Everything Nac

Registration is underway for summer lessons and camps offered by the Music Preparatory Division of the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Music.

Lessons are offered in piano, jazz piano, voice, guitar, flute, Suzuki violin and other instruments. Private lessons begin the week of June 3.

Guitar Camp, with Larry Greer as instructor, will be from 2 to 3 p.m. June 11 through 14 at the Music Prep House. The lessons are designed for students ages 10 and up. Tuition is $50, and guitar rental is $10. Lessons are provided in rock, country, classical and jazz. Class size is limited to 10 students.

Dr. Mario Ajero will direct the Kids Summer Piano Camp for children in first through third grades. Classes are 10 a.m. to noon July 15 through July18 in Room 223 of the Boynton Building on the SFA campus. Tuition is $100, and class size is limited to 16 students. Registration deadline is June 3.

Dr. Ping-Ting Lan will instruct a six-week adult intermediate piano class from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Mondays, June 17 and 24 and July 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29 in Room 223 of the Boynton Building. Tuition is $110, and class size is limited to 16 students.

Registration forms and more information can be accessed at www.music.sfasu.edu/prep, or contact Music Prep director Pat Barnett at pbarnett@sfasu.edu or musicprep@sfasu.edu, or call (936) 468-1291. The Music Prep House is located at 3028 Raguet St.

Dr. Jose Carbajal, Stephen F. Austin State University assistant professor of social work, invites victims of the recent tornado in Alto to participate in a group therapy session designed to help them process and heal from this traumatic event.

The processing session will take place from 10 a.m. to noon Friday, May 17, on the SFA campus in the Baker Pattillo Student Center Multimedia Room. Carbajal is an approved consultant in eye movement desensitization and reprocessing treatment and is an EMDR certified therapist.

“Research shows that processing a traumatic event soon after it occurs is most effective,” Carbajal said. “This treatment has proven to help alleviate trauma symptoms, decrease or eliminate distress from the disturbing memory, improve view of self, provide relief from bodily disturbance, and resolve present and future anticipated triggers.”

EMDR therapy is based on the adaptive information-processing model, which posits when a disturbing event occurs, it can be encoded in the brain with the original picture, sounds, thoughts, feelings and body sensations. EMDR therapy often decreases the emotional activation that develops following a traumatic event.

The event is free. To RSVP, or for more information, contact Carbajal at carbajalji@sfasu.edu.

By Emily Brown, marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University.

A librarian at Stephen F. Austin State University is using visual clue cards, cell phones and scavenger hunts to help students familiarize themselves with Steen Library.

Working with SFA 101 classes, Melissa Clark uses this interactive activity to ensure that students are aware of the various resources available in the library.

“It’s about highlighting those different things and where they are located and getting students comfortable navigating the library on their own,” Clark said.

During the activity, students are split into groups and given a packet of three cards with pictures of items to find in and around the library. From specific books to vending machines and study spaces, the groups take photos when they find the specified item or location. Once the photos are uploaded, the groups meet with Clark to talk about what they found and how it might be useful to them during their time at SFA.

Clark previously worked as a reference and instructional librarian at South Dakota State University, but decided she wanted to work more closely with students. At SFA, she is Steen Library’s student engagement librarian.

“I wanted to do more work that looked at the wider context instead of just meeting a student in class and never seeing them again,” she said. “I wanted to work with outreach and events and get more involved with our students and recruitment.”

Clarks helps organize the library’s presence at Showcase Saturday and new student and transfer student orientations. She also holds an annual convocation for students and hosts events for Banned Books Week, National Poetry Month and National Library Week.

In recognition of her work, she was awarded a Bright Spot award by the SFA Faculty Senate, the Center for Teaching and Learning and the SFA vice presidents.

“The reason the library exists is to help students succeed,” Clark said. “We really want them to take advantage of it so they can be successful here at the university.”

For more information about Steen Library, visit library.sfasu.edu.

By Joanna Armstrong, marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University.

The A Cappella Choir at Stephen F. Austin State University will present its final program of the semester, “Odyssey,” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 10, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

“Odyssey” features choral music that chronicles intellectual, spiritual and physical wandering of the heart and mind, according to Dr. Michael Murphy, director of choral activities at SFA and the choir’s conductor. Joining the choir will be Dr. Ron Petti, director of collaborative piano at SFA, and Jacob Rivas, graduate conductor.

The program will include the music of Ludwig van Beethoven, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Andrew Smith (North American premiere), Mari Esabel Valverde (Southwest U.S. premiere), Ēriks Ešenvalds, James MacMillan, Stacey Gibbs, Joseph Flummerfelt and more.

The concert is a presentation of the College of Fine Arts and School of Music. Cole Concert Hall is located in the Tom and Peggy Wright Music Building, 2210 Alumni Drive.

Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students and youth. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu.