Everything Nac

Every year, seniors in Stephen F. Austin State University’s interior design program take their final projects on the road to major Texas cities to receive feedback and obtain job leads.

Their travel was canceled this year because of COVID-19.

Like other designers around the country, the students decided to move their work online to showcase how they create beautiful spaces while focusing on safety, economy and utility.

The SFA senior interior design student website organizes the seniors by the cities they’re hoping to work in — Austin, Dallas and Houston — and presents their portfolios and résumés for potential employers to explore.

Jennifer Luque, adjunct professor of interior design in SFA’s School of Human Sciences, helped create the website and taught the seniors’ portfolio course during the spring semester.

“This is the next best thing to exhibiting in person,” Luque said. “What some have interpreted as a challenge, we have taken as an opportunity.”

She sent the website’s URL to the International Interior Design Association Texas/Oklahoma Chapter and the American Society of Interior Designers Texas Gulf Coast Chapter. Those organizations have agreed to share the website with their members, including thousands of interior designers, firms and industry professionals, according to Luque.

“In some ways, the students are receiving more exposure and a chance to share their graduate portfolios with individuals across the region,” she said.

Luque added that one student was hired just by sharing the site with friends, family members and firms asking SFA about recent interior design graduates.

Trekeva Cotledge of Whitehouse and Madison McDaniel of Mount Pleasant are two of the nearly dozen students featured on the website.

Cotledge’s portion of the website includes her designs for furniture, a condo and a long-term care facility.

“I aim to give back to the community and help clients’ dreams come true through strategy and dedication,” she said.

Cotledge hopes to obtain a second degree in architecture and start her own business.

McDaniel’s volunteer work refurbishing furniture for the “Chairished Blessings” fundraiser and designing bath houses for the homeless for Love In the Name of Christ, an organization in Nacogdoches committed to transforming lives, informs her design philosophy.

“A good designer needs to be able to see and create beautiful, functional spaces,” she said.

Her portion of the site features both residential and retail designs.

For more information on these future designers’ work, visit the SFA senior interior design student website at https://sfasuinteriordesign.wixsite.com/sfasu-2020portfolios. For more information on SFA’s interior design program, contact program coordinator Leisha Bridwell at (936) 468-2371, or lbridwell@sfasu.edu.

By Jo Gilmore, marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University.

As students across the nation adjust to the altered academic landscape, students at Stephen F. Austin State University are preparing to attend a virtual commencement May 30, which is designed to celebrate their achievements in spite of the challenges faced this semester due to the impact of COVID-19.

Through a series of videos, students will have access to the commencement address by SFA alumnus Michael Calbert, chairman of the board of Dollar General; and addresses by SFA President Dr. Scott Gordon; Dr. Steve Bullard, provost and vice president for academic affairs; and Craig Turnage, executive director of alumni relations, as well as a version of the school song created with video clips submitted by many of the graduating students.

Calbert, a 1984 SFA accounting graduate and East Texas native, worked as an auditor at Arthur Andersen and later joined U.S.-based private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Co. before retiring in 2014. In addition to Dollar General, he also serves on other corporate boards.

SFA graduate Annemarie Price said she plans to celebrate the day with a personal touch. Price, a marketing major from Katy, will have two very special guests in attendance — her dogs Astro and Travis dressed for the occasion in suits and ties — as she accepts her diploma at home from her parents. While it’s not exactly the celebration she had planned with friends from around the state gathered at Johnson Coliseum to watch her walk the stage, it’s enough for now.

“When I found out graduations were being canceled, it was important for me to redirect my focus on what I could control, what was truly important and what I could look forward to during this crisis,” Price said. “The class of 2020 won’t get the typical walk across the stage right now, but we will each have a unique celebration, which we will not easily forget.”

Other students are planning on simple celebrations with immediate family.

“My plan for graduation is to dress in a cap and gown and walk across my house as if it were a stage,” said Rachel Ballback, health science major from The Woodlands, who was named Miss SFA in March. “Even though I imagined the day to be much different, I am grateful SFA is offering an alternative.”

Price offered congratulations to her fellow graduates for persevering through an unprecedented situation.

“You have adapted and overcome in unexpected and unpredictable circumstances,” she said. “You should be proud of what you have accomplished.”

Degrees to be awarded include 1,188 bachelor’s, 294 master’s and two doctoral degrees. More than 468 students will graduate with honors, including 155 cum laude, 152 magna cum laude and 152 summa cum laude. Seventy-nine will graduate with the university scholar designation.

The ceremony will be available to view beginning at 6 a.m. May 30 at sfasu.edu/commencement.