NACOGDOCHES, Texas — As the seasons change and the holidays approach, Stephen F. Austin State University’s Jacks Council on Family Relations is preparing for its annual food drive, Thanksgiving Homebound.

In 2011, the student-led group started Thanksgiving Homebound as a way to help area families during the holidays. Initially, the group fed nine families. That number has now grown to more than 100.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas — Stephen F. Austin State University graduate student Alyssa Abreu recently received the Donald A. Pegg Student Leadership Award from the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.

The award was established in honor of Pegg, a New York City businessman who suffered a heart attack and stroke in 1986 at the age of 52. Pegg changed his lifestyle by altering his diet and adding exercise to his daily routine. These lifestyle changes helped Pegg live 27 more years.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas — Whether cleaning out gutters, raking yards or painting homes, statistics produced by the Stephen F. Austin State University Office of Student Engagement show SFA students logged almost 200,000 hours of volunteer service in 2015-16.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Wind Symphony and the Symphonic Band at Stephen F. Austin State University will present “Tricks and Treats,” a selection of music in the spirit of the season, when the bands perform at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 18, in W.M. Turner Auditorium on the SFA campus.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Stephen F. State University College of Fine Arts and School of Music will present “Captured Memories: The Songs of Charles Ives” at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 17, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

The concert will feature music faculty members Debbie Berry, Charlotte Davis and Emily Milius, sopranos; Nita Hudson, mezzo soprano; Scott LaGraff and Chris Turner, baritones; Garry Leonberger, tenor; Christina Guenther, piccolo; and Ron Petti, piano.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas — Inside Stephen F. Austin State University’s American Sign Language Lab, a black sign with neon lettering outlines the rules, including, “No voice. None at all. Not even whispering.”

The lab, which provides recording booths, web cameras, games, books, DVDs and more, gives students who are enrolled in ASL courses a place to practice signing and provides a point of contact for the community’s deaf.

While in the lab, people must use only sign language and facial expressions, known as facial grammar, to communicate.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Stephen F. Austin State University College of Fine Arts and School of Art will open the exhibition “Devon Nowlin: Don’t Deny Your Heart” with a reception from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 20, in Griffith Gallery on the SFA campus.

The show, which runs Oct. 20 through Dec. 9, features paintings and altered digital prints. Nowlin’s work reflects a personal and market-driven desire to, in her own words, “curate environments and personas that aspire for a lifestyle of casual luxury,” according to John Handley, director of galleries at SFA.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Tickets are still available for the Big Head Blues Club performance at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13, in W.M. Turner Auditorium on the Stephen F. Austin State University campus.

The Big Head Blues Club, featuring Big Head Todd and the Monsters with Mud Morganfield, Billy Branch, Ronnie Baker Brooks and Erica Brown, will present “Way Down Inside: Songs of Willie Dixon,” a performance that pays tribute to one of the pillars of modern blues. The show, which is part of the SFA College of Fine Arts’ University Series, is sponsored in part by Lehmann Eye Center.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas — Stephen F. Austin State University’s SFA Gardens will host a hands-on container gardening seminar featuring Sharon Lee Smith from 9 a.m. to noon Nov. 5 at the Brundrett Conservation Education Building at the SFA Pineywoods Native Plant Center, 2900 Raguet St.

Smith will help home gardeners learn the “hows” and “whys” of container gardening, as cheerful container gardens provide beauty and color during the winter. Participants will then put their knowledge to use by creating their own exquisite container garden to take home.