Distinguished Review: The Graduate Studies Magazine, Volume 3 by SHSU Graduate Studies

VOLUME 3 • FALL 2015

Distinguished Review

The Graduate Studies Magazine

GRADUATE STUDIES

MESSAGES FROM THE PRESIDENT & INTERIM DEAN OF GRADUATE STUDIES It is my pleasure to present Volume 3 of Distinguished Review: The Graduate Studies Magazine. At Sam Houston State University, our Bearkats are clawing their way to impressive heights in both the nonprofit and private sectors. Moreover, our graduate students conduct research vital not only to Texas, but also the nation and world. Interestingly, our graduate students find work in a variety of industries–from the Trust, a nonprofit organization affiliated with the National Football League, which is dedicated to the wellbeing of retiring players, to television networks like FOX, producing original content for broadcast. As you peruse this publication, you will find a sampling of research that directly impacts the economy of the State of Texas. For example, graduate students at the Texas Invasive Species Institute located at Sam Houston State University combat the spread of exotic insects like the tawny crazy ant, which poses severe threats to agribusiness and ecology in the Lone Star State. Meanwhile, our graduate students are reshaping the future of medicine with mathematical models capable of predicting the effectiveness of certain drugs prior to the development phase. As President, I am deeply proud of the marks left by our faculty and graduate students on industry and research. I hope you enjoy learning about their accomplishments and breakthroughs as much as I have. For more information on our graduate programs, please visit the webpage of the Office of Graduate Studies: shsu.edu/dept/graduate-studies/. Eat ’em up, Kats!

Dana G. Hoyt President

As Interim Dean of the Office of Graduate Studies, it is an honor to share with you the accomplishments and research of our graduate students. In the past year, Sam Houston State University has grown by leaps and bounds. During the 2014-2015 academic year, we added two new doctoral programs. First, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board approved a PhD in Forensic Science, the first in Texas. Combined with the Southeast Texas Applied Forensic Science Facility, colloquially known as the Body Farm, this degree will provide valuable access to cutting-edge research in the fields of Criminal Justice, Biology, and Chemistry–to name but a few. Sam Houston State University was also granted an EdD in Instructional Technology. This dynamic interdisciplinary degree, fully available online, is the result of a collaborative effort between the Department of Computer Science and the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. Our University’s legacy of providing quality training for education is helping us to redefine the future of education as we know it. Beyond the addition of new degrees, our graduate students excel in business through hands-on internships with globally recognized companies, are on the forefront of scientific discoveries, and even save lives through the donation of bone marrow. The Office of Graduate Studies measures its success in terms of service to students. We engage them through academic and professional development, enrich their educational experience through access to state-of-the-art technology, and empower them to leave their mark on the world. At Sam Houston State University, our students are creating the future. Sincerely,

Mary Robbins

Associate Vice Provost and Interim Dean of Graduate Studies

Distinguished Review: The Graduate Studies Magazine Sam Houston State University ■ shsu.edu/dept/graduate-studies/ ■ Fall 2015 ■ Volume 3

CONTENTS

Accounting for Taste Q&A with José Olivares on his master’s degree in Accounting

Infesting in the Future

{Cover Story} Lance Umlang’s research on the tawny crazy ant could save the State of Texas from an invasion of epic proportions

Customizable Medicine

Graduate student Damilola Omotajo explains how her mathematical model is helping to shape the future of medicine

Game of Drones

A graduate student in Political Science interviews world-renown academic and political activist Noam Chomsky for a documentary film over drones

Relative Success

Some people put blood, sweat, and tears into their work; Oluwapelumi Ade-Kolawole, a graduate student in Health, gave his bone marrow to save the life of a complete stranger

Cousins Candice Williams and Ryan Bradford may have taken different paths, but both found success in the field of sports

Take Two!

The Gift of Life

Peer into the life of former television producer, current Digital Media master’s student, Judson Touby

Marine to Master’s

Q&A with former marine Josh Marreel about his experience in Afghanistan and his master’s degree in Security Studies

Cover Photo by Dr. Danny McDonald

Accounting for Taste

JosĂŠ Olivares recently began his masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree in Accounting after graduating with his Bachelor of Business Administration in May 2015. However, he has a long history of service to Sam Houston State University as an ambassador for the Orange Keys.

Q & A

Office of Graduate Studies: Tell us about your internship.

Olivares: I interned at Ernst & Young last summer. It was an internship in assurance, commonly referred to as auditing. The internship lasted two months, and I had two different clients to audit. I helped the full-time staff with a multitude of tasks, which made for a great experience. I was able to make some Office of Graduate Studies: What great friends, whom I hope to see is your background? again when I start next year. Overall, Olivares: I am from Madisonville, interning with Ernst & Young was a TX. I have three sisters, and I am the great experience, and I cannot wait second oldest. I am the first person to go back and start the next chapter in my family to go to college, and I in my life. am very proud of that. One of my Office of Graduate Studies: Do you goals is to be a positive example for my two younger sisters and motivate have a favorite professor or class so far? them to achieve even more than I Olivares: I am taking Accounting have if they wish to do so. I come 5355: Estate Planning, Trusts, & from a very hard-working family, Nonprofit with Dr. Taylor Klett. and I have taken that with me as This is my favorite class because the I have moved through my college subject is completely new to me. I career. also enjoy Dr. Klett’s style. It makes the class simple and enjoyable. Office of Graduate Studies: What made you want to come to Sam Houston State University for your graduate degree in Accounting?

Office of Graduate Studies: How would you describe your experience in graduate school?

Olivares: I decided to come to SHSU for my graduate degree in Accounting because I received an offer from Ernst & Young, an accounting firm in Houston, TX. One of the requirements of the firm is that I be eligible to sit for the Certified Public Accountant exam when I start. In order for me to do that, I need 150 hours, and the MS in Accounting here is the perfect option. It is a thirty hour program, and I knew the transition would be simple because of my familiarity with the university. On top of all of that, I love Sam Houston State University and the people I have met here, so the decision was simple.

Olivares: My experience in graduate school has been very enjoyable. Surprisingly, I have found graduate school less difficult than I expected. Perhaps this is because I find the material much more relevant, which has simplified the process.

Call, a memorial service for faculty, students, and staff who passed away during the year. It was a beautiful experience, and I look forward to engaging more with the community as I progress with the organization. Office of Graduate Studies: What is your ultimate career goal? Olivares: I would like to someday earn my PhD in Accounting. As of right now, I see teaching as my ultimate career goal. When I was involved with the ELITE program, we did mentoring for incoming freshman. Although it is not exactly teaching, I really enjoyed the process of helping younger individuals find themselves and helping them successfully progress through their first year in college. I believe teaching in a college setting would provide a similar feeling of satisfaction for me, so I would love to be able to do that someday. •

Office of Graduate Studies: Can you talk about the extracurricular activities you’re involved in? Olivares: Currently, I am involved with the Orange Keys. We serve as ambassadors for the University. I have found this experience to be very rewarding because of the type of work we engage in. This year, we were able to coordinate Raven’s

Studying in front of the Smith-Hutson Business Administration building before class. 5

Infesting in the Future

At the Texas Invasive Species Institute on the campus of Sam Houston State University, Lance Umlang, a master’s student in Biology, researches how to control infestations of tawny crazy ants with climate rather than pesticides.

rom the ports of the Gulf Coast to a network of railroads connecting Mexico to the U.S. and ultimately Canada, Texas is indisputably a vital crossroads of trade. While the Lone Star State’s location keeps its economy virile, it also makes Texas susceptible to invasive species like Nylanderia fulva, commonly known as the tawny crazy ant. Twenty-six counties have already reported infestations, the most heavily affected area being the southeast portion of the state, in particular Houston. At Sam Houston State University in nearby Huntsville, TX, Lance Umlang is working to staunch 6

the spread of this little known pest with the potential to wreak havoc on both ecology and agribusiness. Umlang’s passion for conservation developed early. He and his two brothers were raised in Conroe, TX by their father, a veterinarian, and their mother, a social worker. As the explosive economic growth of The Woodlands, TX began to spill over into neighboring Conroe during the 1990s, Umlang watched helplessly as the forests he explored as a child gave way to strip malls and chain restaurants. After high school, Umlang enrolled

at Texas A&M University where he planned to follow in his father’s footsteps by studying veterinary medicine. One of his electives was Veterinary Entomology, the study of how insects affect larger animals. “I loved being hands on in the lab, working with bugs, remembering classifications and anatomical features. Their form really followed their function. You have this basic insect body plan—three segments, six legs, one or two pairs of wings— but there are so many ways to modify it. You can immediately tell everything about an insect’s life history if you look at the modifications to its body,” Umlang said.

He changed his major and graduated with a BS in Entomology in December 2010. To increase his marketability, Umlang interned for former Representative Landham Lyne (R) from Wichita Falls, TX in a Natural Resources & Policy program at the state capitol. “It was an incredibly interesting experience getting to see how the mechanics of government work at the state level. Ultimately, I realized that, despite my own conservation leanings, not much gets done at the grassroots level. The only way to effect change is to create policy to enact laws that actually force people to adhere to certain environmental regulations,” Umlang said. When the internship ended, Umlang began searching for a graduate program. He met with Dr. Jerry Cook, Associate Vice President of Research and Sponsored Programs at Sam Houston State University.

“Dr. Cook had a lot of different areas that he felt worthy of exploration. One of the first things that came up was invasive species. I had been interested in the fire ant for a long time, but in talking with Dr. Cook I quickly realized there’s not much novel fire ant research nowadays. What’s being done is a continuation of what had previously been done, expanding our knowledge in terms of agriculture, mostly because that’s where we see the biggest impact of the fire ant—at least here in Texas,” Umlang said. Dr. Cook encouraged Umlang to consider studying the tawny crazy ant, a species Umlang had never before encountered. Dr. Cook put him in touch with Dr. Danny McDonald, a post-doctoral fellow at the Texas Research Institute for Environmental Studies (TRIES) at Sam Houston State University. TRIES is also home to the Texas Invasive Species Institute (TSIS), the

first comprehensive research effort in Texas focused on early detection and elimination of multiple invasive species. In 2011, Texas State University System Chancellor Brian McCall announced the establishment of TSIS at Sam Houston State University. Here, researchers use GIS mapping and predictive modeling to develop management plans for invasive species like Nylanderia fulva. Although Dr. McDonald had earned his PhD from Texas A&M only recently, he was already one of the foremost experts in the U.S. on this relatively unknown species. “To be perfectly honest, Danny’s the reason I am where I am now. He taught me everything about basic research, not to mention the tawny crazy ant,” Umlang said. Umlang quickly discovered the complexity and mystery of the

Up close and personal with Nylanderia fulva, better known as the tawny crazy ant. Photo by Dr. Danny McDonald. 7

Umlang prepares for an experiment. tawny crazy ants’ invasion history. One reason it has been difficult to pinpoint the species is because it has been labeled under several common names and even a few genera. Originating in the rainforests of South America where competition for natural resources helped them to develop impressive defense mechanisms, tawny crazy ants moved northward gradually through human activity. Historical accounts of plague ants in the Caribbean islands likely refer to this species. It’s thought that the tawny crazy ant first made landfall on U.S. soil 8

in Florida in the early 1990s when residents began reporting infestations of an insect referred to as the Caribbean crazy ant. Nylanderia fulva’s common name changed once again in the early 2000s when a pest control operator by the name of Tom Rasberry identified a new invasive species that came to be known eponymously as the Rasberry crazy ant, much to the chagrin of the Entomological Society of America (ESA). The ESA prefers that common names of insects be based on a physical description or a lifestyle trait of the insect.

The name Rasberry crazy ant is misleading because it refers to neither. The general public often assumes this ant is pinkish red in color or that it has an affinity for raspberries. Thus, the ESA strongly discourages the use of the Rasberry crazy ant in favor of the tawny crazy ant. Entomologists classify the tawny crazy ant as a tramp ant due to its transient nature. Tawny crazy ants don’t carve out multi-chambered colonies deep underground, nor do they march single file when they search for food. As their name implies, they teem madly over ev-

encounters rival ants like the fire ant, it sprays its foe with a blast of formic acid, almost instantly turning the fire ant into a husk. Texas residents have embraced tawny crazy ants because they are one of the few species that has been able to successfully push out the fire ant, but failing to control tawny crazy ants could have a detrimental impact on the Texas economy.

erything, taking up residence in any small cavity. This habit makes them a problematic invasive species, but it also may be the key to controlling them. Unlike the fire ant, the tawny crazy ant lacks a stinger. Instead, it has an acidopore, a small hairy tube located underneath its abdomen and from which it discharges formic acid. For insects, survival hinges on retaining moisture. Formic acid causes desiccation: It saps moisture out of any tissue with which it comes in contact. When the tawny crazy ant

Most worrisome are the direct and indirect threats the tawny crazy ant poses to agriculture. Like all insects, tawny crazy ants attack crops and livestock in both industrial farms and personal gardens. They asphyxiate newborn livestock by clogging their nasal passages. As an exotic species with no natural predators, the tawny crazy ant population has the potential to become a serious outbreak. Tawny crazy ants indirectly cause the aphid population to explode. Aphids, also known as plant lice, are tiny insects that feed on vegetation—but what they lack in size, they more than make up for in destructiveness. Aphids feast on crops and excrete a sugary liquid that tawny crazy ants drink. Tawny crazy ants are unique

in this respect because few ant species are capable of exploiting aphid excrement as an additional food resource. Bizarrely, tawny crazy ants raise aphids like cattle, protecting them from other predatory insects. Tawny crazy ants negatively impact agriculture in another unexpected way by attacking their distant hymenopteran cousin, the bee. Declining bee populations have received widespread media attention recently due to the vital role bees play in agriculture in terms of pollination. Now, the tawny crazy ant challenges the survival of the fragile bee population by invading hives in search of bee larva, also known as brood. “Brood are essentially little protein-filled burritos. The adult bees try to fend the ants off, but they get swarmed, overpowered, and ripped apart basically,” Umlang said. To combat these threats, Umlang focused on using climate, not pesticides, to control the spread of tawny crazy ants. The problem with using pesticides is that they can’t single out a particular species. They kill all insects, good and bad. Many scientists believe the widespread use of pesticides is the leading cause of the vanishing bee population. Umlang wanted to know how temperature affects tawny crazy ants. Because every organism’s habitat is determined by where it can live and what it can withstand, Umlang focused on two aspects of biology important to an invasive species succeeding in a new territory. First, he wanted to know at what temperature the tawny crazy ant could survive. Next, he wanted to determine the temperature at which 9

Upper left: Tawny crazy ants crawl over plastic vials. Bottom left: The ants are fed a protein-rich diet laced with sugar. Right: Umlang readies equipment to carry out his experiments.

tawny crazy ants could procreate. After hours of observation and testing, he determined that tawny crazy ants could withstand the extreme temperatures of Southeast Texas better than other invasive ant species like the fire ant. While other ants are forced to retreat underground to avoid soaring temperatures, the tawny crazy ant can still forage for food. Conversely, he learned that tawny crazy ants have been limited in their northward expansion by the colder temperatures of North Texas. According to Umlang, entomologists believe that fire ants have been able to move northward because they burrow underground, and perhaps

this is the reason fire ants, who also hail from South America, have been able to adapt to their new environment. The tawny crazy ant, however, is exposed to the elements due to its lack of underground colonies. Similarly, the tawny crazy ant seems to be limited in its westward expansion due to the lack of moisture its desert climate affords. Only time and additional research will tell. Umlang hopes to be a part of our evolving knowledge of this ant species. “I really think that what I’m doing is of benefit to future conservation efforts, and I’d like to see myself working some day for a governmental agency, something like the

Environmental Protection Agency or even the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, somewhere I can best use my experiences and knowledge to benefit Texas and maybe even the country as a whole. I grew up here. This is my home. I love this state. I love the diversity we have here, and I know that if we don’t continue to increase our knowledge of invasive species, we are going to lose out. We are going to see dramatic collapses of certain ecosystems and loss of species that we have grown up with. And that I think is important not just for me, but for my kids one day,” Umlang said.—W.R. •

Posing at the Texas Invasive Species Institute, where Umlang works under the direction of Drs. Jerry Cook and Danny McDonald. 12

Relative Success Cousins Candice Williams and Ryan Bradford grew up in households where sports were a favorite pasttime. Williams now works for the Trust, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping retiring NFL players acclimate to life ourside sports. For more on Bradford, see page 15.

hen most people think of football, the last thing on their minds is mental health counseling. Yet Candice Williams has made an impressive career by blending the two. She works as a Program Manager for the Trust, an organization committed to the wellbeing of former NFL players. Williams’s stratospheric rise began in Huntsville, TX where she was born and raised. At Huntsville High School, Williams discovered a passion for art and decided to become an art therapist. At Texas A&M University, Williams studied Psychology, but she also

worked as a class checker for the Athletics Department, making sure that student athletes were attending classes. After obtaining her bachelor’s degree, Williams enrolled in the master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Sam Houston State University. While pursuing her degree, she also worked full-time as an academic advising coordinator in the College of Criminal Justice for three years. However, the program required her to have an internship, so she quit her job as an academic advising coordinator without having another posi-

tion lined up. “I felt changing career paths was necessary in order for me to reach my ultimate career goal of working in sports,” Williams said. In 2011, Williams applied for a parttime job at Children’s Safe Harbor, a nonprofit organization for children who are the victims of abuse. After making it to the second round of interviews for the job, she was informed that she didn’t get the job. “I asked them if I could still do an internship. It doesn’t have to be paid. I’ll just do it for free and figure something out. And then they called 13

me the day before I was supposed to meet with them and asked me if I wanted a job,” Williams said.

LinkedIn account.

Meanwhile, Williams was serving as a moderator at the Undergraduate For the remainder of her master’s Research Symposium. In particudegree, Williams worked at Chillar, one student’s presentation over dren’s Safe Harbor part-time and art therapy caught her interest. She completed her internship hours. struck up a conversation with the Upon graduation, the Executive student and her father afterward. As Director informed her that she had the conversation turned to Williams’s submitted a grant and wanted to hire own career ambitions, the student’s her. Williams continued working for father, a lawyer, suggested she work Children’s Safe Harbor for the next 3 for the Union for the NFL. years until she decided it was time to step out on faith a second time and “I kid you not: The next day I got pursue a career in sports head on. online and there was a position for the Trust,” Williams said. “I liked what I was doing. I liked getting the clinical experience. How- In the span of four weeks, Williams ever, I knew I wanted to work in applied for the job as a project sports,” Williams said. manager, was flown to Washington DC, and was hired. As a Program Once again, Williams stepped out on Manager, Williams helps former faith. She left her job at Children’s NFL players (i.e., post-NFL career) Safe Harbor and began looking for with mental health challenges. After a position related to sports where consultation, Williams she could use her counseling skills. connects them with a Then, she stumbled across an therapist. opening for an athletic intern in the Athletics Department working in “Another aspect is Compliance at Sam Houston State that I, along with University. three other members on the clinical team “I was in a mad dash between within the Trust and December and the first of the year, the NFL Players trying to get everything in to Coach Association, rotate a Curtis Collier so that I could intercrisis hotline. I may view in January. I liked that it was have a player who at the University. It was 20 hours a gets my number from week, so I would have time to write another player, whom my dissertation,” Williams said. I’ve helped. He may need to talk to someDuring her time as an intern, one or may need to be Williams attended the NFL Comreferred for financial bine Football Career Conference counseling. It runs sponsored by Sports Management the gamut in terms Worldwide, a networking event for of what they need,” those aspiring to a career in sports. Williams explained. One session in particular convinced Williams of the need to update her 14

The issues former football players face mirror those of the general population, such as transitioning out of a career, divorce, or loss of a loved one. What complicates matters is that, as athletes, they are public figures who have to face the stigma tied to mental health in the spotlight. Thankfully, Williams doesn’t struggle with being star struck by all the high-profile players she meets. She sees them as clients, and more importantly as regular people. Williams often repeats this mantra: “You are more than football.” “My passion for helping others combined with my desire to follow my dreams has positioned me in the career that I once dreamed of having. I hope that my experience inspires others to follow their educational and career goals. If I can do it, they can too,” Williams said.

Whereas his cousin, Candice Williams, found success by counseling football players, Bradford is leaving his mark on the media and communications side of sports. Currently working with programming at FOX Sports in The Woodlands, TX, Bradford hopes to one day step in front of the camera.

Meanwhile, her cousin, Ryan Bradford, is enjoying a lucrative career in the sports industry as a network operations assistant with FOX Sports in The Woodlands, TX. He is assigned two regions, FOX Sports Ohio and FOX Sports Southwest. Each month, he takes programming created by these regions and schedules it to be aired. A proud alumnus, Bradford’s family has strong ties to Sam Houston State University. Not only is his cousin Candice pursuing her PhD in Counselor Education, but his sister and brother also graduated from Sam Houston State University. His sister, Jennifer, studied Education and now teaches in Bradford’s hometown, Coldspring, TX. His younger brother, Keith, recently graduated from the College of Business Administra-

tion with a degree in Management. His mother, Janis, even works in the Office of Financial Aid. Bradford has always had a sports background, but it wasn’t immediately clear to him that it should be his career. He played as a linebacker for the Bearkats under former coach Ron Randleman, but his career-mindedness convinced him to focus on his academic pursuits. “It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do, but I knew being versatile would make me successful in the job market. I love computers and design, so after speaking with Chuck Drumm in the Art Department, I decided to turn to graphic design. I fell in love with it. I would stay in the library until 1:00 a.m. doing tutorials, learning

Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator,” Bradford said. In 2008, Bradford graduated from Sam Houston State University with his bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design. He found work as a freelancer until a job with the Houston Texans opened. It turned out that his supervisor, Jeremy Thomas, had played as a point guard for the Sam Houston State University basketball team; they discovered that they had also been former classmates. Thomas encouraged Bradford to apply for the master’s degree in Kinesiology-Sports Management. “Dr. Ryan Zapalac and Dr. Brent Estes do a great job with the program. It touches on every aspect of sports management from facilities management to communication. 15

They are so connected with the organizations in Houston. It gave us the opportunity to get in front of the top executives,” Bradford said. Because the Sports Management track requires an internship, Bradford applied to work for the Houston Rockets under then-director Nelson Luis, who now works for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This hands-on internship put him in direct contact with players like Royce White, Chandler Parsons, and Patrick Patterson. “Media day was one of the biggest days of my internship. It was at the House of Blues. Everyone is assigned a player, and I drew Chandler Parsons. I had to get him to each station for interviews and photo-

shoots. That day was special to me. I had no idea I was going to be so involved,” Bradford said. During this time, Bradford made valuable contacts in both the Houston and national media. For example, he met Tim Frank, Senior Vice President of Communications for the NBA. Furthermore, Skip Bayless from ESPN2’s First Take personally approached Bradford to inquire about where he was attending school and what his career goals were. When his internship concluded, he was hired by the Houston Rockets as a communications assistant for the 2013-2014 season. In addition to increased responsibility, he was able to travel with the team to Philadelphia and New York.

Bradford believes you should dress for the job you want. 16

Then, he noticed that a network operations position became available at FOX Sports in The Woodlands. Through networking, Bradford was able to secure an interview and was ultimately hired. “I started on November 3, 2014. I work at The Woodlands location, the heart and soul of FOX Sports networking and engineering. All the FOX Sports regions around the country send their programming to us, and we broadcast it,” Bradford said. According to Bradford, one of the many benefits of working at FOX Sports is upward mobility. In terms of future plans, he hopes to eventually put his talents to use in front of the camera—perhaps at their location in Los Angeles.—W.R. •

Take Two!

Four time Daytime Emmy Award winner Judson Touby left the fast-paced world of television to pursue his master’s degree in Digital Media at Sam Houston State University, where he’s learning about the latest trends in social media.

udson Touby comes to Sam Houston State University with previous work experience as a four time Daytime Emmy Award winner with over a decade of experience in the television industry. A native Floridian growing up in Miami, it was Touby’s love of television that drove him to earn his bachelor of science in communication from the University of Miami, where he double majored in electronic media and creative writing. After receiving his degree in 1999, Touby moved to Los Angeles to pursue his career in television. “I didn’t know anybody when I moved to Los Angeles and had no idea how to get a job in TV. I cold-called production companies, faxed them resumes and mailed out

hundreds of VHS tapes of my demo reel to all the talent agencies and received hundreds of rejection letters. In the spring of 2000, I got my first break being hired as a production assistant on an MTV series called The Blame Game,” Touby said. The Blame Game was a pun-heavy show where contestants went headto-head against an ex-lover with the intent of placing the blame for the failed relationship on the other. In a comedic courtroom setting, they were provided witty council, and the studio audience served as the jury. The contestant who won over the jury was awarded an elaborate vacation. On his first day on the job, Touby’s talent was immediately recognized by the show’s supervising producer,

who promoted him from a production assistant to the series script supervisor. When The Blame Game ended production, Touby found work as a research production assistant for FOX’s daytime reality court series Divorce Court and Power of Attorney. His job consisted of copying small claims court filings from various courthouses throughout Southern California. The show producers would then contact the parties involved in the legal dispute and entice them to resolve their disputes on television in a legally binding arbitration procedure. “I never imagined I’d work in daytime television. My dream was to write and produce sitcoms, but the reality television phenomenon was changing the landscape of network television. American Idol, Who Wants 17

Pictured above: Judson Touby’s fourth Daytime Emmy, which he won for Last Shot with Judge Gunn, a courtroon reality show. to Be a Millionaire, and The Weakest Link had replaced primetime sitcoms and dramas. Reality shows were popular with viewers and much less expensive for the studios to produce,” Touby said.

for just a few months when he was hired as a researcher. But three weeks into his job, he was offered a promotion to an associate producer, which included a two year contract with FOX.

The popularity of reality TV with audiences and the low cost of production quickly permeated daytime television. Audiences had already been pulling away from daytime soap operas in favor of talk shows. However, Judge Judy brought the court show genre to the forefront of daytime television in the 2000s.

Six months later he was promoted again, to a series producer, and was assigned to assist in the launch of a new FOX court series Texas Justice, produced out of FOX 26 in Houston. This was Touby’s first experience in the Lone Star State. In the course of his career, Touby has produced on seven daytime court shows.

Not only were these daytime court shows popular with audiences, but they were also very inexpensive to produce. As many as 30 episodes could be produced in a single week and an entire season in just a few months. Touby says that he had only expected to work on daytime court shows 18

“When most people hear the term producer, they automatically assume that it’s about acquiring financing for productions. While that can sometimes be the case, a producer’s job is to do whatever it takes to get the job done on time. In the world of daytime court, that can be anything from making sure your guests make

their flights to bailing them out of jail—and, of course, ensuring that they perform with passion on the show. A successful producer possesses the ability to creatively problem solve in the midst of a catastrophe,” Touby said. On a daily basis, working as a daytime court show producer isn’t much different than being a telemarketer. Touby would cold-call people involved in small claims disputes and convince them that it would be in their best interest to air their personal lives on national television. However, they guaranteed their money if they won their case, which isn’t often likely in small claims court. In between producing court series for FOX, Touby produced for TelePictures short-lived talk show The Sharon Osborne Show, as well as other series for cable and national syndication before returning to FOX in 2007 to produce the daytime

court series Cristina’s Court, which was executive produced by Peter Brennan, creator of Judge Judy. At this point, somewhere between 10 and 15 court shows were on daytime television. Their overwhelming popularity convinced the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences to create a new Emmy category—the Outstanding Legal Courtroom Program. Ostensibly, the purpose of this new category was to allow Judge Judy to finally win an Emmy. Although her show had been nominated for Emmys prior to the creation of the Outstanding Legal Courtroom Program category, stiff competition had prevented Judge Judy from winning. Unfortunately, an Emmy was not in the cards for Judge Judy. Touby’s show, Cristina’s Court, swept the daytime Emmys for the first three years after the Outstanding Legal Courtroom Program category was created. It was later unceremonious-

ly canceled. Afterward, Touby again found work as a producer and won a fourth Emmy for Last Shot with Judge Gunn.

Although Touby only has a couple of semesters under his belt, he feels that he has already learned a great deal.

“I said to myself, ‘You know that might be enough.’ I was ready to do something different,” Touby said.

“The professors here are brilliant, especially Dr. Robin Johnson. He’s scary brilliant. He makes the difficult material understandable. I’m hoping to get more classes with him,” Touby said.

His mother suggested graduate school, and Touby combined this idea with the knowledge that he wanted to settle in Texas. During his time here as a producer, he was struck by the friendliness of the people. It also doesn’t hurt that Houston is the sixth largest media market in the U.S. Touby moved to Kingwood, TX and was searching for a hands-on graduate degree in the media field, preferably one with a production track, when Sam Houston State University announced a new Digital Media master’s degree in Fall 2014. Intrigued, Touby applied for the first cohort.

In particular, Touby wants to learn about the use and best practices of new technology, especially social media. This fall he intends to start producing shows for the campus TV station and ultimately, he plans to stay in Texas and hopes to work for a Texas university, producing multimedia content. “I love talking about television. It would be fun to teach students how to make content and to help them find their creative voices,” Touby said.—W.R. •

In the studio located in the Dan Rather Mass Communications building at Sam Houston State University. 19

Marine to Master’s Former marine Josh Marreel (R) moved to Huntsville, TX to be near his friend and fallen soldier, Wade Wilson’s (L) family. Later, he enrolled in the master’s degree in Security Studies at Sam Houston State University, where he’s adding to his knowledge of Homeland Security. Office of Graduate Studies: What that was taken of him being carried

Q & A

Office of Graduate Studies: Tell us about yourself. Marreel: I’m from a small town in northeast Nebraska called Hooper. I graduated from high school in 2007 and went straight into the Marine Corps. After four years in the military, I did my undergraduate degree at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. 20

made you decide to enlist as a marine?

Marreel: The big turning point was 9/11. I was in middle school at the time and, to this day, I remember exactly where I was when it happened. Throughout high school, I visited with different recruiters—everyone from the National Guard to the Navy. It seemed like I talked to everyone but the Marine Corps. In December of my senior year, I saw a Marine Corps booklet and started looking through it. I called the recruiting office in Omaha. That week a recruiter and another guy by the name of Sergeant Major Brad Kasal came and visited with me. Kasal was actually a Navy Cross recipient. He received this award as a First Sergeant and is known for a picture

out of a firefight by two of his men. This picture has been seen everywhere, including Time magazine. He asked me what I wanted to do and I said, “Infantry.” I graduated from high school in May. By June, I was in San Diego at the Marine Corps Recruit Dept. Then, I was stationed in Pendleton, California for those four years with the 3rd Battalion First Marines (3/1). I did two deployments. One was on a ship. We were out in the ocean during the Beijing Olympics as a reaction force, trained with the Philippine Marines and other countries’ militaries, and had the opportunity to visit Iwo Jima. After that, I was stationed in Helmand Province in Afghanistan for 7 months from May to November of 2010.

Office of Graduate Studies: What is the function of the Marines in a place like Afghanistan where there is no water?

Mass Communication department who filmed a short video about Wade called Brotherhood.

Marreel: It’s a different lifestyle than being on ship for 6 months. You’re constantly on the lookout. You’re living with the same 14 guys for 7 months. Our mission was foot patrol and to continue pushing our border south toward Pakistan.

Office of Graduate Studies: Can you elaborate on the video, Brotherhood? Marreel: It’s about 12 or 13 minutes long. One of the members at the CrossFit gym, Erika Fernandez, had a project for class and asked us

if she could do it over Wade. Now her professor is encouraging her to submit it to a festival. It truly shows how one guy made an impact on many lives. It was perfectly done. Office of Graduate Studies: What are you learning about in your master’s degree in Security Studies?

Office of Graduate Studies: This might be a little difficult to talk about, but didn’t you lose a good friend during the war? Marreel: Yes, my buddy Wade Wilson from Centerville, TX. He served with me, and he and I became really close. He was a machine gun squad leader attached to our squad. We were supposed to get out together in 2011. We were going to go to Colorado State University, but he ended up staying in. He switched over to 2/5, 2nd Battalion 5th Marines and deployed again. When he was overseas the second time, on May 11th 2012, he was ambushed while saving a couple of Marines. For his actions, he received the Silver Star. Actually, there is a whole other side of the story with Taylor Swift. I made a video about Wade and posted it to YouTube. It went viral, and she got a hold of it. She wore his dog tags in a music video, sent flowers to his funeral, and called his mom. Kid Rock also called. It was unreal. I told his family that at some point I would move down here. Once I graduated, I still had a year on my GI Bill and my squad leader had enrolled at Sam Houston State University and started a CrossFit gym, CrossFit Stars and Bars, here in Huntsville, TX. I was accepted to the master’s degree in Security Studies, and since then I met with some students from the

Marreel spent time in Helmand Province, Afghanistan during the Invasion of Iraq. 21

Marreel: We learn about terrorism, which was something I was familiar with from my time in the Marine Corps. Some of the courses are Academic Community Engagement (ACE) classes, including Crisis Management with Dr. Magdalena Denham. I think the ACE classes are amazing. It’s hands-on learning. My class and I compiled a 20 page emergency plan focused on emergency management for an intellectually disabled community. One thing we have noticed is that many emergency management plans do not consider this population. Office of Graduate Studies: How do you fight terrorism? Marreel: That was one of the first things we talked about our second semester. We discussed what is terrorism? It’s a vague word. Constantly, terrorism is evolving and changing, just like everything else. Now, we are worried about lone wolf terrorism. These guys are popping up everywhere. With social media, you can contact somebody halfway across the world by a tweet. Terrorism can be completely underground or it can be big. State-sponsored

terrorism might be easier to combat, but ISIS, one of our current threats, is not a state-sponsored group. You can’t declare war on it. That’s what makes it difficult. For me, I believe the best way to fight terrorism is the way we did it in the Marines. Office of Graduate Studies: Can you talk about your experience as a teaching assistant? What are your responsibilities? Marreel: As a teaching assistant, I help Dr. Nathan Jones with two of his classes, Zombies and Homeland Security and Border Security. I usually teach 5 or 6 times a semester. I make tests and quizzes and grade them. I also keep up with the attendance and hold office hours once or twice a week. I give them my cellphone number so that they can call or text me. I keep open lines of communication and an opendoor policy. My two biggest goals in teaching are if they can relate to me, I think they can actually learn something and the fact that I want them to take more than just the material from the class. I want them to take actual life material that they can use in real world. They are the next gen-

Some of Marreel’s memorabilia from his time as a marine. 22

eration; we must invest in teaching them. I think Dr. Jones and I must be doing something right because we went from 45 students in our first semester working together to 65 our next semester. Office of Graduate Studies: Can you talk about the Zombies and Homeland Security class? Marreel: It’s very interesting. Dr. Jones came up with the class based on the idea that if you plan for a zombie epidemic, you would essentially be planning for any type of emergency. You’re looking at it as emergency management in the big picture. We relate it to pandemics and epidemics. We talk about biological and chemical warfare. The odds of a zombie pandemic happening are none, yet it interests college students. You can relate the material to popular culture–TV shows like The Walking Dead or movies like World War Z. This class was Dr. Jones’ first class teaching here at Sam Houston State University, and I was impressed with it. The class went really well and received a lot of positive feedback. Office of Graduate Studies: What are your plans after you graduate? Marreel: I would like to end up on the federal law enforcement level working for the FBI, ATF, or DEA. I’m keeping my options open. In January 2016, I’ll be doing my internship with the Postal Service in Houston, as an inspector. Dr. Jim Dozier has been great in lining up internships and can put you in areas that pique your interest. He thought the inspector internship would be a good fit for me, giving me the chance to work with a lot of different agencies. •

Customizable Medicine With plans to become a physician scientist, Damilola Omotajo is already contributing to scientific discovery through predictive modeling. But she’s not doing it for the recognition: She wants to give back to her country. While Nigerian-born Damilola Omotajo speaks another language— Yoruba, to be exact—that’s not what she means when she says she studies translation. As a trained scientist and master’s student in biology, Omotajo’s research spotlights the translation of genetic information in bacteria.

“Translation just means the level of protein synthesis. Basically, you have the DNA, which is transcribed into Messenger RNA (mRNA), and mRNA is translated into protein. Many of the functional enzymes in the cell are proteins, so it’s important to study proteins because that is the basis of most metabolic functions,” Omotajo said.

Her research focuses on the initiation of translation. During her time at Sam Houston State University, Omotajo developed a mathematical model in Rhodobacter sphaeroides with the capability of predicting the level of protein synthesis in the bacterial cell. This model has multiple applications, chief among them bioremediation. 23

“Bioremediation is pretty much recycling pollution. Take Rhodobacter sphaeroides, which exists in lakes and streams. It’s non-pathogenic, so it’s not infectious like E. coli. But in industrial areas where you have pollution, Rhodobacter sphaeroides has been shown to actually be able to take up and metabolize pollutants, eventually producing less toxic products. These bioremediation processes have the potential to produce bionanoparticles, for example gold nanoparticles that are used in nanomedicine. While these companies are not going to stop polluting the environment, we can find a way to use Rhodobacter sphaeroides to take up the pollutants,” Omotajo said.

of its loss, and sometimes you can underestimate their importance, but they can have pleiotropic effects on the organism. That’s how numbers are to me: 1+1 seems basic, but that’s the basis of computers,” Omotajo said. Dr. Madhusudan Choudhary, Omotajo’s genetics professor and mentor, was intrigued when she told him she wanted to do biological research. Typically, mathematicians and biologists see life through different ends of the microscope.

After transferring to Sam Houston State University from Rice University in Houston, TX, Omotajo earned her bachelor’s degree in mathematics, but as a biology minor, she took several classes in genetics. To her, genes and numbers were similar.

“For mathematicians, biology is so real. You do experiments and get results to validate your hypothesis. Mathematicians like abstraction. They like to see the future, but biologists don’t really think the future exists in a predetermined trajectory. Things change. There are many parameters, including mutations that could change the path of evolution. Mathematicians can come up with a theorem that could work for 10 or 20 years. It’s more fixed for them. For biologists, there are so many variables, most of which are unknown,” Omotajo said.

“Genetics felt like mathematics because you can’t really predict the phenotype of a gene or the effect

According to Omotajo, past research has been conducted on

Perhaps even more impressive is the future application of Omotajo’s model to the field of medicine. As the daughter of an accountant and a doctor, Omotajo seems to have inherited both a head for numbers and a passion for healing. “We’re now in the era of personalized medicine, whereby you have to treat the infection based on the individual’s genetic makeup. You can use my mathematical model in medicine. Maybe you want to design a drug that targets the level of protein expression in a model system. Mathematics is very useful in that aspect,” Omotajo said.

the transcriptional mechanism in bacteria because transcription and translation are coupled. The idea is if you have a certain level of transcription, translation should follow in the same manner. “However, we’ve realized that if you tweak some factors in translation, you can have a low level of protein synthesis even if you have a high level of transcription. For example,

an abundance of mRNA species can still yield a low amount of protein if its half-life is short. Whenever you are trying to predict how much response you are getting on a proteomic scale, you need to understand the translation system as well,” Omotajo explained. Now at the end of her time at Sam Houston State University, Omotajo is busy finishing her thesis and ap-

plying to PhD programs in Medicine. She wants to be a physician scientist and return to her native country.

geria. America has trained me to explore and see different ways I can be a researcher, but I don’t want to limit my abilities,” Omotajo said.

“Nigeria can always import medicine, but we don’t have the facilities to actually design and manufacture the drugs we need. Only the rich are able to have access to these amenities. What drives me to do medical research is not America—it’s Ni-

If past behavior is a predictor of the future, it seems safe to say that Omotajo’s career opportunities are limitless.—W.R. •

Game of Drones

Documentary filmmaker Imran Jan (L) interviewed renown linguist and political activist Noam Chomsky to discuss U.S.-Pakistani relations and the future use of drones. Jan hopes this film will add a new dimension to his academic career in the field of Political Science.

(L-R) Imran Jan, a master’s student in Political Science had the rare opportunity to interview Noam Chomsky, who redefined the way people thought about language with his seminal text Syntactic Structures. But Jan was more interested in Chomsky’s take on world politics. Imran Jan was buying ice cream at a Dairy Queen in Texas when he made a life-changing phone call. He dialed the number of Noam Chomsky, who has been called the “father of modern linguistics” and is arguably one of the most famous academics living today. But it wasn’t Chomsky’s linguistic knowledge that Jan wanted to plumb—it was Chomsky’s outspoken political opinions in which Jan was interested. Chomsky’s assistant answered, and Jan asked her about the possibility of interviewing the noted academic for a documentary film he is making. 26

“We have 500 requests for interviews this year alone, and we cannot accommodate all of them,” Chomsky’s assistant told Jan. “If you can only accommodate one, please let that be me because I am his biggest fan. I love his books,” Jan said. Chomsky’s assistant laughed and told him she would forward his request verbatim. Shortly thereafter, Chomsky agreed to meet with Jan. On March 25, 2014, Jan arrived on the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where Chomsky is on faculty, and sat down with the illustrious professor for 45

minutes to discuss U.S.-Pakistani relations and drones. The topic of drones, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles, has received widespread media attention in the U.S. for the complications they present to privacy. Television news networks like CNN are beginning to use drones for reporting, but citizens worry that this new technology could jeopardize their privacy. At the same time, militaries across the world are also investigating the potential use of drones. Concerned that technological advances could lead to increased warfare in the future, Jan decided to dig deeper into the topic through a documentary

film. He wants to humanize war. Initially, he conceived of the documentary as one film, but as he explored the topic, he realized a series of documentaries would be more suitable. Each would serve as a chapter in a larger book. For example, one chapter focuses on Nabilah Rehman, the victim of a drone strike. Jan compares the virtually anonymous Rehman to world-famous Malala Yousafzai, who was shot by the Taliban. “We started filming in December 2013. We would meet people and ask, ‘What comes to your mind when you hear the word drone?’ People had interesting replies. The editing is the only thing left,” Jan said. Born in Charsadda on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, Jan earned an MBA in his homeland. For years, he worked as a journalist and even hosted a television program entitled The Debate for Khyber

News in Pakistan. However, he dreamt of studying in the United States. “I wanted to be in an academic environment, to meet people and discuss ideas,” Jan said. He moved to Houston, TX and worked at a convenience store as he researched graduate programs. Meanwhile, he continued work on the documentary film series, along with his colleague. Originally, Jan was more interested in writing, but his colleague convinced him that film has more impact. In Fall 2014, Jan was accepted to the master’s program in Political Science at Sam Houston State University. He hopes to use his time here to write a thesis and prepare for doctoral study. “I was treated very well when I visited campus. I emailed the chair of the Political Science program, Dr.

Tamara Waggener, and she took an interest in what I was doing. I started the program in Fall 2014, and right now I am a graduate assistant. I’m helping two professors, making copies and creating tests,” Jan said. While his documentary film isn’t the focus of his graduate studies, he does believe that producing a documentary, especially one in which he interviews Chomsky, will help his academic career. As of now, he plans to incorporate elements of his documentary into his thesis. Ultimately, he would like to submit it to a film festival. “I did not start this documentary with the idea that it would help me in my education, but I think it will because when you apply to a PhD program, some sort of work has to be in your background. It will be helpful if I have produced a film or if I have written a small book,” Jan said.—W.R. •

Pictured in the center of this photo is Nabilah Rehman, a refugee who is the focus of one chapter in Jan’s docuseries. 27

The Gift of Life

Through his masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s program in Health, Oluwapelumi Ade-Kolawole learned about the Be The Match program, in which volunteers donate bone marrow to save lives. The process of bone marrow extraction is long and painful. Thanks to Ade-Kolawole, a young Austrian girl was given a new lease on life.

Oluwapelumi Ade-Kolawole looks like your ordinary college student. Little would you know that he saved the life of a young girl halfway around the world. A Spring 2015 graduate of the College of Health Sciences, he came to this country driven by his dream to be a doctor and has impacted lives not only here in Huntsville, TX, but also as far away as Austria. Ade-Kolawole had what he called a fortunate upbringing in Nigeria. Hailing from Lagos, a city of 13 million people, twenty-five-yearold Ade-Kolawole came to the U.S. to pursue a health-related degree so that he could apply to medical school. He decided on Sam Houston State University because he has family and friends in Huntsville, TX and was able to enroll in the Spring 2013 semester. “I also liked the name,” Ade-Kolawole said. Ade-Kolawole will be the first person in his family in the medical field. His father is an aviator for the government of Nigeria, and his mother is a high school teacher. When he told his parents he wanted to be a doctor, they became his biggest supporters, helping him with tuition and support every step of the way. Ade-Kolawole’s undergraduate degree is in Anatomy. At Sam Houston State University, he is pursuing a master’s degree in Health, a program that will assist him in his aspirations to eventually go to his first choice medical school, the University of Pittsburgh.

When he started the program, he didn’t know much about American healthcare. His studies have opened his eyes to the vastness of the healthcare system. While working on his degree, he has explored an interest in geriatrics, a specialty in medicine that treats elderly patients. Ade-Kolawole also completed an internship with Ms. Lisa Clarkson, an adjunct professor in the College of Health Sciences. This internship consisted of setting up booths on campus to discuss healthcare topics, such as healthy eating, exercise, and sexual responsibility. He also gave presentations to groups of students like fraternities, sororities, and clubs, in addition to working with the William R. Powell Student Health and Counseling Center.

Thinking that his African roots would limit his chances to be a match, Ade-Kolawole signed up and cheek swabs were taken. Almost a year went by before he heard back from Be The Match. He turned out to be a potential match for a leukemia patient. Further testing confirmed that he was a match for an 11-year-old girl from Austria. Donating bone marrow is performed under general anesthesia, so there is no pain during the procedure, but after waking up, back pain, fatigue, and headaches are common. After the donor is unconscious, doctors extract marrow from each side of the hip. Roughly a quart of marrow is taken. The choice to donate

He worked a total of 300 hours for this program split between two semesters. His internship, along with his work at Huntsville Memorial Hospital, affirmed his desire to become a doctor by giving him firsthand experience. In his first semester at SHSU, he learned about a program called Be The Match, which connects donors with recipients for transplants of bone marrow and umbilical cord blood to treat blood cancers like leukemia.

ymous by the transplant centers. Unless both parties agree to contact each other, they may never know what happened. As Ade-Kolawole approached his final semester, he elected to take most of his classes online, an option offered by the College of Health Sciences. While geriatrics has been a new experience for him, Ade-Kolawole has several areas he wants to specialize in after medical school, but pediatrics is where his heart lies. “Little kids are wonderful. Sometimes they can be tyrants, but I like the fact that they are usually very honest when you ask them questions. They don’t lie to you like adults do to doctors,” Ade-Kolawole said with a smile. Now that he has graduated from Sam Houston State University, he is looking for a research job in the industry while applying to medical school. Ade-Kolawole’s goal is to remain in the U.S. once he finishes medical school and would love to be in Houston.

Ade-Kolawole recovers from surgery. made Ade-Kolawole reflect on how blood cancers had affected his own family. He decided to go through with the procedure in an attempt to save the girl’s life. On September 2, 2014, Ade-Kolawole lay on a gurney at Houston Methodist Hospital as a nurse prepared the anesthesia. 30

But he was back to work at the Health Center less than a week later. The movement aided in his recovery. In January 2015, he received word that his donation was used for the little girl, but he may never know the outcome of the transplant. Donor and recipient information is strictly confidential by law. Any contact between the two parties is kept anon-

Ade-Kolawole’s life has taken him halfway around the world, a journey few will undergo. A proud Bearkat, his experience is a fantastic lesson in how hard work and a supportive family can influence others far outside one’s own circle. If you ask him, Ade won’t claim to be a hero, but his life in Nigeria gave him the motivation to try to help someone in need. —Michael Mayer •

Nota bene: Contributing writer Michael Mayer is an undergraduate student who completed an internship in the Office of Graduate Studies for his Introduction to Technical Writing class. This article was his capstone project. Congratulations, Michael, on a job well done!

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS BOARD OF REGENTS THE TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM Dr. Jaime R. Garza, Chairman....................................San Antonio

William F. Scott.............................. Nederland

Rossanna Salazar, Vice Chairman......................................... Austin

Alan L. Tinsley.............................Madisonville

Charlie Amato...........................................................San Antonio

Donna N. Williams...........................Arlington

Veronica Muzquiz Edwards.......................................San Antonio

Spencer Copeland, Student Regent.....Huntsville

David Montagne.......................................................... Beaumont Vernon Reaser III..............................................................Bellaire

Brian McCall, Chancellor......................Austin

Editorial Staff Editor/Designer/Writer Weston Rose Copy Editors Dawn Caplinger Tama Hamrick Contributing Writer Michael Mayer Photographers Andrea Alfaro Dr. Stephanie Bluth Dr. Danny McDonald Creative Assistant Jennifer McCaleb

Special Thanks to

Associate VP of Marketing & Communications Kris Kaskel-Ruiz Director of Marketing & Communications Bruce Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Neal Assistant Director of Marketing & Communications Steven Keating Associate Director of Communications & PIO Julia May Communications Manager Jennifer Gauntt Assistant Director of Creative Services Amy Bass Wilson Photography and Graphics Coordinator Brian Blalock

Office of Graduate Studies SAM HOUSTON STATE UNIVERSITY Bobby K. Marks Administration Bldg., Suite 203 Box 2541 1806 Avenue J Huntsville, TX 77340 Phone: 936-294-2408 Email: gradstudies@shsu.edu