Today@Sam Article

SHSU Update For Week Of April 17

April 17, 2016
SHSU Media Contact: Tammy Parrett

 

 

Center To Share Financial Literacy Tips With Community

Financial Literacy MonthSam Houston State University’s Student Money Management Center will team up with the City of Huntsville to celebrate Financial Literacy Month by extending their programing into the community for the month of April.

“Different segments of the community frequently ask for information about budgeting and the SMMC has made many of these presentations to the community over the years,” said SMMC director Patsy Collins.

In preparation, the SMMC has trained College of Business Administration students to present or moderate at the workshops, according to Collins.

On April 21, “Creative Ways To Cut Family Expenses” will be held at 5:45 p.m. at the Huntsville Public Library.

The presentation will discuss lesser-known methods that people often use to cut spending on everyday expenses and save money.

The month’s events will conclude with “How To Pay For College” on April 26 at 5:45 p.m. at the Huntsville Public Library.

The presentation will focus on various ways that students can pay for their college tuition, including student loans, scholarships and grants.

All events are free and open to the public. 

For more information, contact the SMMC at 936.294.2600.

 


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Students To Showcase ‘Journey’ In Exhibit

Juried ExhibitSam Houston State University students will showcase their interpretations of “Enrique’s Journey” in the SHSU Common Reader WASH Program Reception and Juried Art Show Awards Ceremony from April 18-22 in the Lowman Student Center Gallery.

A reception and award ceremony will take place in the gallery on Tuesday (April 19) from 5-6 p.m., and award winners will be announced at 5:30 p.m.

The exhibit, sponsored by the Student Success Initiatives office, will display the work of SHSU art students currently enrolled in the Workshop in Art and Studio History program.

The WASH program is a unique opportunity for Sam Houston State University art students to participate in an experimental studio environment, exploring contemporary issues surrounding the visual arts.

“Art is expression that is an extension of society and education,” said Falasha Spruiell, SSI program coordinator. “Each piece is created from a different perspective, vantage point and emotion, so they are all very unique.”

The event is free and open to the public. 

For more information, contact Spruiell at 936.294.2269.

 

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Case Manager To Get ‘Real’ On Refugees

Immigrant childLinsley Rivas, lead case manager for St. Jerome’s Home for Children in Houston, will share her experiences working with unaccompanied refugees on Tuesday (April 19) as part of the College of Criminal Justice’s Real Talk w/CJ series, at 2 p.m. in the Criminal Justice Center’s Hazel B. Kerper Courtroom.

Unaccompanied refugee youth from around the world come to St. Jerome’s Home for Children to find a nurturing environment away from war, poverty and neglect.

“Many of these refugees have lost their parents or have been neglected,” said Rivas. “They live in a war environment or in poverty where they were forced to go to work at a young age.”

The program, operated by Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, serves 72 children between the ages of 15-17 from Africa, Central America, Indonesia, and Mexico, as well as others.

In addition to placement, the program provides a variety of support, including indirect financial assistance for housing, food, clothing, and other necessities; case management by a social worker; independent living skills training; tutoring; job skills training and career counseling; mental health services and more.

“Many of our students go on to complete their GEDs, high school diplomas, technical certificates or study at universities,” Rivas said.

Because of unrest all over the world, serving unaccompanied refugee youth is a growing field and several residential centers and programs are located in Texas. These programs need professionals who specialize in diverse disciplines, including case managers, social workers, youth care workers, foster parents, educators, foster home developers, and supervisors.

There are two key characteristics needed to work in the field, according to Rivas–passion and diligence.

“We can’t be completely desensitized to what is going on in the world,” she said. “We need to help, and you have to be tough.”

The event is free and open to the public.

For more information, contact Beth Kuhles, publications coordinator for the College of Criminal Justice at 936.294.4425.

 

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Faculty Recital To Showcase Guitar, Flute

Alejandro Montiel, adjunct instructor of guitar at Sam Houston State University, will team up with Kathy Daniels, professor of flute, and Issac Bustos, professor of guitar at Texas A&M University, to perform a variety of diverse pieces on Wednesday (April 20) at 7:30 p.m. in the Gaertner Performing Arts Center Recital Hall.

The group will open the recital with Gioachinno Rossini’s “Barber of Seville Overture." 

This will be followed by Radames Gnatalli’s “Sonata for Cello and Guitar,” which contains traditional classical writing elements, as well as Brazilian and jazz components, according to Montiel.

The second half of the program will feature music from Joseph Williams, beginning with a flute and guitar piece titled “Isabel,” a short work about the tragic life of Isabel de los Olives y Lopez during the Spanish Inquisition.

The program will close with Williams’s latest work, “Grip.”

The event is free and open to the public.

For more information, contact the School of Music at 936.294.1360.

 

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Conference To Discuss Criminal Justice Issues

Sam Houston State University’s chapter of the National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice will host its fourth annual “What Would Lady Justice Do?” mini-conference on April 23 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Lowman Student Center.

The event was established to provide students and community members with an opportunity to discuss major issues within the criminal justice system.

Sessions will cover a multitude of topics, including crime scene analysis, entrepreneurship, juvenile delinquency and mentorship, sexual assault victimization, drug identification, and a keynote address by special agent Dana Carter, assistant inspector in charge of postal inspectors in Houston.

“This will be our largest mini-conference to date, and we have some stellar criminal justice leaders in the community attending,” said NABCJ president Xavier Perry.

Registration is $5 for students and $7 for non-students until the day of the conference, when the cost goes up to $7 and $10 respectively.

Those interested can register online at bit.ly/25XDVUT.

The event is open to the public.

For more information, contact Perry at xdp003@shsu.edu.

 

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Roundtable To Discuss Publishing, Translation

The Sam Houston State University Department of English and the Department of Foreign Languages will host a roundtable discussion on Tuesday (April 19) at 11 a.m. in Evans Building Room 212.

The event will feature John Pluecker, co-founder of language justice collaborative Antena, and Maria Miranda Maloney, publisher of Mouthfeel Press.

Oher authors in attendance include Anne Galloway, Ashley Goode, Cesar Alcaraz, and Haley Crenwelge.

The discussion will focus on publishing and editing works of poetry, as well as other publications.

The event is free and open to the public.

For more information, contact Ching-in Chen, visiting assistant professor of creative writing, at ching-in@shsu.edu

 

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Winners Announced For Art Song Competition

vocalist Giselle Burris and pianist Jose-Ramon Garcia-Perez.
Third annual art song competition winners vocalist Giselle Burris and pianist Jose-Ramon Garcia-Perez. —Submitted photo

Sam Houston State University’s School of Music recently hosted its third annual SHSU Art Song Competition on April 10 in the Gaertner Performing Arts Center, during which student vocalists and pianists teamed up to perform pieces that highlighted their collaboration.

The final round of the competition featured five teams of finalists who competed for scholarship prizes. Deborah Dalton, director of opera theatre at Stephen F. Austin State University, and Timothy Hester, director of keyboard collaborative arts at the University of Houston, served as judges for the competition.

First place was awarded to the team of vocalist Giselle Burris and pianist Jose-Ramon Garcia-Perez, who each received $1,000 scholarships with their performance of Amy Beach’s “I Send My Heart Up to Thee” and Gian Carlo Menotti’s “Monica’s Waltz.”

Other winning teams included Chasiti Walker and Eduard Gavril, and Sarai Villatoro and Daniel Contreras.

“As faculty member, after attending the finals concert, it is not enough to say that I am proud of the students and their performances,” said Wayne Barrett, associate dean of the College of Fine Arts and Mass Communication. “I found myself, over and over, to be esthetically moved and inspired by their music, passion, nuance, and collaborative artistry.”

 

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White Receives Award For Exchange Program

Rick White in Rothenburg, Germany
Rick White in Rothenburg, Germany. —Photo from White's webpage

Rick White, professor of chemistry at Sam Houston State University, recently received the Deutscher Akademischer Austasch Dienst Alumni Association’s Award for International Exchange.

DAAD is the German Academic Exchange Service, a national office within Germany that oversees academic exchange programs.

White was instrumental in establishing SHSU’s academic exchange program with the University of Seigen.

In the past, he has led study abroad trips for chemistry and science students, during which he traveled with students and discussed the lives of prominent sciences, the historical times they lived, the importance of their efforts, and how their contributions affect us today.

“I’m very passionate about DAAD and sharing what they do for students,” said White. “I’ve been lucky to be able to give numerous seminars in Texas and other states on scholarships available from the DAAD to carry out scholarly work in Germany.”

 

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Students Present At Economics Conference

Finance StudentsThree students from the College of Business Administration attended the 10th Economics Scholar Program Conference for Undergraduate Research on April 1, held at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

Senior economics and international business majors Madeleine Mortimore and Nathaniel Mendoza-Sifuentes and junior economics and international business major Zane Pion participated in the event that was attended by students from 37 universities from 12 different states across the country.

Mortimore presented a poster based on her research on the effects of information and communications technology on the U.S. bilateral services exports. Her research shows that Internet users in trading partner countries have a statistically significant positive impact on the bilateral services exports from the U.S. to those countries. This effect is much stronger for developing countries. Mendoza and Pion served as discussants at the conference.

During the conference luncheon, the students also had an opportunity to interact with Rob Kaplan, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas also held an informal reception for the participants, during which human resource personnel from the bank interacted with the students, informed them about job opportunities, and accepted resumes for various internship and regular positions. 

 

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Today@Sam Seeks Experts, Story Ideas

Are you an expert in a topic might be of interest to reporters? Or even a unique topic? Would you like to have your research interests highlighted or discuss your expertise with reporters seeking interviewees?

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Other story ideas, both news and features on faculty or student research and accomplishments can be sent to today@sam.edu or jenniferg@shsu.edu. For news stories, please include the date, location and time of the event, as well as a brief description and a contact person.

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For more information, call 936.294.1836.

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