Student from Rusk earns Best of SFA Award
May 6—Callie Lynn, of Rusk, was awarded Stephen F. Austin State University Division of Student Affairs' Best of SFA Award to recognize her areas of scholarship, participation and leadership in academic and co-curricular activities as well as service and loyalty to the university.
Lynn was honored during the Lumberjack Achievement Awards Banquet.
"This is a difficult award to select, as many of our student leaders deserve recognition for their contributions to the SFA community," said Lacey Folsom, director of Student Engagement. "However, the committee found Lynn as a wonderful representative of the passion, dedication and spirit that is rooted in the Best of SFA Award."
Lynn is a Jack Walker, Orientation leader, Jack Camp counselor and a research assistant in the Bruck Integrative Biology Lab. She is the president of the SFA Biology Club and on the Omicron Delta Kappa national leadership and honor society service committee. As a member of Omicron Delta Kappa, Lynn helped plan and host a Special Olympics for the East Texas community last year for local special needs children. She has also volunteered at the Nacogdoches County Animal Shelter, MLK Day of Service and the Big Event. Slated to graduate in December, Lynn will stay at SFA and pursue a master's degree in biology, continuing the work she began during her undergraduate degree. Currently, she participates in research with Atlantic bottlenose dolphins and beluga whales to learn more about each species and contribute to ongoing conservation efforts. She hopes to lead her own research projects focused on saving wildlife.
Stephen F. Austin State University, the newest member of The University of Texas System, began a century ago as a teachers' college in Texas' oldest town, Nacogdoches. Today, it has grown into a regional institution comprising six colleges: business, education, fine arts, forestry and agriculture, liberal and applied arts, and sciences and mathematics. Accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, SFA enrolls approximately 11,000 students while providing the academic breadth of a state university with the personalized attention of a private school. The main campus encompasses 421 acres that include 37 academic facilities, nine residence halls, and 68 acres of recreational trails that wind through its six gardens. The university offers more than 80 bachelor's degrees, more than 40 master's degrees and four doctoral degrees covering more than 120 areas of study. Learn more at sfasu.edu.
