and support of vulnerable Kenyan children. The Jirani Project, co-founded by Swadener, provides homeless and orphaned children in Kenya the support needed for shelter, food, school tuition, clothing and basic medical care, according to jiraniproject.org.

“We collected donations of children’s clothing, books and other items and delivered these to the Jirani Project children,” Farago said. “Several colleagues and friends from SFA contributed. We also helped organize and sort books in the Jirani children’s and community library in Western Kenya in Kipkaren River, where the Jirani Project headquarters is located.”

Farago visited additional nonprofit organizations such as a women’s co-op/mothers’ self-help group and the BRIDGES program, which helps girls who have dropped out of school to obtain their secondary school diplomas. She also visited the Kangemi Primary School and volunteered in its special needs unit meeting with teachers and administrators to assess the school’s needs.

To learn more about GCN or FGCN, visit girlchildnetwork.org and friendsofthegirl.org.

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

Stephen F. Austin State University’s Bachelor of Science in human sciences with an emphasis in human development and family studies has been ranked as one of the top 20 most affordable online child development degree programs in the nation by affordablecolleges.com.

“This is a recognition of a lot of hard work on the part of the faculty members in the human development and family studies program, with the support of the School of Human Sciences, who have worked to better serve our students no matter where they live,” said Dr. Rachel Jumper, assistant professor in the human development and family studies program.

SFA’s program was ranked 18th in the nation. Affordablecolleges.com based its rankings on three measurement categories: financial, student success and program metrics.

This degree allows students who have completed courses at another higher education institution to complete the last two years of the degree at SFA. The program provides an in-depth understanding of growth, change and development of children, adults and families, and integrates a life span, multi-contextual and family systems approach. The HDFS major culminates with a 200-hour, hands-on practicum in the senior year.

“Our program emphasizes hands-on experiences working with children and families,” Jumper said. “Currently, a student in our program will experience several hands-on and community service projects throughout their major courses.”

In spring 2018 all required courses for a HDFS degree are scheduled to be online. At that time, it will no longer be necessary to have any courses at another institution, and a fully online bachelor’s degree in HDFS will be available to students at SFA.

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