Counseling Services is offering a free workshop on identifying and helping a person at risk of suicide.

The workshop is scheduled from 2:30 to 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4, in the Rusk Building, Room 333.

On completion of the session, participants will receive certification as a Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper.

For more information or to register, call Counseling Services at (936) 468-2401.

Join Center for Teaching and Learning staff members and Barry Dahl, D2L teaching and learning advocate, for a lunch and learn showcasing best practices for working in Brightspace. Participants may attend any or all of the workshops scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 9, in the Baker Pattillo Student Center, Room 2.201.

"Designing Online Courses for Flexibility: a Key Component for Student Satisfaction," which will examine the course design factors that impact the time flexibility of an online course, is scheduled from 10 to 10:50 a.m.

"Using Brightspace Tools to Increase Student Engagement and Instructor Presence" is scheduled from 11 to 11:50 a.m.

"Seven Ways to Use the 'Not' Release Conditions to Impact Teaching and Learning" is scheduled from 12:40 to 1:30 p.m. This session will discuss effective uses of the release conditions in various Brightspace tools to encourage student behavior, which will increase students' likelihood of success.

Registration is required and can be completed here. Select “Wednesday, October 9th - SFASU" as your session.

Do you struggle with writer's block, procrastination or lack of motivation? You are not alone.

Scholarly Writing and Publishing is available to help you connect with peers and become a productive writer.

SWAP will meet weekly from 7 to 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. to 1 p.m on Thursdays throughout the semester. If you cannot meet for two hours, attend at your convenience.

To join the group or for more information, contact Dr. Donna Fickes at fickesdj@sfasu.edu.

The Center for Career and Professional Development will host the 2019 Fall Teacher Job Fair from 9:30 a.m. to noon Oct. 11 in the HPE Complex gym.

Faculty and staff are encouraged to inform students about the event, especially those who may be looking to find a full-time position and network with professionals. Click here for a list of participating employers.

If a faculty member would like record of attendance for their students, a class roster or a sign-in sheet must be provided to the CCPD by Oct. 10.

Students will need to bring their student ID for check-in, as well as copies of their résumé to distribute to employers. Professional dress is required. Résumé assistance and the center's free Career Closet are available to help students prepare for the event. Information about these resources may be found on the center's website.

For more information, contact Brandi Derouen, CCPD assistant director, at derouenb@sfasu.edu or (936) 468-3305.

In honor of National Coming Out Day, which takes place Oct. 11, the Office of Multicultural Affairs will host a “celebration to promote LGBTQ+ diversity and inclusion and raise awareness about the community to SFA and Nacogdoches residents,” according to Tegan Mingo, OMA student ambassador.

In partnership with the Lumberjack Cultural Association, SFA’s Residence Life Department and Pride Nac, OMA’s celebration will provide food and entertainment while educating the community about accessible health services, safe spaces and more.

“Locally, this event will be of significance because we are in a rural, conservative city and can promote inclusiveness so that the LGBTQ+ community feels welcomed and can be themselves in Nacogdoches. Celebrating this day shows we are allies and fully support the LGBTQ+ community," Mingo said.

The free, public event will be from 1 to 4 p.m. Oct. 11 at SFA’s Ag Pond.

SFA Gardens will host the monthly Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series at 7 p.m. Oct. 10 in the Brundrett Conservation Education Building at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center, located at 2900 Raguet St. Jocelyn Moore, assistant education coordinator for SFA Gardens, will present “Changing Young Lives, One Garden Bud at a Time.”

Passionate about teaching our youngest citizens how to value and protect the environment through experiential learning an engagement, Moore teaches outdoor environmental education to local youth during field trips, after-school clubs and summer SFA Gardens Pineywoods camps.

Parking is available at the PNPC and Raguet Elementary School, located at 2428 Raguet St.

For more information, call (936) 468-4129, or email sfagardens@sfasu.edu.

The Office of Multicultural Affairs will host the fourth annual Homecoming Step Show, which will feature guest host Darren Brand.

Brand is an American comedian, writer, producer and actor. He is best known for being a member of the comedy group The Freestyle Funny Comedy Show and as a recurring cast member of the improv comedy show “Wild 'N Out” on MTV and MTV2.

The Homecoming Step Show is a joint effort between OMA and members of SFA’s Greek Life and Student Activities Association.

SFA’s Homecoming Step Show will begin at 7 p.m. Oct. 24 in the student center Grand Ballroom. Tickets cost $3 for SFA students and $6 for faculty, staff and community members.

SFA’s Percussion Ensemble will present its first fall concert at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow in Cole Concert Hall.

Directed by Dr. Brad Meyer, director of percussion studies at SFA, the ensemble will perform works by Van Halen, Robert Oetomo, Caleb Pickering, James Campbell and Russell Wharton.

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 finearts.sfasu.edu.

SFA’s School of Art and the Friends of the Visual Arts will present a free, one-night screening of the documentary “Lion” at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4, in The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches.

“Lion” is the story of 5-year-old Indian boy Saroo who, on a trip with his brother, finds himself alone and trapped in a moving decommissioned passenger train that takes him to Calcutta, 1,000 miles away from home. He survives many challenges living as a street child before being adopted by a loving, prosperous couple in Australia.

For all his material good fortune, Saroo finds himself plagued by memories of his lost family in adulthood and tries to search for them, even as guilt drives him to hide this quest from his adoptive parents and girlfriend. Only when he has an epiphany does he find not only the answers he needs, but also the steadfast love he always had with his loved ones in both worlds.

A fun evening of jazz featuring the Swingin’ Axes, Swingin’ Aces and the Faculty Jazz Combo from SFA will be presented from 7 to 10 p.m. Oct. 11 at LugNutz Bar & Grill.

The Axes will perform a variety of music, including big band favorites from the 1940s and ’50s, such as Glenn Miller’s “American Patrol” and Count Basie’s “Fly Me to the Moon.” More modern jazz styles will include Gordon Goodwin’s energetic Latin-style “Mueva los Huesos” (Shake Your Bones) and Tower of Power’s funky “What Is Hip.”

The Swingin’ Aces will perform several standards from the library of the Count Basie and Stan Kenton jazz orchestras, including “Put It Right Here,” “Just Friends” and “My Romance.” They also will perform a fun jazz rendition of “Take Me Out to The Ballgame.”

Concert tickets may be purchased ahead of time at the SFA Fine Arts Box Office for $10. Tickets at the door will be $15. For tickets or more information, visit finearts.sfasu.edu.

The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House will partner with the Nacogdoches Public Library and its National Endowment for the Arts Big Read Nacogdoches project to present a screening of Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 masterpiece, “Seven Samurai.”

A free, one-night screening of the Oscar-nominated film is scheduled for 7 p.m. Oct. 11 at Cole Art Center. Refreshments will be provided.

The story takes place in 1586 during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. According to the film description at imdb.com, a veteran samurai, who has fallen on hard times, answers a village's request for protection from bandits. He gathers six other samurai to help him. They teach the townspeople how to defend themselves, and they supply the samurai with three small meals a day. The film culminates in a giant battle when 40 bandits attack the village.

The Big Read activities will take place in October and will culminate with the annual Dia de los Muertos Fiesta on Nov. 2.

For more information about the screening, call (936) 468-1131.

Artist Philip Barlow’s bokeh-style pieces are a trick of the eye, in more ways than one.

The out-of-focus scenes, which appear to be photographs, are actually oil paintings depicting how people with bad eyesight see the world without glasses.

His newest series “Night” show city scenes overlaid with blurry orbs of light, but he also has a beach series all appearing as if the “camera” was placed outside the depth of field.

Focus in on more of Barlow's art here.