SFA students create bulletin boards for Boys and Girls Club of Nacogdoches

Stephen F. Austin State University sophomore elementary education major Rebecca Frescas of Waco centers letters on a basketball-themed bulletin board to create the title "Shoot for Success" at the Boys and Girls Club of Nacogdoches. Dr. Rachel Jumper, assistant professor in SFA's School of Human Sciences, tasked students in her family, school and community relations course with creating bulletin boards at the Boys and Girls Club of Nacogdoches.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Inside a crowded gymnasium, Stephen F. Austin State University students staple blue construction paper to a gray wall and center the words "Shoot for Success" on their basketball-themed bulletin board at the Boys and Girls Club of Nacogdoches.

Dr. Rachel Jumper, assistant professor in SFA's School of Human Sciences, partnered with the Boys and Girls Club of Nacogdoches to design a class project for her family, school and community relations course. The Boys and Girls Club of Nacogdoches is an organization dedicated to enabling all young people to reach their full potential as productive, caring and responsible citizens.

"Our course is about how the community, schools and families interact with each other to help raise our children," Jumper said. "This is one example of how an afterschool program helps provide children with a safe place where they can hang out, have fun, relax and receive homework help, and our college students get to be a part of that."

The class was divided into groups, and each group was assigned a different area within the club to create a bulletin board. One group, for example, created a student of the month bulletin board resembling a stage with spotlights. Students also learned how to work within a limited budget.

"This project is a way for us to experience something future educators would do such as creating bulletin boards, helping kids and giving back to our community," said Chelsea Villanueva, Texarkana freshman and elementary education major at SFA.

The project is being funded by a service learning mini grant from the Office of Student Engagement.