Everything Nac

As a guest speaker for the fifth annual Barrio Writers program at Stephen F. Austin State University, Casey Muze, musician and founder of Starr Avenue Company, uses his hands to create a calming beat on his drum to help participants understand the power of creative expression.

For a week, 30 students from school districts across East Texas attended the Barrio Writers summer program at SFA that focused on literature and creative writing. Faculty members from SFA’s elementary education and secondary education and educational leadership departments organized this event.

Barrio Writers is tailored for students ages 13 through 21 with an interest in reading and writing. Through this program, participants engage in workshops led by SFA students, faculty and staff. Participants read books, poems and song lyrics before discussing them as a group and free writing.

SFA faculty and staff who led the sessions and served as writing advisors included secondary education and educational leadership faculty members Drs. Heather Olson Beal, associate professor, Chrissy Cross, assistant professor, and Amber Wagnon, assistant professor; Dr. Lauren Burrow, associate professor of elementary education; and Alicia De La Rosa-Millard, secretary in SFA’s Office of Multicultural Affairs.

“Sarah Rafael García, the founder of Barrio Writers, uses ‘your voice is your weapon’ as the program’s mantra, so we’ve talked to students about this idea,” Olson Beal said. “We stressed what you say matters, and your opinion matters and is important. We encourage students to find productive ways to express themselves and share their values with the world.”

During the week, students toured the university campus, including the solar sculpture garden in front of the Cole STEM Building where they read a Maya Angelou poem and discussed what it means to be part of the human family, Olson Beal explained.

Focusing on inclusion and diversity, the class met virtually via Zoom with a beat boxer who has Asperger’s syndrome, synesthesia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

“All of the readings we discussed were written by people of color or women. Having diversity in our literature is vital and creating that inclusive community is key,” Olson Beal said. “Our guest speakers helped highlight this sense of community and belonging. Because of their diversity, we were able to discuss various topics with the students in a comfortable setting.”

At the end of the week, students participated in a live reading to share their original works.

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

The Nacogdoches Photographic Association will open its 2019 gallery show with a reception at 6 p.m. Friday, June 21, in The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches.

Photographer and multi-media artist Amanda Breitbach, assistant professor of art at Stephen F. Austin State University, served as juror. Breitbach grew up on a family farm and ranch in eastern Montana. She studied photography and French at Montana State University before serving as an agroforestry volunteer with the United States Peace Corps in Guinea, West Africa. She has worked as a newspaper photographer, writer and editor as well as a freelance photographer. She earned her Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2016.

Awards will include Best of Show, first through fifth places and honorable mentions. The 2019 Best of Show recipient will be announced at the opening reception.

The Nacogdoches Photographic Association was organized in 1992. Monthly meetings are held at 7 p.m. on the first Tuesday of each month (except on field-trip nights) in The Cole Art Center. For more information, contact R.G. Dean at dean@sfasu.edu or Richard Minix at rwminix1@gmail.com. The NPA website URL is nacogdochesphotoassoc.org, and members’ works can be seen on Facebook.

The NPA show will run through July 20. Refreshments will be served at the reception. Gallery hours are 12:30 to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; and 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday. The Cole Art Center is located at 329 E. Main Street. For additional information, call (936) 468-1131.

Cutline: The first-place entry in the 2018 Nacogdoches Photographic Association’s gallery show was by Sharon Scifries for the photo “Memories and Old Lace.” This year’s show opens with a reception at 6 p.m. Friday, June 21, in The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches.

Navigating the college experience can be challenging. But two Stephen F. Austin State University faculty members have made it their mission to help incoming college students plot their educational experience with their recent book, “Thinking with Excellence: Navigating the College Journey and Beyond.”

“We have taken the advice shared, the successes gained and the failures learned from our undergraduate and graduate experiences to write a book that will hopefully enrich the lives of SFA students and beyond,” said Dr. Paul Shockley, lecturer in SFA’s Department of Multidisciplinary Programs.

While at a Center for Teaching and Learning conference last year, Shockley and Dr. Raul Prezas, associate professor in the Department of Human Services, were inspired to write a book addressing the “promises, pleasures and perils” of college.

“We were attending a presentation on first-generation college students and realized there is more we can do,” Shockley said. “Examining our dissimilar backgrounds, different cultural contexts and distinct areas of expertise, we knew we could create a publication that would assist in reaching first-generation students where they are and provide the skills to help them gain transformative educational experiences.”

The book was personal for Shockley and Prezas. Shockley, a first-generation student who graduated from SFA, used his college journey to address questions students in similar situations may face.

“I didn’t know what a GPA was until two months before I graduated from high school,” Shockley said.

On the other hand, Prezas grew up in an environment where higher education was expected.

“Loved ones like my abuela (grandmother) sacrificed so others could receive the highest level of education,” Prezas said. “My dad, mom and sibling all have doctoral degrees.”

Shockley and Prezas put their minds and personal college experiences together to write the book. The pair have collaborated on projects in the past.

“As colleagues from two different colleges, we discovered there is strength in community,” Prezas said.

Shockley’s expertise in philosophy in the College of Liberal and Applied Arts and Prezas background in speech language science in the James I. Perkins College of Education were incorporated into the book.

“We recognize that while this book can be a launching pad for students, whether first-generation or not, we are only scratching the surface. Much more is needed,” Shockley said.

The two professors met weekly and often visited with Dr. Jim Towns, professor of communication studies, regarding the content and form for the book. They worked with first-generation students, mostly minorities, in “an effort to see through the eyes of those who are different from us,” Prezas explained. Shockley shared the in-progress chapters with students in his philosophy and ethics courses and lectured on topics related to critical thinking.

“The chapters shared among the students provided opportunities for feedback to help ensure the material is beneficial on freshmen and sophomore levels,” Shockley said.

The book was peer reviewed, and many undergraduate and graduate students offered input. The manuscript also was sent to a company in the United Kingdom, which specializes in typography and imagery for books, to create the cover and offer insight on how to best present the material to the target audience.

Shockley and Prezas are now working on a Spanish edition with a third author.

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

They say the world is a classroom, and for 44 Stephen F. Austin State University students in the Rusche College of Business destinations in Germany, Austria and Italy recently replaced their regular class schedules.

Trading the pineywoods for the sights and sounds of Munich, Germany; Innsbruck, Austria; and Verona and Rome, Italy; students enrolled in a marketing course focused on industry, education and sports experienced business internationally.

Dr. Matthew Lindsey, chair of the Department of Management and Marketing, said this trip helped students witness firsthand the concepts they are learning in the classroom. Before leaving for Europe, students studied management issues across cultures.

“It became clear the business culture in Germany was not the same as in Italy,” Lindsey said. “The views on relationships, communication styles, time orientation and other aspects of business life greatly differ.”

During the study-abroad experience, students visited with business leaders on a global scale. In Munich, visits included the BMW Welt, the Munich Olympic State Park (site of the 1972 Olympics), the Spaten-Löwenbräu Brewery and the Allianz Arena football stadium.

“The visits provided vivid examples of many business concepts discussed in the classroom,” Lindsey said. “We were able to learn about the product decisions at each company, the impact of pricing on the company and gain insight regarding why company leaders chose their locations.”

In Austria, the group attended an Alpine tourism lecture at the Management Center in Innsbruck, the Berchtesgaden salt mine and the Swarovski headquarters. Italy brought students to the Zeni vineyards, Cinecitta Studios and a presentation by Rome Field and Research International. The students also toured the Roman Colosseum and other tourist sites.

“Visiting the Roman Colosseum, the Olympic Stadium and the Allianz Arena provided an interesting contrast involving how large venues have changed through the years and how they have stayed the same. They have more in common than anyone suspected,” Lindsey said. “The way athletes entered the playing field was surprisingly similar between Allianz and the Colosseum. Both used doors that opened and allowed the players to enter from below.”

Along with Lindsey, Dr. Charlotte Allen, professor; Dr. Jason Reese, assistant professor and coordinator of the sports business program; and Dr. Mikhail Kouliavtsev, professor and chair of the Department of Economics and Finance, led the trip.

“Hopefully this opened the students’ eyes to new cultures and different ways of operating businesses,” Allen said. “Many of the businesses we visited are family run and have been in the family for generations.”

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