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The fifth speaker in Stephen F. Austin State University’s Montgomery Professorship for Humane Education Speaker Series will be Natalie Thornton, executive director of Court Appointed Special Advocates of the Pines and former public high school teacher. She will present “Connected and Compassionate: Humane Education Strategies for Trust-Based Relational Intervention” at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 24 both on Zoom and in person at the Janice A. Pattillo Early Childhood Research Center, Room 212.

Natalie Thornton, executive director of Court Appointed Special Advocates of the Pines and former public high school teacher, will present “Connected and Compassionate: Humane Education Strategies for Trust-Based Relational Intervention” at Stephen F. Austin State University’s Montgomery Professorship for Humane Education Speaker Series. The presentation begins at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 24 in the Janice A. Pattillo Early Childhood Research Center, Room 212, and via Zoom.

SFA’s Montgomery Professorship for Humane Education was awarded to Dr. Sarah Straub, associate professor of education studies, in October 2020. The professorship was established by the late Charlotte Baker Montgomery in memory of her husband, Roger, to encourage and perpetuate the teaching of humane education in elementary and secondary schools, both public and private, through the support of teacher preparation in humane education. This presentation will be the fifth in the series.

“As we enter the sixth year of the Montgomery Professorship and welcome our fifth invited speaker, I’m especially excited to highlight someone local whose work deeply resonates with our community,” Straub said. “Natalie Thornton’s insights into trauma-informed education and trust-based relational intervention will offer our preservice teachers and community members practical, compassionate strategies for supporting students both inside and outside the classroom.”

Thornton, a champion of trauma-informed education, applies TBRI principles to her advocacy work. She presents nationally on empowering children while representing CASA on community boards and in child welfare initiatives.

In her presentation, Thornton will share her own personal experiences as a public school educator and executive director of a nonprofit organization that provides advocacy for children who suffer from trauma. She will also discuss the biological impacts of trauma on the brain and how those affect children in the classroom. In addition, Thornton will demonstrate how TBRI principles, originally created for families, can also be applied successfully in the classroom.

Those who cannot attend the presentation in person can livestream it via Zoom. Register for the event at gosfa.com/speakerseries_thornton. For more information, contact Straub at straubsm@sfasu.edu.

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 40 academic facilities, 11 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 over 120 areas of study. Learn more at sfasu.edu.

By University Marketing Communications

Members of Stephen F. Austin State University’s Bilingual Education Student Organization shared research, volunteered and connected with bilingual education leaders from across the state during the 2025 Texas Association for Bilingual Education Conference. Pictured, from back left, are Miranda Isham and Elizabeth Pierce. Pictured, from front left, are Janell Almanza and Dr. Sarah Straub.

Members of Stephen F. Austin State University’s Bilingual Education Student Organization shared research, volunteered and connected with bilingual education leaders from across the state during the 2025 Texas Association for Bilingual Education Conference.

The conference, billed as the largest bilingual education gathering in Texas, brought teachers, administrators and university faculty members to promote equitable education for English learners and celebrate the linguistic and cultural diversity of Texas classrooms.

Elizabeth Pierce, a graduate student in curriculum and instruction and BESO president from Lufkin, co-presented “Cultura Riqueza y Translanguaging en la Práctica Internacional: Empowering Educators through Bilingual Pedagogy,” with Dr. Sarah Straub, associate professor of education studies. Their session explored the power of “translanguaging” practices – using all of a person’s languages together to communicate and learn – and cultural wealth frameworks in international teaching experiences.

“Getting our students into these larger professional organizations is crucial,” Straub said. “Through TABE, they not only gain powerful learning experiences, but also connect with SFA BESO alumni who are now leaders in their districts, advocating for multilingual learners and shaping the future of bilingual education.”

This summer, Pierce visited San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, as a part of SFA’s study abroad program teaching local students in Las Clavellinas. According to Pierce, the TABE conference and study abroad experience shaped her as a student and educator.

“Sharing about transformational experiences like teaching internationally in Las Clavellinas has had an immediate impact on my classroom practices,” Pierce said. “Because of these experiences, I’ve been given more opportunities in Alto Independent School District to share my expertise and help others see the value of bilingual pedagogy.”

Two other BESO members, Miranda Isham, a senior interdisciplinary studies major and BESO treasurer from Lufkin, and Janell Almanza, a freshman interdisciplinary studies major from Cleveland, volunteered at the conference and gained valuable professional development in English as a second language and bilingual instruction and advocacy.

“It’s incredible to be in a space where I feel represented and surrounded by people who share my goals,” Almanza said. “Seeing bilingual educators from across Texas makes me so excited about my future career and what’s possible.”

Isham echoed the conference’s message of empowerment.

“Advocacy is such an important part of teaching,” Isham said. “Learning more about this skill and how to use my voice for my future students will be transformative for me as an educator.”

For more information about SFA’s chapter of BESO, contact Straub at straubsm@sfasu.edu.

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 40 academic facilities, 11 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 over 120 areas of study. Learn more at sfasu.edu.

By University Marketing Communications

Stephen Kinnaird, Stephen F. Austin State University alumnus and Kinnaird Guitars owner, shows members of SFA’s Nelson Rusche College of Business Economics Reading Group and participants in the college’s new “Economic Success Stories: Entrepreneurship According to Founders” business practicum one of his custom-made guitars. Inspired by the book “Side Hustle: From Idea to Income in 27 Days,” by Chris Guillebeau, students visited three Nacogdoches-area businesses during the fall semester that started as side hustles: Fredonia Brewery, Kinnaird Guitars and Java Jacks.

Nearly 20 Stephen F. Austin State University students majoring in a variety of subjects spent the semester learning how local entrepreneurs launched their successful businesses initially as side hustles.

The students, who are either members of the Nelson Rusche College of Business Economics Reading Group or participants in the college’s new “Economic Success Stories: Entrepreneurship According to Founders” business practicum, are exploring how to build their own businesses.

Inspired by the book “Side Hustle: From Idea to Income in 27 Days,” by Chris Guillebeau, students visited three Nacogdoches-area businesses that started as side hustles: Fredonia Brewery, Kinnaird Guitars and Java Jacks. The key takeaway from the book and these visits is that everyone should start a side hustle, said Dr. Ryan Phelps, associate professor of economics at SFA and faculty advisor for the Economics Reading Group and the “Success Stories” practicum.

“The business owners shared their origin stories along with the trials, lessons and successes that shaped their journeys,” Phelps said. “These visits were powerful reminders that business strategy pros are often running small and mid-sized businesses right around the corner. These entrepreneurs create value by deeply understanding and serving their customers.”

At Fredonia Brewery, Paul Murray, owner, and Jack Sullivan, operations manager, SFA alumnus and lecturer of mathematics at the university, shared how the brewery grew from its origins as a side hustle in the Nac Brew Club into the thriving business that opened downtown in 2017.

“We learned that Fredonia Brewery takes pride in being more than just a place to enjoy local craft brews,” said Vivian Bivens, Economics Reading Group president and senior finance major from Granbury. “It’s a space where the community can come together and where customers often become family.”

Stephen Kinnaird, SFA alumnus and Kinnaird Guitars owner, said the idea for his business started when he became fascinated with the craft of lutherie after visiting a guitar-maker’s workshop in Atlanta in the early 1970s. He then applied his carpentry skills and music degree to making stringed instruments by commission before hiring his first employee in 2007.

“At Kinnaird, it’s all about the experience and the relationships that make truly custom design possible,” Phelps said. “Kinnaird Guitars started with curiosity and grew into a passion for workmanship. Their success has spread by word of mouth, and they have thrived through adaptation and creativity.”

At Java Jacks, owners and SFA alumni Brent and Sarah Patton shared their coffeehouse expertise along with the story of how their side hustle became a successful business.

While working as a sound engineer traveling across the country in the late ’80s and early ’90s, Brent explored community-based coffeehouses that were tailored to local tastes and had “exotic names.” Back in the Pattons’ then hometown of Houston, craft brewing was emerging and world food stores were selling specialty coffees, but independent coffeehouses were scarce. They found a small family grocery store that sold roasted coffees, and the Pattons decided to adapt that business idea to Nacogdoches, especially SFA students.

After two years of looking at properties, creating “what if” spreadsheets and talking to bankers, the Pattons opened the first location of Java Jacks on East College Street in 1996. Now in a two-story building on North Street, the business has grown into a local institution and community hub. It also has its own side hustles: another Java Jacks location in Lufkin and Camino Real Coffee Roasters in a separate location on North Street.

“Sarah and I had to find our own way,” Brent said. “We joined a trade network of coffee professionals, the Specialty Coffee Association, and they uplifted everybody trying to launch their own coffeehouses. They educated us on both the coffee side and business side.”

Sarah described the hard work required when preparing to launch a business.

“You’re doing all the labor to get things moving yourself,” she said. “You’re studying the product and how to run the business. You have to know your product and how to get people to come visit — how to create a neighborhood coffeehouse that’s approachable.”

The semester’s side hustle exploration wrapped up with a presentation by certified financial planner, business strategist and SFA alumnus Taylor Kovar, who is serving as the first entrepreneur-in-residence at the university’s Arnold Center for Entrepreneurship.

In “Confessions of a Serial Entrepreneur,” Kovar discussed how he went from earning a finance degree during the 2008 economic downturn to helping his brother build a software business to buying his own businesses including Premier Pediatric, for which he achieved national accreditation and significant revenue growth. He now focuses on his wealth management business, 11 Financial, and his passion project, Standpipe Coffee House, both in Lufkin.

Kovar advised students who wish to start a side hustle to focus on a hobby.

“I look at a hobby and decide how I can make that profitable,” he said. “I see opportunity everywhere. Try things while you’re young and don’t have a mortgage.”

He also told students to start networking while they’re in college.

“When I was in college, I was married and working, and I didn’t have time to network with professors, peers and the community,” Kovar said. “I would have been more successful if I had taken the time to network.”

For more information on the Economics Reading Group, select the “Student Resources” tab at sfasu.edu/ecofin. For more information on the Arnold Center for Entrepreneurship, visit sfasu.edu/ace.

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 40 academic facilities, 11 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 over 120 areas of study. Learn more at sfasu.edu.