Everything Nac

The diverse roles in today’s banking and wealth management industry require not only good numbers sense but also “soft skills,” according to industry experts advising Stephen F. Austin State University students at the fall “Bank on Your Future” career exploration day.

The event, hosted Oct. 4 by the Chadwick Family Banking Program in the Nelson Rusche College of Business, brought together representatives from more than 15 banks, banking regulatory agencies and wealth management firms in Texas to discuss with students the skills needed for the industry’s many different career paths. These range from commercial lending, investment advising, real estate and insurance, and trust and estate management to financial technology/cryptocurrency, credit analysis, agricultural finance, human resources, and compliance and regulation.

This year, these experts emphasized “soft skills,” also known as people skills, at the “Why Choose Banking” panel discussion during the career exploration day.

“If you want to manage money for people, you need sales skills,” said José Palafox, founder and managing member of Starfox Financial Services in The Woodlands. “Those involve soft skills that help you build trust in people and prove your integrity to prospective clients.”

Though making high salaries and enjoying job security are two benefits to working in the banking industry, Tom Heslep, a 1981 SFA graduate and the chief lending officer of Texas Republic Bank in Dallas, said his desire to serve people has buoyed his more than 40 years in the banking industry.

“You need a servant’s heart,” Heslep said. “If you don’t like people, don’t come to play.”

Another theme during the panel discussion was the wide variety of career options offered by the banking and wealth management industry, which often attracts those who had not considered this particular industry as a career path initially.

Former SFA Regent Judy Larson Olson, senior vice president at Woodforest National Bank in The Woodlands, moderated the panel and asked the two dozen industry experts in the audience to stand during the discussion. Then she asked those who intentionally joined the banking and wealth management industry to sit down. Half remained standing and said they had initially intended to pursue other career paths like politics and construction.

Greg Wisian, Houston regional director of the Bank and Trust Supervision Division at the Texas Department of Banking, said even though he knew he wanted to go into banking, he never thought he would end up in the regulation and compliance sector. But his passion to continue learning something new every day has kept him in this banking area.

“My mentors said to start my career by being a bank examiner,” Wisian said. “I’ve been constantly learning ever since I started, and now I’m a lifelong banking examiner.”

Olson earned a bachelor’s degree in communication from SFA in 1983 thinking she would one day be a television news anchor. She grew up watching her father “put on his three-piece suit and wing-tip shoes every day” to go to work at Texas Commerce Bank in Houston.

“I swore I’d never do that,” Olson said, but she enjoyed the community building, and one referral led to another.

Michael Goode, Nacogdoches market president at Southside Bank, agreed with Olson that relationships are key in banking. He found some of his first customers just by joining the local Jaycees Club.

“Technology has made my life in banking a lot easier, but it can’t take the place of the personal bond you create for a lifetime,” he said. “I’ve worked with some families for up to four generations now.”

Palafox also knows how important it is to create those bonds. When he started his wealth management career in California, he knocked on doors looking for customers. One day, he found a man sitting in his garden. After listening to Palafox’s pitch, the man asked him to move the hose in the garden to another spot. Palafox did that and went on his way.

When Palafox returned to the same neighborhood the next day, the man’s wife asked, “Are you the man who helped my husband?” Palafox said yes. The woman explained that her husband couldn’t walk, so moving the hose was important to him. Then she gave Palafox $5,000 in cash she had been saving to invest for her. The couple became lifelong customers.

“That’s when I realized the difference I could make in this industry,” Palafox said.

The panelists also offered advice to students considering entering the industry. For investment advising and wealth management, Palafox said to work really hard for the first three years to gain clients and earn a Certified Financial Planner certificate.

Goode recommended that students build a strong foundation by starting as credit analysts, get exposure to as many different career paths in banking as possible and “take as many accounting courses as you can.”

Wisian emphasized that during internships and other opportunities, such as this career day event, students should ask questions of those around them.

“People are happy to share their experiences,” he said. “But you need to listen to them carefully and be willing to change and learn something new.”

Heslep said that in any career they pick, students should work to hear “job well done” at the end of the day.

“That will get you far in any career you choose,” he said. “It’s not about the money you make, it’s about the difference you make. When you’re making that difference, everything else will fall into place.”

For more information on SFA’s Chadwick Family Banking Program, visit sfasu.edu/ecofin/academics/banking.

ABOUT STEPHEN F. AUSTIN STATE UNIVERSITY

Stephen F. Austin State University, the newest member of The University of Texas System, began a century ago as a teachers’ college in Texas’ oldest town, Nacogdoches. Today, it has grown into a regional institution comprising six colleges — business, education, fine arts, forestry and agriculture, liberal and applied arts, and sciences and mathematics. Accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, SFA enrolls approximately 11,000 students while providing the academic breadth of a state university with the personalized attention of a private school. The main campus encompasses 421 acres that include 37 academic facilities, nine residence halls, and 68 acres of recreational trails that wind through its six gardens. The university offers more than 80 bachelor’s degrees, more than 40 master’s degrees and four doctoral degrees covering more than 120 areas of study. Learn more at sfasu.edu.

By University Marketing Communications

Stephen F. Austin State University’s timbersports team, the Sylvans, won the collegiate contest during the 39th annual Arkansas State Lumberjack Competition held Oct. 8 in Sheridan, Arkansas.

In addition to winning the competition, the team, comprising 26 SFA students, won every event in the collegiate division.

“We are proud of the Sylvans’ fine showing in Arkansas,” said Dr. Hans Williams, dean of SFA’s Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture. “Not only has the team competed well, but they have also represented themselves and SFA exceptionally well.”

The team is led by Dr. Jeremy Stovall, SFA professor of silviculture, and achieved a perfect score of 35 points. Competing against the Sylvans, the University of Arkansas at Monticello placed second with 26 points while Louisiana Tech University placed third with 17 points.

Collegiate division winners representing the Sylvans included Luke Bludworth, Sawyer Singer, Jacob Sanders, Holly Parkin and Becky Rhoden. Collectively, they secured the first-place finish in Axe Throwing, Underhand Chop, Double Buck Crosscut, Jack and Jill Crosscut, Single Buck Crosscut, Women’s Bowsaw and Men’s Bowsaw.

Accompanying the team, four recent SFA alumni also competed in eight different events in the professional division. Similar to the students, they achieved success and earned nearly $500 in prizes.

The competition was officiated by Ken Bragg, a 1972 graduate of SFA and a member of the Arkansas State House of Representatives. It was organized in part by Karl Hansen, a current employee with Resource Management Service who received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in forestry from SFA in 1977 and 1980, respectively.

By Amy Neal, external communications specialist for the Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture at Stephen F. Austin State University

Dr. Christina Guenther, professor of flute at Stephen F. Austin State University, will join music faculty colleagues in presenting the concert “Controversy and Hope: Music for Flute and …” at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 18, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

Performing with Guenther will be Dr. Brad Meyer, percussion; Dr. Deb Scott, trombone; Dr. Samantha Inman, flute; and Davidson Reyes, piano.

Works by Gareth Farr, Zachery S. Meier, Angela Oh, Gary Schocker and Valerie Coleman will be performed.

Farr’s “Kembang Suling: Three musical snapshots of Asia” for flute and marimba is in three movements. The first features flowing gamelan melodies intertwined with the sound of the Balinese bamboo flute, suling; the second emulates the Japanese shakuhachi flute floating over the warm echoes of the rolling landscape; and the third features complex rhythms in mixed meter and South Indian scales, setting the two instruments off in a race to see who can outplay the other.

Meier’s “Hush” for flute and trombone was inspired by the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe vs. Wade and what the composer describes as the “nine individuals (who) stole the voices of millions of Americans and their right to healthcare.”

“Personalité Dédoublée” was Oh’s first delve into composing with electronics. She created all the sounds, including the human voice sounds (which are her voice). The work, which literally translates to “split personalities,” explores dissociative identity disorder (formerly known as multiple personality disorder).

Schocker’s “Two Flutes (on the loose) in Fujian” was inspired by the traditional music of the Fujian province in China, incorporating elements of Chinese folk melodies and rhythms. The piece features two flutes playing together in harmony, with intricate interweaving lines and rhythmic syncopations.

Coleman is regarded by the music world as an iconic artist who continues to pave her own unique path as a composer, Grammy-nominated flutist and entrepreneur. The title “FANMI IMÈN” is Haitian Creole for Maya Angelou’s famous work, “Human Family.” “Both the musical and literary poems acknowledge differences within mankind, either due to ethnicity, background or geography, but Angelou’s poetic refrain ‘we are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike,” reaffirms our humanity as a reminder of unity,” according to Coleman.

Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students and youth. To purchase tickets, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit sfasu.edu/boxoffice. For additional information, contact the SFA School of Music at (936) 468-4602.

Stephen F. Austin State University’s Center for Applied Research and Rural Innovation has been awarded a grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration that will support the center’s mission of boosting regional industries and communities.

The grant is part of the 2023 University Center Economic Development Program Competition, which will provide a total of $16.5 million in grants to 23 colleges and universities in 14 states to administer programs that leverage their assets, promote innovation and strengthen regional economies. SFA will receive $130,000 annually for five years beginning in the 2023 fiscal year.

“This grant is particularly significant because it contributes to CARRI’s capacity to serve the region with excellence as a financially strong, relevant and vibrant center,” said Dr. Lorenzo Smith, SFA provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. “This award will further raise SFA’s national visibility as a leader among regional, public universities seeking to strengthen the economic fabric of the surrounding rural community.”

SFA established CARRI in fall 2021 to engage faculty, staff and students in research projects that support academic programs and boost regional economic development. Since its establishment, the university has awarded numerous scholarships to rural SFA students and stipends to faculty members for innovative research projects. It also was rated the top rural-serving higher education institution in Texas by The Alliance for Research on Regional Colleges in 2022.

According to MaryAnn Rojas, CARRI executive director, the EDA grant funds will provide enhanced student engagement and better collaboration with SFA’s regional industry, education, community and economic development partners when creating approaches to regional economic challenges.

“There has been aggressive outreach to rural counties that has bolstered confidence in our region,” Rojas said. “This award will fortify SFA’s capacity to build upon and support our rural counties by continuing to leverage assets for the benefit of our entire deep East Texas region.”

According to EDA, the administration prioritizes economic development planning or implementation projects that advance equity across America through investments that directly benefit traditionally underserved populations. The 23 university centers to receive grants include a historically black college and university, Native American-serving nontribal institutions, Hispanic-serving institutions and minority-serving institutions.

First housed in an on-campus office upon its inception, CARRI staff members will move into the center’s new facility on Northwest Stallings Drive after ongoing renovations of the structure are complete.

For more information about CARRI, visit sfasu.edu/carri.

ABOUT STEPHEN F. AUSTIN STATE UNIVERSITY

Stephen F. Austin State University, the newest member of The University of Texas System, began a century ago as a teachers’ college in Texas’ oldest town, Nacogdoches. Today, it has grown into a regional institution comprising six colleges — business, education, fine arts, forestry and agriculture, liberal and applied arts, and sciences and mathematics. Accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, SFA enrolls approximately 11,000 students while providing the academic breadth of a state university with the personalized attention of a private school. The main campus encompasses 421 acres that include 36 academic facilities, nine residence halls, and 68 acres of recreational trails that wind through its six gardens. The university offers more than 80 bachelor’s degrees, more than 40 master’s degrees and four doctoral degrees covering more than 120 areas of study. Learn more at sfasu.edu.

By Nathan Wicker, senior marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University.