Congratulations to the students who were honored by Nicole LoStracco for their interviews with her. While all of the stories were interesting, three received special certificates.
NyJa Stevenson's article was named "Most Relevant."
Nicole Newby's article was named "Most Accurate."
Sam Arnold's article was named "Most Fun To Read."
All of the articles are listed below.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Thursday, November 15, 2007
LoStracco Interview - Daria Ricks
Picture a tall, lovely woman with long light brown hair and a smile that draws y into a direct attention, coming into a classroom. She has a pleasant voice that will exhilarate people and has a passion to make a difference on the college campus of Stephen F. Austin State University. She speaks her mind, and is not nervous when it comes to big audiences, and don’t sugar code information for anyone. Look no further, Nicole LoStracco, 37, has participated in multiple programs with Peggy Scott who is with the judicial office at Stephen F. Austin State University. She has been the guest speaker at programs like Anti-Hazing and Date Rape Prevention to many students and organizations on campus. She also talks about the dangers of alcohol, sex and drugs. “It can have a big impact on your future, you got to be careful,” she said. She participates in these programs because the judicial office at SFA asks her to and she wants to inform students of their rights. She said most of her clients are from SFA and those with whom she comes in contact in her defense office.
“Alcohol is a real big issues nowadays,” LoStracco said. She was one of the guest speakers at the program called Risk Management Training on Sept. 24. Ten days later, SFA student Nikolas Gallegos died of alcohol poisoning. She said, “Emotionally, I have to look at view of the parents, you will know when you have kids.” LoStracco, is an law attorney who grew up in the suburban San Francisco area. She was also raised in Belgium and Hawaii. Her family members to her father and her godfather were lawyers. Her father’s business transferred the family to Hawaii and that is why she spent most of her holidays on the island. She graduated from Mills College, a liberal art’s women’s university in San Francisco. When she was in her junior year in college, she had the opportunity of a lifetime to go to Spain for 18 months and soon planned to further her education and go to graduate school.
LoStracco went to Texas Tech University in Lubbock where she got her law degree. While attending Texas Tech, she met her future husband, James R. LoStracco. She decided to double her courses in the second year so they could graduate at the same time and be together after graduate school. She ended up graduating six months early. After graduating she came back to Nacogdoches and the two of them got married. They now have a daughter named Julia who is four and a half, and a son named Trey who will be two this month. After she followed her husband to Nacogdoches she needed a job. Her first year she went to Lufkin and thought of working for a bank but that did not work out for her. Then LoStracco went to practice law. “I probably spent a year doing that,” LoStracco said. She specialized in child assault cases, in which she kept doing for another couple of years.
LoStracco served eight years as an assistant district attorney in Nacogdoches and in October, 2004, she left the District Attorney’s office and opened up her own criminal defense office. LoStracco thinks that in order for lawyers to be able to help people in bad situations with the law that the client should be honest with them and she never help anyone who she does not find that are honest to her. She said, “As a defense lawyer 90 percent is plea bargaining.” In most of the cases she has dealt with, half of her clients have committed the crime and want the best plea bargain possible. She has been doing criminal defense work for a while and is now turning back to the District Attorney’s office. She said, “I believe that the numbers at the office are down and the managerial position needs to be worked out.” She also said that her friends and people who work at the office want her to come back and have told her about the problems they are faced with at their jobs.
“ I am going back because things need to be changed, LoStracco said. “One of the hardest things to do is managing people,” she said. She also believes that firing people who are not keeping up with the pace or just not cutting it is also the hardest thing to do.
LoStracco is now running in the political office to be the next district attorney. If she wins the election, she will be serving a four-year term. She is a Republican and she is running against Stephanie Stephens who is the district attorney in office at the moment. The primary is March 4, 2008 and then people will know who the next district attorney will be. If elected she will take office in January 2009. LoStracco said that if she does not win the election, she knows that she has a great job working at her own criminal defense office and if she does she will have a new exciting job that she will like.
Nicole LoStracco leads a very interesting life, filled with goals, achievements, and happiness. She has a career working at her own criminal defense office, soon will be running for District Attorney, a guest speaker at college campus giving awareness to students, and married with a husband and two kids. Nicole LoStracco is a woman who is dedicated to help students and others on a daily basis.
“Alcohol is a real big issues nowadays,” LoStracco said. She was one of the guest speakers at the program called Risk Management Training on Sept. 24. Ten days later, SFA student Nikolas Gallegos died of alcohol poisoning. She said, “Emotionally, I have to look at view of the parents, you will know when you have kids.” LoStracco, is an law attorney who grew up in the suburban San Francisco area. She was also raised in Belgium and Hawaii. Her family members to her father and her godfather were lawyers. Her father’s business transferred the family to Hawaii and that is why she spent most of her holidays on the island. She graduated from Mills College, a liberal art’s women’s university in San Francisco. When she was in her junior year in college, she had the opportunity of a lifetime to go to Spain for 18 months and soon planned to further her education and go to graduate school.
LoStracco went to Texas Tech University in Lubbock where she got her law degree. While attending Texas Tech, she met her future husband, James R. LoStracco. She decided to double her courses in the second year so they could graduate at the same time and be together after graduate school. She ended up graduating six months early. After graduating she came back to Nacogdoches and the two of them got married. They now have a daughter named Julia who is four and a half, and a son named Trey who will be two this month. After she followed her husband to Nacogdoches she needed a job. Her first year she went to Lufkin and thought of working for a bank but that did not work out for her. Then LoStracco went to practice law. “I probably spent a year doing that,” LoStracco said. She specialized in child assault cases, in which she kept doing for another couple of years.
LoStracco served eight years as an assistant district attorney in Nacogdoches and in October, 2004, she left the District Attorney’s office and opened up her own criminal defense office. LoStracco thinks that in order for lawyers to be able to help people in bad situations with the law that the client should be honest with them and she never help anyone who she does not find that are honest to her. She said, “As a defense lawyer 90 percent is plea bargaining.” In most of the cases she has dealt with, half of her clients have committed the crime and want the best plea bargain possible. She has been doing criminal defense work for a while and is now turning back to the District Attorney’s office. She said, “I believe that the numbers at the office are down and the managerial position needs to be worked out.” She also said that her friends and people who work at the office want her to come back and have told her about the problems they are faced with at their jobs.
“ I am going back because things need to be changed, LoStracco said. “One of the hardest things to do is managing people,” she said. She also believes that firing people who are not keeping up with the pace or just not cutting it is also the hardest thing to do.
LoStracco is now running in the political office to be the next district attorney. If she wins the election, she will be serving a four-year term. She is a Republican and she is running against Stephanie Stephens who is the district attorney in office at the moment. The primary is March 4, 2008 and then people will know who the next district attorney will be. If elected she will take office in January 2009. LoStracco said that if she does not win the election, she knows that she has a great job working at her own criminal defense office and if she does she will have a new exciting job that she will like.
Nicole LoStracco leads a very interesting life, filled with goals, achievements, and happiness. She has a career working at her own criminal defense office, soon will be running for District Attorney, a guest speaker at college campus giving awareness to students, and married with a husband and two kids. Nicole LoStracco is a woman who is dedicated to help students and others on a daily basis.
LoStracco Interview - Ashley Taylor
Nicole LoStracco has become a regular visitor on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University as a speaker. As a runner for the office of district attorney of Nacogdoches, LoStracco has become a known leader in the community.
She is well-dressed woman with a great sense of style. She wore a very nice black long sleeve shirt with a long pin stripe skirt with knee high black boots. She is married to James R. LoStracco and has two kids, Trey, 2, and Juliette, 4 but still maintains a criminal defense practice.
LoStracco was born in San Francisco, California and raised in Hawaii and Belgium. She received her law degree at Texas Tech University. Her family has a deep background of law. “My father is a lawyer and my godfather. I have a lot of law in my family”, she said. She actually graduated six months early in December and moved to Nacogdoches after graduation with her husband. With desperate need of a job she and her husband began to take all job offers. LoStracco began her first year of practice in Lufkin but did not like the commute. She began searching for other jobs in Nacogdoches but not many positions that she liked were open.
LoStracco began her journey of life in a place she did not see herself in but she made it work. She thought she would be in a family practice specializing in divorce. She said, “I found a spot open at the District Attorney’s Office but the position was not funded.” She worked as a prosecutor for three years on any case involving abused women. She quit working for the district attorney office in October of 2004 and opened her own criminal defense practice.
She is often asked how did she go from prosecuting to defending and she said, “A high 90 percent of cases end in plea bargaining so there is not much of a difference.” LoStracco did not know much about criminal defense and could only remember taking one class in criminal defense. Today she is her own manager and said, “It’s hard managing people under you.” But she knows if people are not doing their job as hard as it is they have to be fired.
As a woman and young lawyer organizations at SFA were interested in LoStracco’s insight of the system. Organizations began to call her up to make speeches at various events going on on the campus. She was one of the many speakers at the SFA’s Risk Management Training; she was given the topic sex, drugs and alcohol.
LoStracco explained why she thought she was chosen to speak. She said, “I’m one of the young lawyers in town. I seem to be more on the same level of students.” There were thousands of students in the assembly and she didn’t display any nervousness. With her knowledge of the system, it was easy for LoStracco to speak on the subject. She has dealt with many types of criminals and she also deals with many student cases. Many of her student cases deal with sex, drugs and alcohol.
Ten days after the training assembly a SFA student died of alcohol poisoning. She said, “People just don’t understand that you can die from alcohol. It was a tragedy. Clearly people don’t get it.”
Hazing is another subject that LoStracco deals with, which wasn’t a big problem in her days of college. LoStracco look at hazing cases through the parents’ point of view because even though college students are treated as adults they are still young.
LoStracco loves being her own manager but she began to notice that the numbers were down at the district attorney’s office. People began to tell her she should run for the opening at the office.
She said, “ It was not an idea that I came up with to run for office but people from the community came up to me telling me I should run.” So she decided to give it a try and she is running against Stephanie Stephens. If she is elected she will take office in January of 2009. The community was very concerned with what and where their tax dollars were going. She said, “The community basically nominated her for the position.”
She is well-dressed woman with a great sense of style. She wore a very nice black long sleeve shirt with a long pin stripe skirt with knee high black boots. She is married to James R. LoStracco and has two kids, Trey, 2, and Juliette, 4 but still maintains a criminal defense practice.
LoStracco was born in San Francisco, California and raised in Hawaii and Belgium. She received her law degree at Texas Tech University. Her family has a deep background of law. “My father is a lawyer and my godfather. I have a lot of law in my family”, she said. She actually graduated six months early in December and moved to Nacogdoches after graduation with her husband. With desperate need of a job she and her husband began to take all job offers. LoStracco began her first year of practice in Lufkin but did not like the commute. She began searching for other jobs in Nacogdoches but not many positions that she liked were open.
LoStracco began her journey of life in a place she did not see herself in but she made it work. She thought she would be in a family practice specializing in divorce. She said, “I found a spot open at the District Attorney’s Office but the position was not funded.” She worked as a prosecutor for three years on any case involving abused women. She quit working for the district attorney office in October of 2004 and opened her own criminal defense practice.
She is often asked how did she go from prosecuting to defending and she said, “A high 90 percent of cases end in plea bargaining so there is not much of a difference.” LoStracco did not know much about criminal defense and could only remember taking one class in criminal defense. Today she is her own manager and said, “It’s hard managing people under you.” But she knows if people are not doing their job as hard as it is they have to be fired.
As a woman and young lawyer organizations at SFA were interested in LoStracco’s insight of the system. Organizations began to call her up to make speeches at various events going on on the campus. She was one of the many speakers at the SFA’s Risk Management Training; she was given the topic sex, drugs and alcohol.
LoStracco explained why she thought she was chosen to speak. She said, “I’m one of the young lawyers in town. I seem to be more on the same level of students.” There were thousands of students in the assembly and she didn’t display any nervousness. With her knowledge of the system, it was easy for LoStracco to speak on the subject. She has dealt with many types of criminals and she also deals with many student cases. Many of her student cases deal with sex, drugs and alcohol.
Ten days after the training assembly a SFA student died of alcohol poisoning. She said, “People just don’t understand that you can die from alcohol. It was a tragedy. Clearly people don’t get it.”
Hazing is another subject that LoStracco deals with, which wasn’t a big problem in her days of college. LoStracco look at hazing cases through the parents’ point of view because even though college students are treated as adults they are still young.
LoStracco loves being her own manager but she began to notice that the numbers were down at the district attorney’s office. People began to tell her she should run for the opening at the office.
She said, “ It was not an idea that I came up with to run for office but people from the community came up to me telling me I should run.” So she decided to give it a try and she is running against Stephanie Stephens. If she is elected she will take office in January of 2009. The community was very concerned with what and where their tax dollars were going. She said, “The community basically nominated her for the position.”
LoStracco Interview - Ashleigh Fontenot
“Alcohol is real big issue of today’s college.” Nicole Lostracco said in her Monday morning interview with Ms. Bond’s class. Lostracco said she could only imagine what the parents of Nikolas Gallegos, who died of alcohol poisoning felt in their time of grief. She said she could only us this experience to better prepare her children for when they get older.
Ten days before Nikolas’ death LoStracco had just given a speech to Stephen F. Austin’s student body. She explained to the students how alcoholic issue is a vector in criminal cases. LoStracco named many cases where alcohol played an important role date rape, hazing, and underage drinking to name a few. She also said that this situation made her want to tell her kids when they get older about alcohol how it gets abused.
After this incident of an SFA student dying LoStracco noticed that the whole college community took it seriously and cracked down even harder. People in the community realized that this is a problem and are doing many things to put it to and end. Awareness is one way of protecting the people. “Liability in this day and age is a big deal,” said Lostracco. More people are being held accountable for these alcoholic related crimes.
She also said alcohol crimes occur more frequently today then they did when she was growing up. It wasn’t something that officers were looking for as much. Now changes are being made almost every year. Looking back just a few years ago the punishment to for crimes were less compared to what happens now. LoStracco came from a background of lawyers in her family her father and godfather. She began law school at Texas Tech University. “I really enjoyed family law classes while I was in law school,” said LoStracco. Throughout her college career she visited her father in Hawaii over her breaks from school. After finishing college she was invited to come to Nacogdoches by her boyfriend at the time that she went to school with. LoStracco said she always liked to ride horses and it seemed like the place. LoStracco LoStracco said: “I never saw myself as much of a city girl. If you come back to a small town like Nacogdoches you have find your niche.” LoStracco described the opportunities in Nacogdoches for law.
LoStracco found her in a spot at the District Attorney’s office. When she started she was receiving paralegal pay but was promised in a year that her salary would increase to the position she was carrying. She did that for a few years and then took a job in Lufkin but the driving commute was too far distance. Today LoStracco is working toward becoming the District Attorney of Nacogdoches. She is running against Stephanie Stephen who currently holds the position. Lostracco was inspired by the many people of her city voicing their complaints and asking her to make the improvement. LoStracco believes that many problems that exist in within the judicial system of Nacogdoches can be fixed with her strategy.
“There’s a difference between being good lawyer and good office manager,” she said. Lostracco feels that the lawyers need good management. LoStracco says number of cases won by the city has decreased. The number of wins went from mid 80 percent to mid 50 percent. “There are some things that need to be changed in office,” she said.
“I’m probably one of the younger lawyers in town,” LoStracco said with a grin on her face. LoStracco, who some might consider looks young for her age 37 is dressed business casual in for the fall season wearing a black sweater, gray wool skirt and black boots. She is a mother of two James and Juliette. Wearing a light bang over her face “ I comfortable talking in front of big crowds,” LoStracco said with confidence. “I don’t want a job where I can’t say what I think.”
LoStracco, a republican who has her eye set on the prize being Nacogdoches next district attorney in 2009. If she does not get this position LoStracco said she will continue to do what she loves and that is practice law.
As assistant DA she specialized in child sexual assault cases. They were emotional to her because she has children of her own. Being in the law business for a while LoStracco said one can usually tell when a child is telling the truth. They have very graphic details. She also said when cases go so far in the judicial system the child is usually telling the truth.
Her advice to Ms. Bond’s class was to tell the lawyer the truth. The most truthful knowledge that is given to the lawyer, the better case they can build. She also said she will not represent someone who is dishonest.
Ten days before Nikolas’ death LoStracco had just given a speech to Stephen F. Austin’s student body. She explained to the students how alcoholic issue is a vector in criminal cases. LoStracco named many cases where alcohol played an important role date rape, hazing, and underage drinking to name a few. She also said that this situation made her want to tell her kids when they get older about alcohol how it gets abused.
After this incident of an SFA student dying LoStracco noticed that the whole college community took it seriously and cracked down even harder. People in the community realized that this is a problem and are doing many things to put it to and end. Awareness is one way of protecting the people. “Liability in this day and age is a big deal,” said Lostracco. More people are being held accountable for these alcoholic related crimes.
She also said alcohol crimes occur more frequently today then they did when she was growing up. It wasn’t something that officers were looking for as much. Now changes are being made almost every year. Looking back just a few years ago the punishment to for crimes were less compared to what happens now. LoStracco came from a background of lawyers in her family her father and godfather. She began law school at Texas Tech University. “I really enjoyed family law classes while I was in law school,” said LoStracco. Throughout her college career she visited her father in Hawaii over her breaks from school. After finishing college she was invited to come to Nacogdoches by her boyfriend at the time that she went to school with. LoStracco said she always liked to ride horses and it seemed like the place. LoStracco LoStracco said: “I never saw myself as much of a city girl. If you come back to a small town like Nacogdoches you have find your niche.” LoStracco described the opportunities in Nacogdoches for law.
LoStracco found her in a spot at the District Attorney’s office. When she started she was receiving paralegal pay but was promised in a year that her salary would increase to the position she was carrying. She did that for a few years and then took a job in Lufkin but the driving commute was too far distance. Today LoStracco is working toward becoming the District Attorney of Nacogdoches. She is running against Stephanie Stephen who currently holds the position. Lostracco was inspired by the many people of her city voicing their complaints and asking her to make the improvement. LoStracco believes that many problems that exist in within the judicial system of Nacogdoches can be fixed with her strategy.
“There’s a difference between being good lawyer and good office manager,” she said. Lostracco feels that the lawyers need good management. LoStracco says number of cases won by the city has decreased. The number of wins went from mid 80 percent to mid 50 percent. “There are some things that need to be changed in office,” she said.
“I’m probably one of the younger lawyers in town,” LoStracco said with a grin on her face. LoStracco, who some might consider looks young for her age 37 is dressed business casual in for the fall season wearing a black sweater, gray wool skirt and black boots. She is a mother of two James and Juliette. Wearing a light bang over her face “ I comfortable talking in front of big crowds,” LoStracco said with confidence. “I don’t want a job where I can’t say what I think.”
LoStracco, a republican who has her eye set on the prize being Nacogdoches next district attorney in 2009. If she does not get this position LoStracco said she will continue to do what she loves and that is practice law.
As assistant DA she specialized in child sexual assault cases. They were emotional to her because she has children of her own. Being in the law business for a while LoStracco said one can usually tell when a child is telling the truth. They have very graphic details. She also said when cases go so far in the judicial system the child is usually telling the truth.
Her advice to Ms. Bond’s class was to tell the lawyer the truth. The most truthful knowledge that is given to the lawyer, the better case they can build. She also said she will not represent someone who is dishonest.
LoStracco Interview - Angela Bradley
Nicole LoStracco, 37, is running as a Republican for the office of district attorney of Nacogdoches. If elected she will take office in January 2009.
LoStracco received her law degree from Texas Tech University in Lubbock. She served eight years as assistant district attorney in Nacogdoches. In 2004, LoStracco opened her own private criminal defense practice in Nacogdoches.
While serving as assistant district attorney, LoStracco worked with cases that involved violence against women. “Any cases that involved women and violence were directed to me,” she said. LoStracco also specialized in child psychology cases. “Children are amazingly resilient,” she said. “Children handle cases a whole lot better than their parents.” LoStracco also practiced family law for one year in Lufkin.
When LoStracco opened her private practice she made a big change from being a district prosecutor to being a criminal defense attorney. “People ask me how I can defend criminals,” she said. “As a defense attorney 99.9 percent of my clients did something wrong. Most the time my cases involve trying to get the jury or judge to come down on the charges.”
LoStracco also said that if she didn’t believe her clients were being truthful to her she wouldn’t defend them. She also said she would not defend child offenders. “I have two children now and that changes the way you feel about these cases,” she said.
When asked how she began to practice law LoStracco said, “There is a lot of law in my family. I never wanted to practice law, I just wound up there.” LoStracco studied mostly family law in school, which was what she found to be most interesting. When she moved to Nacogdoches she found that there weren’t very many positions available for a family law attorney. This pushed her toward applying for the assistant district attorney position available through Tim James, district attorney.
Not sure about this position, LoStracco was surprised to find that she enjoyed being the assistant district attorney. “I loved doing it,” she said about prosecuting. “There is a real team feeling.” She talked about the efforts combined between the district attorney’s office and the police force.
In the 2008 election, LoStracco will be running against Republican incumbent, Stephanie Stephens. “Me and Stephanie are friends,” said LoStracco, wanting to make it clear that she thinks Stephens is a good district attorney. “The reason I am running is because the numbers are down at the D.A. office.” LoStracco explained that there was an 80 percent win rate while she was working as the assistant district attorney. Now that win rate has dropped to 50 percent. “There is some managerial systems that need to be worked better,” LoStracco said. “There is a difference between being a good lawyer and a good office manager, and you have to do both.”
LoStracco has been invited to talk with students at Stephen F. Austin State University on many occasions. She was one of the speakers at SFA’s Risk Management Training on Sept. 24, 2007. “I was given the good subjects; sex, drugs and alcohol,” she said. LoStracco hopes to start a program to let people know how to go about the judicial system once they have gotten in trouble. “Now you’re busted what should you do,” she said. LoStracco remembers what it was like to be a college student and loves getting involved in making students aware of the risks they face today.
LoStracco was born in San Francisco, California. She was raised in San Francisco as well as Belgium and Hawaii. She is married to James Robert LoStracco, with whom she owns a private law practice. They have two children, Juliette, 4, and James Robert, 2, (who they refer to as Trey).
“People say I look young for my age, although I don’t see it when I look in the mirror,” LoStracco said. She was a very down to earth woman, making fun remarks throughout the interview. LoStracco looked professional in her business casual black sweater and grey skirt, with her knee high black boots showing her lighter side.
There is not yet a Democrat district attorney running in 2008. As of now Nicole LoStracco and Stephanie Stephens are the only two on the ballet.
LoStracco received her law degree from Texas Tech University in Lubbock. She served eight years as assistant district attorney in Nacogdoches. In 2004, LoStracco opened her own private criminal defense practice in Nacogdoches.
While serving as assistant district attorney, LoStracco worked with cases that involved violence against women. “Any cases that involved women and violence were directed to me,” she said. LoStracco also specialized in child psychology cases. “Children are amazingly resilient,” she said. “Children handle cases a whole lot better than their parents.” LoStracco also practiced family law for one year in Lufkin.
When LoStracco opened her private practice she made a big change from being a district prosecutor to being a criminal defense attorney. “People ask me how I can defend criminals,” she said. “As a defense attorney 99.9 percent of my clients did something wrong. Most the time my cases involve trying to get the jury or judge to come down on the charges.”
LoStracco also said that if she didn’t believe her clients were being truthful to her she wouldn’t defend them. She also said she would not defend child offenders. “I have two children now and that changes the way you feel about these cases,” she said.
When asked how she began to practice law LoStracco said, “There is a lot of law in my family. I never wanted to practice law, I just wound up there.” LoStracco studied mostly family law in school, which was what she found to be most interesting. When she moved to Nacogdoches she found that there weren’t very many positions available for a family law attorney. This pushed her toward applying for the assistant district attorney position available through Tim James, district attorney.
Not sure about this position, LoStracco was surprised to find that she enjoyed being the assistant district attorney. “I loved doing it,” she said about prosecuting. “There is a real team feeling.” She talked about the efforts combined between the district attorney’s office and the police force.
In the 2008 election, LoStracco will be running against Republican incumbent, Stephanie Stephens. “Me and Stephanie are friends,” said LoStracco, wanting to make it clear that she thinks Stephens is a good district attorney. “The reason I am running is because the numbers are down at the D.A. office.” LoStracco explained that there was an 80 percent win rate while she was working as the assistant district attorney. Now that win rate has dropped to 50 percent. “There is some managerial systems that need to be worked better,” LoStracco said. “There is a difference between being a good lawyer and a good office manager, and you have to do both.”
LoStracco has been invited to talk with students at Stephen F. Austin State University on many occasions. She was one of the speakers at SFA’s Risk Management Training on Sept. 24, 2007. “I was given the good subjects; sex, drugs and alcohol,” she said. LoStracco hopes to start a program to let people know how to go about the judicial system once they have gotten in trouble. “Now you’re busted what should you do,” she said. LoStracco remembers what it was like to be a college student and loves getting involved in making students aware of the risks they face today.
LoStracco was born in San Francisco, California. She was raised in San Francisco as well as Belgium and Hawaii. She is married to James Robert LoStracco, with whom she owns a private law practice. They have two children, Juliette, 4, and James Robert, 2, (who they refer to as Trey).
“People say I look young for my age, although I don’t see it when I look in the mirror,” LoStracco said. She was a very down to earth woman, making fun remarks throughout the interview. LoStracco looked professional in her business casual black sweater and grey skirt, with her knee high black boots showing her lighter side.
There is not yet a Democrat district attorney running in 2008. As of now Nicole LoStracco and Stephanie Stephens are the only two on the ballet.
LoStracco Interview - Ryan Gest
Nicole LoStracco has seen the world, and now she’s running for office of district attorney of Nacogdoches.
LoStracco, 37, was born in San Francisco and lived in Belgium and Hawaii, and could be called a woman of the world. She was educated at Mills College in San Francisco, and received her law degree from Texas Tech University in Lubbock. Soon after college she moved to Nacogdoches. “I never saw myself as a city girl,” said LoStracco. Her first practice was in Lufkin, but it didn’t last forever. She says that she didn’t like the commute even though it was easy compared to the same commute in a larger city that she had lived in before.
“I found out that there was a spot open at the district attorney’s office,” said LoStracco. She served as the assistant district attorney in Nacogdoches for eight years. “Any case that had a female victim was mine,” said LoStracco. She left the district attorney’s office in October of 2004 and moved to criminal defense.
“There are some cases that you’re just not willing to handle,” said LoStracco when talking about criminal defense.
LoStracco is running as a Republican for the district attorney of Nacogdoches. Her opponent is the current district attorney Stephanie Stephens. “The numbers are down at the DA’s office,” said LoStracco, “When I left the office was at a win rate” She said that it’s a staffing problem but the current district attorney is still doing a good job. “The DA works for the taxpayers,” she said, and many people have asked her to run for the office. If elected she will take office in January of 2009.
On Sept. 24, LoStracco was one of the speakers at SFA’s Risk Management Training. Ten days after her speech, Nikolas Gallegos, a student a SFA died of alcohol poisoning. “Personally, I didn’t know much about the situation,” said LoStracco. “It was a program where there was a whole bunch of topics I had to talk about,” said LoStracco. Among the topics were “sex, drugs and alcohol. “You’ve got to have someone with a vibrant personality,” said LoStracco. She said that the average kid at a party could die one night and the whole community would crack down.
She said that the law enforcement of the past was not as serious, but no one can look the other way anymore.
Hazing is another topic she talked to students about. “SFA is taking hazing seriously,” said LoStracco. She talked about how the punishments for hazing are more harsh than in the past. She also would like to educate students of how to stay out of more trouble once they get into trouble.
“Date rape was another program we did about a month ago,” said LoStracco. She said that a lot of the cases she gets involve SFA students. There’s not a lot that she can do other than try to make the punishment lighter. LoStracco recommends that when students get into legal trouble of any kind to ask their parents for help, since they will find out eventually anyway.
LoStracco is a defense attorney in Nacogdoches. “I’m one of the younger lawyers in town,” she said. “I don’t see myself as a politician. So how did she end where she is today? She didn’t know what she wanted to do for a living. “Honestly, I needed a job,” said LoStracco, “I walked in and just loved it.”
She is married to James R. LoStracco and has two children, Juliett 4, and Trey, 2.
LoStracco, 37, was born in San Francisco and lived in Belgium and Hawaii, and could be called a woman of the world. She was educated at Mills College in San Francisco, and received her law degree from Texas Tech University in Lubbock. Soon after college she moved to Nacogdoches. “I never saw myself as a city girl,” said LoStracco. Her first practice was in Lufkin, but it didn’t last forever. She says that she didn’t like the commute even though it was easy compared to the same commute in a larger city that she had lived in before.
“I found out that there was a spot open at the district attorney’s office,” said LoStracco. She served as the assistant district attorney in Nacogdoches for eight years. “Any case that had a female victim was mine,” said LoStracco. She left the district attorney’s office in October of 2004 and moved to criminal defense.
“There are some cases that you’re just not willing to handle,” said LoStracco when talking about criminal defense.
LoStracco is running as a Republican for the district attorney of Nacogdoches. Her opponent is the current district attorney Stephanie Stephens. “The numbers are down at the DA’s office,” said LoStracco, “When I left the office was at a win rate” She said that it’s a staffing problem but the current district attorney is still doing a good job. “The DA works for the taxpayers,” she said, and many people have asked her to run for the office. If elected she will take office in January of 2009.
On Sept. 24, LoStracco was one of the speakers at SFA’s Risk Management Training. Ten days after her speech, Nikolas Gallegos, a student a SFA died of alcohol poisoning. “Personally, I didn’t know much about the situation,” said LoStracco. “It was a program where there was a whole bunch of topics I had to talk about,” said LoStracco. Among the topics were “sex, drugs and alcohol. “You’ve got to have someone with a vibrant personality,” said LoStracco. She said that the average kid at a party could die one night and the whole community would crack down.
She said that the law enforcement of the past was not as serious, but no one can look the other way anymore.
Hazing is another topic she talked to students about. “SFA is taking hazing seriously,” said LoStracco. She talked about how the punishments for hazing are more harsh than in the past. She also would like to educate students of how to stay out of more trouble once they get into trouble.
“Date rape was another program we did about a month ago,” said LoStracco. She said that a lot of the cases she gets involve SFA students. There’s not a lot that she can do other than try to make the punishment lighter. LoStracco recommends that when students get into legal trouble of any kind to ask their parents for help, since they will find out eventually anyway.
LoStracco is a defense attorney in Nacogdoches. “I’m one of the younger lawyers in town,” she said. “I don’t see myself as a politician. So how did she end where she is today? She didn’t know what she wanted to do for a living. “Honestly, I needed a job,” said LoStracco, “I walked in and just loved it.”
She is married to James R. LoStracco and has two children, Juliett 4, and Trey, 2.
LoStracco Interview - Doc Smith
When people look at TV and see a commercial that has to do with lawyers, Nicole LoStracco, 37, does not come to mind. But when it has something to do with the people of Nacogdoches and the students at SFA, she is right on top of it. Law is a way of life for Mrs. LoStracco, and she would rather keep it that way.
Born in San Francisco, California, LoStracco lives a normal life. Also living in Hawaii and the European country of Belgium, she is accustomed to new things. Her journey started at Mills College in the Bay Area and ended with her law degree at Texas Tech University in Lubbock. “I graduated from Texas Tech in six months with my law degree,” she said.
She started her legal career in Lufkin practicing child custody law and divorce. After a year, she quit the job there. “ I did not know what I wanted to do and I wound up in law school. I wanted to do family law,” she said. Tim James, who is recognizable in Nacogdoches, offered her a job as a paralegal. While working for James, she was involved with violence against women cases and child sex abuse cases for a few years. “I will not do child sex offense cases based on my judgment call,” she said.
She currently is involved with Dr. Peggy Scott and Beverly Farmer of the judicial council here at SFA. “You are young and do not know your rights to the fullest,” she said. She is actively involved also with the student organizations on campus dealing with sex, drugs and alcohol. She recently spoke to SFA students about risk management on September 24, 2007. Ten days later, Nikolas Gallegos died of alcohol poisoning at a fraternity party.
“Treat college kids as adults,” she said. She was also a speaker at a date rape prevention program this year.
After working for James for eight years, she left the district attorney’s office and opened up her own law firm. She is now a defense lawyer and does criminal defense work. Now she is running for the district attorney’s office of Nacogdoches County on the Republican platform, as is her opponent Stephanie Stephens, who is currently serving as the DA.
Mrs. LoStracco is married to James R. LoStracco, who she met while attending law school at Texas Tech. She is also a mother of two children, daughter Juliette, 4 and son Trey (James R. LoStracco III), who will be 2 this month. Standing tall in a long black skirt and grey sweater, people can hire LoStracco if in trouble.
Born in San Francisco, California, LoStracco lives a normal life. Also living in Hawaii and the European country of Belgium, she is accustomed to new things. Her journey started at Mills College in the Bay Area and ended with her law degree at Texas Tech University in Lubbock. “I graduated from Texas Tech in six months with my law degree,” she said.
She started her legal career in Lufkin practicing child custody law and divorce. After a year, she quit the job there. “ I did not know what I wanted to do and I wound up in law school. I wanted to do family law,” she said. Tim James, who is recognizable in Nacogdoches, offered her a job as a paralegal. While working for James, she was involved with violence against women cases and child sex abuse cases for a few years. “I will not do child sex offense cases based on my judgment call,” she said.
She currently is involved with Dr. Peggy Scott and Beverly Farmer of the judicial council here at SFA. “You are young and do not know your rights to the fullest,” she said. She is actively involved also with the student organizations on campus dealing with sex, drugs and alcohol. She recently spoke to SFA students about risk management on September 24, 2007. Ten days later, Nikolas Gallegos died of alcohol poisoning at a fraternity party.
“Treat college kids as adults,” she said. She was also a speaker at a date rape prevention program this year.
After working for James for eight years, she left the district attorney’s office and opened up her own law firm. She is now a defense lawyer and does criminal defense work. Now she is running for the district attorney’s office of Nacogdoches County on the Republican platform, as is her opponent Stephanie Stephens, who is currently serving as the DA.
Mrs. LoStracco is married to James R. LoStracco, who she met while attending law school at Texas Tech. She is also a mother of two children, daughter Juliette, 4 and son Trey (James R. LoStracco III), who will be 2 this month. Standing tall in a long black skirt and grey sweater, people can hire LoStracco if in trouble.
LoStracco Interview - NyJa Stevenson
“I get the exciting topics like sex, drugs and alcohol,” Nicole LoStracco said as she explained her involvement with Stephen F. Austin State University. LoStracco is a local attorney who frequently gives lectures on the legal procedures and consequences that can occur when students face charges such as drinking under the influence, hazing, rape, assault, or theft.
Prosecuting, defending and lecturing, LoStracco has played an active roll in the welfare of the Nacogdoches community. Now, she is campaigning for the District Attorney position in Nacogdoches county.
LoStracco’s journey to becoming a candidate for the district attorney position began over 10 years ago. After she graduated from Mills College, a liberal arts women’s university in her hometown of San Francisco, she entered law school at Texas Tech University. Although she can’t recall the ultimate factor in her decision to pursue law, she said, “I have law in my family.” LoStracco’s father and godfather were both attorneys, which sparked her interest in law.
After taking a few classes at the university, she focused on a specialization in family law, which includes divorce and custody disputes. “I just really liked the classes on family law,” she said. While attending Texas Tech she met her husband, James R. Lostracco, a native of Nacogdoches.
After graduation and marriage, the couple moved to Nacogdoches. LoStracco couldn’t find work as a family law attorney. “The openings for a family attorney in a small town are limited,” she said. She ended up accepting a position in the district attorney’s office under Tim James, the then district attorney.
LoStracco prosecuted for women’s violence cases for three years. She then began concentrating on child assault cases for the next eight years.
In 2004 she left the district attorney’s office to become a criminal defense lawyer. Some people may find the switch ironic, but LoStracco thinks it was beneficial. She knows the tactics and can anticipate the goals of a prosecutor, which can help her be a better defender.
“All cases can’t be tried,” she said, “Many plea bargain. The fight I often go into as a defense attorney is lessening the punishment.”
The only challenge she found in being a defense lawyer is deciding what she is willing to handle or who she will represent. “I will not defend child sex offenders. I have two small children,” she said.
Two years ago she chose to run for District Attorney. “People came to me asking my opinion on what was happing with our court system,” she said. In a roundabout way, various people suggested that she run for the office. “I thought they were joking,” she said. But the people were serious and it forced her to take a look at the court system.
The numbers and the managerial decisions prompted her to run for the position. “The win rate numbers are low and certain managerial decisions could be made better,” she said. Although LoStracco doesn’t doubt the capability of the current district attorney, she said, “There is a difference in being a good lawyer and managing the office.”
Unlike many political races, both candidates are Republican and are working together to maintain a clean campaign. “We don’t want to make this a personal attack,” she said. If elected, LoStracco will take office in January 2009.
Prosecuting, defending and lecturing, LoStracco has played an active roll in the welfare of the Nacogdoches community. Now, she is campaigning for the District Attorney position in Nacogdoches county.
LoStracco’s journey to becoming a candidate for the district attorney position began over 10 years ago. After she graduated from Mills College, a liberal arts women’s university in her hometown of San Francisco, she entered law school at Texas Tech University. Although she can’t recall the ultimate factor in her decision to pursue law, she said, “I have law in my family.” LoStracco’s father and godfather were both attorneys, which sparked her interest in law.
After taking a few classes at the university, she focused on a specialization in family law, which includes divorce and custody disputes. “I just really liked the classes on family law,” she said. While attending Texas Tech she met her husband, James R. Lostracco, a native of Nacogdoches.
After graduation and marriage, the couple moved to Nacogdoches. LoStracco couldn’t find work as a family law attorney. “The openings for a family attorney in a small town are limited,” she said. She ended up accepting a position in the district attorney’s office under Tim James, the then district attorney.
LoStracco prosecuted for women’s violence cases for three years. She then began concentrating on child assault cases for the next eight years.
In 2004 she left the district attorney’s office to become a criminal defense lawyer. Some people may find the switch ironic, but LoStracco thinks it was beneficial. She knows the tactics and can anticipate the goals of a prosecutor, which can help her be a better defender.
“All cases can’t be tried,” she said, “Many plea bargain. The fight I often go into as a defense attorney is lessening the punishment.”
The only challenge she found in being a defense lawyer is deciding what she is willing to handle or who she will represent. “I will not defend child sex offenders. I have two small children,” she said.
Two years ago she chose to run for District Attorney. “People came to me asking my opinion on what was happing with our court system,” she said. In a roundabout way, various people suggested that she run for the office. “I thought they were joking,” she said. But the people were serious and it forced her to take a look at the court system.
The numbers and the managerial decisions prompted her to run for the position. “The win rate numbers are low and certain managerial decisions could be made better,” she said. Although LoStracco doesn’t doubt the capability of the current district attorney, she said, “There is a difference in being a good lawyer and managing the office.”
Unlike many political races, both candidates are Republican and are working together to maintain a clean campaign. “We don’t want to make this a personal attack,” she said. If elected, LoStracco will take office in January 2009.
LoStracco Interview - Marie Leonard
Nicole LoStracco spoke at SFA’s Risk Management Training on September 24, which covered topics such as fire hazards, alcohol and hazing. Ten days later, SFA student Nikolas Gallegos died of alcohol poisoning.
“Emotionally I had to look at it from the viewpoints of the parents. You feel for the friends, you feel for the family,” LoStracco said.
LoStracco was born in San Francisco, but when she was two years old her father was transferred to Brussels, Belgium. Upon her return to the United States she attended Mills College, a liberal arts women’s university in San Francisco. After graduating from Mills, LoStracco chose to attend Texas Tech University to attend law school. She met her husband at Tech, and he asked her to come back to Nacogdoches with him after she graduated. LoStracco graduated six months early from law school, and got married a few months after she graduated.
When she moved to Nacogdoches, LoStracco realized she did not have many options to choose from when picking a law firm. “If you come back to a small town like Nacogdoches, you go where the niche is,” she said. LoStracco wound up in Lufkin for her first year here, and fell into family law. After the first year she decided she did not like the commute and found a job in Nacogdoches.
LoStracco decided to go to work at the district attorney’s office in Nacogdoches, and landed a job as a prosecutor for violence against women. She spent about three years doing that, and wound up specializing in child sexual assault cases.
In the mean time, her husband, James R. LoStracco, was building up a family law practice. In October of 2004 he left the DA’s office and opened a criminal defense practice. When asked about what cases she chooses to work on, LoStracco replied by saying, “There are some cases you’re just not willing to handle. Your personality won’t work with a client’s personality. All the skeletons in the closet need to come out to your lawyer.”
LoStracco is planning to run against incumbent Stephanie Stephens for the office of district attorney of Nacogdoches next year. When asked why she wants to reenter the DAs office, LoStracco replied by saying she was told by people in the county that there are many problems at the DA office currently. A few years ago the DA office was winning trials at an 80 percent rate, but now it is down to a 50 percent rate. She has also been told of managerial problems in the district attorney’s office. “One of the hardest things is managing people, is being the boss. Firing is the hardest thing you can do in the work world,” LoStracco said.
She believes she was chosen to speak at SFA because, “There’s nothing worse than having a speaker coming in and is nervous about speaking in front of a crowd,” she said. I don’t see myself as a politician. I don’t want a job where I can’t say what I think.” LoStracco wants to help the younger generation learn their rights because she believes it is not fair for the state to win a case because the person who was accused of an offense does not know their rights.
LoStracco said, “I think it’s hard for anybody to understand hazing. It’s tough to understand that somebody could succumb to peer pressure so badly they would haze themselves.” Universities have begun to take hazing more seriously over the past couple decades. “Getting into med school with an alcohol offense on your record is a big deal,” LoStracco said.
The subject of hazing is discussed in every organization on the SFA campus, and university officials take it very seriously. LoStracco said, “The criminal justice system is looking for some kind of injury to someone, but just embarrassing someone can get someone accused of hazing at the university level.”
When she was in high school and college hazing was treated differently. “I can’t remember a single friend who went through the law enforcement process for a DWI when I was in high school or college,” she said. Over the past couple decades universities have changed their policy statements and ideologies about the subject of hazing. LoStracco is trying to help college students become better educated about the choices they make, and help them better learn how to deal with the consequences of their actions.
“Emotionally I had to look at it from the viewpoints of the parents. You feel for the friends, you feel for the family,” LoStracco said.
LoStracco was born in San Francisco, but when she was two years old her father was transferred to Brussels, Belgium. Upon her return to the United States she attended Mills College, a liberal arts women’s university in San Francisco. After graduating from Mills, LoStracco chose to attend Texas Tech University to attend law school. She met her husband at Tech, and he asked her to come back to Nacogdoches with him after she graduated. LoStracco graduated six months early from law school, and got married a few months after she graduated.
When she moved to Nacogdoches, LoStracco realized she did not have many options to choose from when picking a law firm. “If you come back to a small town like Nacogdoches, you go where the niche is,” she said. LoStracco wound up in Lufkin for her first year here, and fell into family law. After the first year she decided she did not like the commute and found a job in Nacogdoches.
LoStracco decided to go to work at the district attorney’s office in Nacogdoches, and landed a job as a prosecutor for violence against women. She spent about three years doing that, and wound up specializing in child sexual assault cases.
In the mean time, her husband, James R. LoStracco, was building up a family law practice. In October of 2004 he left the DA’s office and opened a criminal defense practice. When asked about what cases she chooses to work on, LoStracco replied by saying, “There are some cases you’re just not willing to handle. Your personality won’t work with a client’s personality. All the skeletons in the closet need to come out to your lawyer.”
LoStracco is planning to run against incumbent Stephanie Stephens for the office of district attorney of Nacogdoches next year. When asked why she wants to reenter the DAs office, LoStracco replied by saying she was told by people in the county that there are many problems at the DA office currently. A few years ago the DA office was winning trials at an 80 percent rate, but now it is down to a 50 percent rate. She has also been told of managerial problems in the district attorney’s office. “One of the hardest things is managing people, is being the boss. Firing is the hardest thing you can do in the work world,” LoStracco said.
She believes she was chosen to speak at SFA because, “There’s nothing worse than having a speaker coming in and is nervous about speaking in front of a crowd,” she said. I don’t see myself as a politician. I don’t want a job where I can’t say what I think.” LoStracco wants to help the younger generation learn their rights because she believes it is not fair for the state to win a case because the person who was accused of an offense does not know their rights.
LoStracco said, “I think it’s hard for anybody to understand hazing. It’s tough to understand that somebody could succumb to peer pressure so badly they would haze themselves.” Universities have begun to take hazing more seriously over the past couple decades. “Getting into med school with an alcohol offense on your record is a big deal,” LoStracco said.
The subject of hazing is discussed in every organization on the SFA campus, and university officials take it very seriously. LoStracco said, “The criminal justice system is looking for some kind of injury to someone, but just embarrassing someone can get someone accused of hazing at the university level.”
When she was in high school and college hazing was treated differently. “I can’t remember a single friend who went through the law enforcement process for a DWI when I was in high school or college,” she said. Over the past couple decades universities have changed their policy statements and ideologies about the subject of hazing. LoStracco is trying to help college students become better educated about the choices they make, and help them better learn how to deal with the consequences of their actions.
LoStracco Interview - Sherraud Boyd
Nicole LoStracco, 37, is running as a Republican for the office of district attorney of Nacogdoches. If elected she would take office in January of 2009.
She was an assistant district attorney for eight years, but resigned in 2004 to start her own private practice. Before LoStracco resigned from assistant district attorney, their wins on cases were in the mid 80 percentile. The have declined over the past few years to the low 50 percentile.
“A lot of people from the community asked me to go run for district attorney,” said LoStracco. At first she laughed about it but then had a change of opinion.
LoStracco was born in San Francisco as well as Belgium and Hawaii. She spent many school breaks in Hawaii with her father. She graduated from Mills College, a liberal arts women’s university, in San Francisco. She received her law degree from Texas Tech University in Lubbock. “ I went to Tech and loved it,” said LoStracco. She also spent 18 months in Spain for college.
While at Texas Tech, she met the man who would become her husband, James R. LoStracco. At first, Mrs. LoStracco did not know what kind of lawyer she wanted to be or if she even wanted to be a lawyer at all. “My dad was a lawyer and my grandfather was a lawyer. It was a lot of law in my family,” said LoStracco. She thought she wanted to do family law.
She actually wound up in Lufkin for her first practice. When she looked for a job in Nacogdoches, the only job for her was with the district attorney. “I didn’t know anything about working with the DA,” said LoStracco.
As assistant to the district attorney, LoStracco’s cases dealt with violence against women. In October of 2004, she left the district attorney’s office to open up her own private practice. and became a criminal defense attorney.
“Criminal defense lawyers try to get a lesser punishment from the judge and jury towards their client,” said LoStracco. She feels that all skeletons need to come out the closet when someone convicted of a crime talks to their lawyer. “I won’t defend someone if I don’t believe there are not being honest,” said LoStracco.
She also realized as a criminal defense attorney that not all cases cannot be tried. “Most of the cases end in reaching a plea bargain,” said LoStracco. As a matter of fact, she said there is a higher number of plea bargains in this field of law.
LoStracco will not defend clients in child/sexual abuse cases. “It’s pretty easy to tell if a child is telling a story or not,” said LoStracco.
Ms. LoStracco spoke to over 1,000 college students at SFA’s Risk Management Training on September 24 of this year. Her topics were sex, drugs, and alcohol. She cleared up an urban myth about date rape. “ If someone is so drunk to they can’t consent then you can be accused of rape,” said LoStracco.
Alcohol was also a big thing she talked about. In her time, alcohol was not such a big problem as it is now. “Alcohol is a real big issue in college and around the world,” said LoStracco. She stresses that when someone gets in trouble with the law about alcohol related issues, they should hire a lawyer otherwise things will not go as they hoped it would. The best thing to do is to try to avoid the whole thing period. “Do not work on your own when trying to fight an alcohol charge,” said LoStracco. Things will only get worse.
Ten days after the training, SFA student Nikolas Gallegos died of alcohol poisoning. This really upset LoStracco because she feels that people just do not get. “If people drink too much they will die,” she said. “You treat college students like adults but they still don’t get it.”
She is a mother of two: daughter Juliette, four and a half and son Trey who will turn two this month. “I’m scared because I don’t know how to warn my children about that,” said LoStracco.
She decided to run for district attorney a year ago. Her opponent is Stephanie Stephens, the current district attorney.
Nicole LoStracco is a very approachable person who is very intellectual and quick witted. “I’m not nervous about speaking in front of crowds,” she said. She does not view herself as a politician and does not sugarcoat things.
She was an assistant district attorney for eight years, but resigned in 2004 to start her own private practice. Before LoStracco resigned from assistant district attorney, their wins on cases were in the mid 80 percentile. The have declined over the past few years to the low 50 percentile.
“A lot of people from the community asked me to go run for district attorney,” said LoStracco. At first she laughed about it but then had a change of opinion.
LoStracco was born in San Francisco as well as Belgium and Hawaii. She spent many school breaks in Hawaii with her father. She graduated from Mills College, a liberal arts women’s university, in San Francisco. She received her law degree from Texas Tech University in Lubbock. “ I went to Tech and loved it,” said LoStracco. She also spent 18 months in Spain for college.
While at Texas Tech, she met the man who would become her husband, James R. LoStracco. At first, Mrs. LoStracco did not know what kind of lawyer she wanted to be or if she even wanted to be a lawyer at all. “My dad was a lawyer and my grandfather was a lawyer. It was a lot of law in my family,” said LoStracco. She thought she wanted to do family law.
She actually wound up in Lufkin for her first practice. When she looked for a job in Nacogdoches, the only job for her was with the district attorney. “I didn’t know anything about working with the DA,” said LoStracco.
As assistant to the district attorney, LoStracco’s cases dealt with violence against women. In October of 2004, she left the district attorney’s office to open up her own private practice. and became a criminal defense attorney.
“Criminal defense lawyers try to get a lesser punishment from the judge and jury towards their client,” said LoStracco. She feels that all skeletons need to come out the closet when someone convicted of a crime talks to their lawyer. “I won’t defend someone if I don’t believe there are not being honest,” said LoStracco.
She also realized as a criminal defense attorney that not all cases cannot be tried. “Most of the cases end in reaching a plea bargain,” said LoStracco. As a matter of fact, she said there is a higher number of plea bargains in this field of law.
LoStracco will not defend clients in child/sexual abuse cases. “It’s pretty easy to tell if a child is telling a story or not,” said LoStracco.
Ms. LoStracco spoke to over 1,000 college students at SFA’s Risk Management Training on September 24 of this year. Her topics were sex, drugs, and alcohol. She cleared up an urban myth about date rape. “ If someone is so drunk to they can’t consent then you can be accused of rape,” said LoStracco.
Alcohol was also a big thing she talked about. In her time, alcohol was not such a big problem as it is now. “Alcohol is a real big issue in college and around the world,” said LoStracco. She stresses that when someone gets in trouble with the law about alcohol related issues, they should hire a lawyer otherwise things will not go as they hoped it would. The best thing to do is to try to avoid the whole thing period. “Do not work on your own when trying to fight an alcohol charge,” said LoStracco. Things will only get worse.
Ten days after the training, SFA student Nikolas Gallegos died of alcohol poisoning. This really upset LoStracco because she feels that people just do not get. “If people drink too much they will die,” she said. “You treat college students like adults but they still don’t get it.”
She is a mother of two: daughter Juliette, four and a half and son Trey who will turn two this month. “I’m scared because I don’t know how to warn my children about that,” said LoStracco.
She decided to run for district attorney a year ago. Her opponent is Stephanie Stephens, the current district attorney.
Nicole LoStracco is a very approachable person who is very intellectual and quick witted. “I’m not nervous about speaking in front of crowds,” she said. She does not view herself as a politician and does not sugarcoat things.
LoStracco Interview - Justin Spears
Nicole LoStracco, 37, is running as a Republican for office District Attorney in Nacogdoches in March.She served eight years as assistant district attorney in Nacogdoches under Tim James. In 2004, she resigned from this position and opened her own criminal defense practice.
“People were wondering why I was going from prosecuting criminals to defending criminals,” said LoStracco. LoStaracco was born in San Francisco, but moved to Belgium when she was two. “We were suppose to move for only two years, but we moved back to San Francisco in time for third grade,” said LoStracco.
When it came time for LoStracco to graduate from high school, she remained undecided about what college to attend. Shortly after graduating, she chose Mills College, a liberal arts women’s university, in San Francisco.
“When I moved to college, my parents moved to Honolulu, Hawaii,” said LoStracco. “I visited them for a month and a half during Christmas break and three months during the summer.”
After graduating from Mills College, she decided to attend Texas Tech University Lubbock to receive her law degree. “Choosing law school was hard,” said LoStracco, “but I had a boyfriend who stayed in Amarillo and it made my choice easier.”
She is no longer with the guy she relocated to Texas for; however, she is now married to James R. LoStracco, of Nacogdoches.
“I met James during my junior year of law school,” said Nicole. “He was a year behind me, so he graduated before me.”
Nicole sped up the process of graduating and within six months, she also had a law degree from Texas Tech University.
“James was from Nacogdoches and said that if I wanted, I could move in with him in Nacogdoches,” said Nicole. “So I followed him here and we’ve been together ever since.”
Nicole studied family law in college, but found that there was no opportunity to have a family law practice in Nacogdoches. She decided to commute to Lufkin for her first year of practice. After a year, she quit that job to work closer to her family, but there was one problem: she had no where to work just yet.
She discovered the District Attorney’s office was searching for an assistant district attorney. Tim James, the district attorney at the time, gave her pay that was reserved for a paralegal. After she took the job, he assured her that the pay would be raised to the appropriate level the next year. She handled cases on battered women.
In October 2004, she left the District Attorney’s office and opened her private criminal defense practice in Nacogdoches.
“The only think that I had to realize when I became a defense attorney was that all cases cannot be tried in court,” said Nicole. “Most of the cases end by reaching a plea bargain.”
Nicole was one of the speakers in a SFA’s Risk Management Training on September 24 about sex, drugs, and alcohol. She immediately captured the audience’s attention when she mentioned her topic. All Greek organizations were there along with some other organizations to take part in this training.
Ten days after her talk with the students, Nikolas Gallegos died of alcohol poisoning. Immediately following the death of Gallegos, LoStracco visited campus again to speak with students about alcohol and hazing. Nicole looks at deaths from alcohol from the perspective of parents, because she is a parent.
“I am scared because I don’t know who to warn my children about situations like that,” said LoStracco. Nicole stresses that when someone gets in trouble with the law regarding alcohol, should hire a lawyer. “Do not work on your own when trying to fight an alcohol charge,” said Nicole. “You will screw up your permanent record in some shape or form.”
Nicole said there is a big difference between how the criminal justice system and the universities define hazing. “The university believes if you feel uncomfortable in a situation to make you join an organization, it can be considered hazing,” said Nicole. “The criminal justice systems believes you were injured or threatened to do something you wouldn’t normally do is hazing.”
Nicole is running for District Attorney in March against the incumbent, Stephanie Stephens, Republican. The primary will be March 4, 2008. Since there is no Democratic opponent, the winner of the primary will be the winner of the general election also. The winner will take office in January 2009.
Nicole LoStracco wore professional clothing. She shared her stand on issues and gave reasons why people approach her.
“I believe I am easily approachable,” said LoStracco. “I’m not nervous about speaking to large crowds.”
LoStracco resides in Nacogdoches with her husband, James and 2 children: Juliett, 4, and Trey, 2.
“People were wondering why I was going from prosecuting criminals to defending criminals,” said LoStracco. LoStaracco was born in San Francisco, but moved to Belgium when she was two. “We were suppose to move for only two years, but we moved back to San Francisco in time for third grade,” said LoStracco.
When it came time for LoStracco to graduate from high school, she remained undecided about what college to attend. Shortly after graduating, she chose Mills College, a liberal arts women’s university, in San Francisco.
“When I moved to college, my parents moved to Honolulu, Hawaii,” said LoStracco. “I visited them for a month and a half during Christmas break and three months during the summer.”
After graduating from Mills College, she decided to attend Texas Tech University Lubbock to receive her law degree. “Choosing law school was hard,” said LoStracco, “but I had a boyfriend who stayed in Amarillo and it made my choice easier.”
She is no longer with the guy she relocated to Texas for; however, she is now married to James R. LoStracco, of Nacogdoches.
“I met James during my junior year of law school,” said Nicole. “He was a year behind me, so he graduated before me.”
Nicole sped up the process of graduating and within six months, she also had a law degree from Texas Tech University.
“James was from Nacogdoches and said that if I wanted, I could move in with him in Nacogdoches,” said Nicole. “So I followed him here and we’ve been together ever since.”
Nicole studied family law in college, but found that there was no opportunity to have a family law practice in Nacogdoches. She decided to commute to Lufkin for her first year of practice. After a year, she quit that job to work closer to her family, but there was one problem: she had no where to work just yet.
She discovered the District Attorney’s office was searching for an assistant district attorney. Tim James, the district attorney at the time, gave her pay that was reserved for a paralegal. After she took the job, he assured her that the pay would be raised to the appropriate level the next year. She handled cases on battered women.
In October 2004, she left the District Attorney’s office and opened her private criminal defense practice in Nacogdoches.
“The only think that I had to realize when I became a defense attorney was that all cases cannot be tried in court,” said Nicole. “Most of the cases end by reaching a plea bargain.”
Nicole was one of the speakers in a SFA’s Risk Management Training on September 24 about sex, drugs, and alcohol. She immediately captured the audience’s attention when she mentioned her topic. All Greek organizations were there along with some other organizations to take part in this training.
Ten days after her talk with the students, Nikolas Gallegos died of alcohol poisoning. Immediately following the death of Gallegos, LoStracco visited campus again to speak with students about alcohol and hazing. Nicole looks at deaths from alcohol from the perspective of parents, because she is a parent.
“I am scared because I don’t know who to warn my children about situations like that,” said LoStracco. Nicole stresses that when someone gets in trouble with the law regarding alcohol, should hire a lawyer. “Do not work on your own when trying to fight an alcohol charge,” said Nicole. “You will screw up your permanent record in some shape or form.”
Nicole said there is a big difference between how the criminal justice system and the universities define hazing. “The university believes if you feel uncomfortable in a situation to make you join an organization, it can be considered hazing,” said Nicole. “The criminal justice systems believes you were injured or threatened to do something you wouldn’t normally do is hazing.”
Nicole is running for District Attorney in March against the incumbent, Stephanie Stephens, Republican. The primary will be March 4, 2008. Since there is no Democratic opponent, the winner of the primary will be the winner of the general election also. The winner will take office in January 2009.
Nicole LoStracco wore professional clothing. She shared her stand on issues and gave reasons why people approach her.
“I believe I am easily approachable,” said LoStracco. “I’m not nervous about speaking to large crowds.”
LoStracco resides in Nacogdoches with her husband, James and 2 children: Juliett, 4, and Trey, 2.
LoStracco Interview - Sam Arnold
Nicole LoStracco, local defense attorney and current republican candidate for the District Attorney’s position in Nacogdoches County, has become a formidable asset to the community as an active voice in the line of women’s and child abuse.
LoStracco has been a citizen of the Nacogdoches community for well over 15 years, having come to the Piney Woods of East Texas upon receiving her law degree from the Texas Tech University Law School, which ranks high annually in the nations ranking of law programs. LoStracco even managed to graduate six months early from the program. her reason being her husband James R. LoStracco, a Nacogdoches native, is also a graduate of Texas Tech Law School, with whom she has two children, Juliette 4, and Trey 2. “I can’t remember why I applied to law school, but my father and godfather are both involved in law, so I suppose that may have been a part of it.”
With her light brown hair and fairly dark complexion, LoStracco originally hails from the capital of west coast glamour, San Francisco. Her father relocated early on in her life to the essence of Europe itself, Brussels, Belgium. She spent five years of her life overseas, until finally moving back to San Francisco where she would rode the remainder of her high school career. LoStracco received her undergraduate degree from Mills College in Oakland, a liberal arts women’s university, and a school considered to be one of the top three universities for undergraduates within the state of California.
Despite her nativity in the fast paced city life, she has never considered herself at home in the city, she said “I was never a city girl, I have always been an avid horseback rider, and outdoors person.” These, among other reasons, were why she chose the state of Texas to receive her law degree, and finally settle down for good in Nacogdoches.
LoStracco began her law career in Lufkin practicing family law. After a year, she began working as a district attorney’s assistant. At the time, her position was not funded as an attorney, and received a paralegals pay. She spent three years prosecuting, the majority of her cases involving women abuse, and child sexual assault.
“It was very satisfying, I admit to being emotional at times, but at the end of the day, helping the people who need it satisfies me the most,” she said. On the subject of children’s cases, she said “For whatever reason, children are often easier to work with in the court rooms as they have no reason to hide anything once on the stand.”
In October 2004, LoStracco switched sides when she opened her own law practice, which handles criminal defense. She admits that her new line of work is very challenging, as she tries to garner the best sentence possible for the people she represents.
Upon discussing her law firm she said “People usually come in and admit to it, and we try to get the best possible deal for the crime. Hopefully we can convince the judge or jury to lessen the blow on punishments.” This sort of focus requires her to know the intimate details of a crime, and not all cases are accepted on her behalf, she said “If a clients personality clashes with my own, I normally will not accept their case, as I need to be able to work with a client in order to help them. All the secrets, and all the skeletons in closet must be brought forth, in order for me to do anything at all.” She admittedly does not handle child defense, but has secured several child abuse cases. Referring back to her days working in the D.A.’s office, she said “It’s very easy to tell what is going on when a child tells their side of the story.”
Not only is Lostracco active in the Nacogdoches law arena, she has spear-headed several on campus presentations, discussing the dangers of rock and roll’s greatest hits, “Sex, Drugs, and Alcohol” as well as speaking against the archaic hazing rituals new fraternity members go through, and the circumstance of date rape as well. Never shy, or at a loss for words, LoStracco said, “There is nothing worse than a nervous speaker. I will say anything, I am fearless if you will.”
Her approach to these societal taboos has been met with critical acclaim, as there are few subjects absent from her speeches. Her west coast personality may be a factor in these programs, as she said, “I am very approachable and laid back.”
She hopes to educate the student body as a whole as far as their legal rights are concerned. “Many students don’t know what not to do when dealing with the police.” She wishes to engage in a program that would help students in this realm of the law, even going so far as to teach students how to clean up a less than stellar record.
With her roots in law as a child, and moving up through the ranks as a successful prosecutor, as well as a defense attorney, she now has her eye on the seat of District Attorney.
LoStracco said “When I first began in the D.A’s office we were averaging 70 percent on all of our cases in the win column. Since then, the numbers have steadily declined.”
She is currently running an amicable and clean campaign against the current incumbent, as they are real life friends outside of the political stage. LoStracco gives credit the citizens of Nacogdoches for urging her on to take up the position. If she however is unsuccessful in her campaign, she will continue working steadily, representing those in need of a good defense. She does not consider herself a politician, but feels she is more than capable of representing the taxpayers of this community.
LoStracco has been a citizen of the Nacogdoches community for well over 15 years, having come to the Piney Woods of East Texas upon receiving her law degree from the Texas Tech University Law School, which ranks high annually in the nations ranking of law programs. LoStracco even managed to graduate six months early from the program. her reason being her husband James R. LoStracco, a Nacogdoches native, is also a graduate of Texas Tech Law School, with whom she has two children, Juliette 4, and Trey 2. “I can’t remember why I applied to law school, but my father and godfather are both involved in law, so I suppose that may have been a part of it.”
With her light brown hair and fairly dark complexion, LoStracco originally hails from the capital of west coast glamour, San Francisco. Her father relocated early on in her life to the essence of Europe itself, Brussels, Belgium. She spent five years of her life overseas, until finally moving back to San Francisco where she would rode the remainder of her high school career. LoStracco received her undergraduate degree from Mills College in Oakland, a liberal arts women’s university, and a school considered to be one of the top three universities for undergraduates within the state of California.
Despite her nativity in the fast paced city life, she has never considered herself at home in the city, she said “I was never a city girl, I have always been an avid horseback rider, and outdoors person.” These, among other reasons, were why she chose the state of Texas to receive her law degree, and finally settle down for good in Nacogdoches.
LoStracco began her law career in Lufkin practicing family law. After a year, she began working as a district attorney’s assistant. At the time, her position was not funded as an attorney, and received a paralegals pay. She spent three years prosecuting, the majority of her cases involving women abuse, and child sexual assault.
“It was very satisfying, I admit to being emotional at times, but at the end of the day, helping the people who need it satisfies me the most,” she said. On the subject of children’s cases, she said “For whatever reason, children are often easier to work with in the court rooms as they have no reason to hide anything once on the stand.”
In October 2004, LoStracco switched sides when she opened her own law practice, which handles criminal defense. She admits that her new line of work is very challenging, as she tries to garner the best sentence possible for the people she represents.
Upon discussing her law firm she said “People usually come in and admit to it, and we try to get the best possible deal for the crime. Hopefully we can convince the judge or jury to lessen the blow on punishments.” This sort of focus requires her to know the intimate details of a crime, and not all cases are accepted on her behalf, she said “If a clients personality clashes with my own, I normally will not accept their case, as I need to be able to work with a client in order to help them. All the secrets, and all the skeletons in closet must be brought forth, in order for me to do anything at all.” She admittedly does not handle child defense, but has secured several child abuse cases. Referring back to her days working in the D.A.’s office, she said “It’s very easy to tell what is going on when a child tells their side of the story.”
Not only is Lostracco active in the Nacogdoches law arena, she has spear-headed several on campus presentations, discussing the dangers of rock and roll’s greatest hits, “Sex, Drugs, and Alcohol” as well as speaking against the archaic hazing rituals new fraternity members go through, and the circumstance of date rape as well. Never shy, or at a loss for words, LoStracco said, “There is nothing worse than a nervous speaker. I will say anything, I am fearless if you will.”
Her approach to these societal taboos has been met with critical acclaim, as there are few subjects absent from her speeches. Her west coast personality may be a factor in these programs, as she said, “I am very approachable and laid back.”
She hopes to educate the student body as a whole as far as their legal rights are concerned. “Many students don’t know what not to do when dealing with the police.” She wishes to engage in a program that would help students in this realm of the law, even going so far as to teach students how to clean up a less than stellar record.
With her roots in law as a child, and moving up through the ranks as a successful prosecutor, as well as a defense attorney, she now has her eye on the seat of District Attorney.
LoStracco said “When I first began in the D.A’s office we were averaging 70 percent on all of our cases in the win column. Since then, the numbers have steadily declined.”
She is currently running an amicable and clean campaign against the current incumbent, as they are real life friends outside of the political stage. LoStracco gives credit the citizens of Nacogdoches for urging her on to take up the position. If she however is unsuccessful in her campaign, she will continue working steadily, representing those in need of a good defense. She does not consider herself a politician, but feels she is more than capable of representing the taxpayers of this community.
LoStracco Interview - Nicole Newby
The Grand Ballroom was filled with over 1,000 students. After hearing lectures regarding fire safety and hazing, Nicole LoStracco, J.D., took the stage. “I get the fun topic,” she said. “I get to talk to you all about sex, drugs, and alcohol.”
On Sept. 24, attorney LoStracco was one of the speakers at SFA’s Risk Management Training. The presentation was intended to inform representatives from every school organization about the dangers of substance abuse and sexual harassment and methods of preventing them. However, 10 days later, SFA student Nikolas Gallegos died of alcohol poisoning.
“Personally, I don’t know much about the situation,” said LoStracco. “Emotionally, I had to look at it through the viewpoint of the parent, which is what happens when you have children. You feel for the friends. You feel for the family.”
LoStracco also said she was annoyed by the situation. “You treat college kids as adults,” she said. “They can drive a car and live alone, but college kids really aren’t that old. They don’t get it. If you drink too much, you can die. It seems that college kids forget. Your average college student partying can die from alcohol as well.”
However, college students have to look out for one another. “I think it is hard for anybody to understand hazing,” said LoStracco. “It’s tough for us, especially those with independent personalities, to understand that someone could succumb to peer pressure and that they would allow themselves to be hazed.”
LoStracco said that there is a big difference between how the criminal justice system views hazing and how the university views it. The criminal justice system looks for some injury involved, while according to the university, just embarrassing someone could constitute as hazing.
“In religion everyone says a sin is a sin,” said LoStracco. “It doesn’t matter how big it is, it is a sin. The same is true with crime now. Even if someone might not be to the level of going through the criminal justice system, there is still a chance of dealing with it on the university system.”
LoStracco has defended many SFA students against the school’s judicial system. Their crimes range from incidental to serious situations. In response, she created a program that teaches students what to do if contacted by the police. LoStracco said the program answers the question, “Now that you are busted, what happens?” She also teaches how to clean up a permanent record.
“Know your rights,” said LoStracco. “Most of us don’t know our rights and it’s just not fair. I think it’s real important that everyone know the different rights they have.”
Not only does LoStracco serve the SFA community, but she also works for the Nacogdoches justice system. After eight years as assistant district attorney and four years of running her own criminal defense practice, LoStracco is running as a Republican for the office of district attorney of Nacogdoches. She said that she noticed many things that needed to be changed in the office, including managerial decisions and low numbers. The office use to win about 80 percent of its cases, but now only wins about half.
“I had a lot of people in the community come up to me who saw the problems and asked me to run,” said LoStracco. “Enough people finally came to me and were real serious about me running, so it forced me to become serious.”
LoStracco is running against Republican incumbent Stephanie Stephens. She said that Nacogdoches has not seen a large number of candidates run against incumbents.
“I don’t see myself as a politician, even though I am running for political office,” said LoStracco. “I don’t sugarcoat anything.”
However, she does possess qualities of most politicians. She spoke openly and said she is relatively approachable and is one of the youngest lawyers in town and can thus relate more to the college students. “I can talk about anything,” she said.
Despite her current involvement with law, LoStracco said that she did not always know what she wanted to do with her life.
“My father is a lawyer, my godfather is a lawyer. There is a lot of law in the family,” said LoStracco. “I don’t remember making the decision to go to law school. I really thought I wanted to do family law, though. I did a year of it in Lufkin and it was fine, but there wasn’t an opening for it in Nacogdoches. The only thing open was the position in the DA’s office. I walked in and just loved it. I loved prosecuting. There is a real team feeling of getting cases ready and going to trial.”
LoStracco got her law degree from Texas Tech University in Lubbock. She doubled her courses her second year so that she could graduate early and marry James R. LoStracco. They have two children; Juliette, 4; Trey Robert III, 2.
On Sept. 24, attorney LoStracco was one of the speakers at SFA’s Risk Management Training. The presentation was intended to inform representatives from every school organization about the dangers of substance abuse and sexual harassment and methods of preventing them. However, 10 days later, SFA student Nikolas Gallegos died of alcohol poisoning.
“Personally, I don’t know much about the situation,” said LoStracco. “Emotionally, I had to look at it through the viewpoint of the parent, which is what happens when you have children. You feel for the friends. You feel for the family.”
LoStracco also said she was annoyed by the situation. “You treat college kids as adults,” she said. “They can drive a car and live alone, but college kids really aren’t that old. They don’t get it. If you drink too much, you can die. It seems that college kids forget. Your average college student partying can die from alcohol as well.”
However, college students have to look out for one another. “I think it is hard for anybody to understand hazing,” said LoStracco. “It’s tough for us, especially those with independent personalities, to understand that someone could succumb to peer pressure and that they would allow themselves to be hazed.”
LoStracco said that there is a big difference between how the criminal justice system views hazing and how the university views it. The criminal justice system looks for some injury involved, while according to the university, just embarrassing someone could constitute as hazing.
“In religion everyone says a sin is a sin,” said LoStracco. “It doesn’t matter how big it is, it is a sin. The same is true with crime now. Even if someone might not be to the level of going through the criminal justice system, there is still a chance of dealing with it on the university system.”
LoStracco has defended many SFA students against the school’s judicial system. Their crimes range from incidental to serious situations. In response, she created a program that teaches students what to do if contacted by the police. LoStracco said the program answers the question, “Now that you are busted, what happens?” She also teaches how to clean up a permanent record.
“Know your rights,” said LoStracco. “Most of us don’t know our rights and it’s just not fair. I think it’s real important that everyone know the different rights they have.”
Not only does LoStracco serve the SFA community, but she also works for the Nacogdoches justice system. After eight years as assistant district attorney and four years of running her own criminal defense practice, LoStracco is running as a Republican for the office of district attorney of Nacogdoches. She said that she noticed many things that needed to be changed in the office, including managerial decisions and low numbers. The office use to win about 80 percent of its cases, but now only wins about half.
“I had a lot of people in the community come up to me who saw the problems and asked me to run,” said LoStracco. “Enough people finally came to me and were real serious about me running, so it forced me to become serious.”
LoStracco is running against Republican incumbent Stephanie Stephens. She said that Nacogdoches has not seen a large number of candidates run against incumbents.
“I don’t see myself as a politician, even though I am running for political office,” said LoStracco. “I don’t sugarcoat anything.”
However, she does possess qualities of most politicians. She spoke openly and said she is relatively approachable and is one of the youngest lawyers in town and can thus relate more to the college students. “I can talk about anything,” she said.
Despite her current involvement with law, LoStracco said that she did not always know what she wanted to do with her life.
“My father is a lawyer, my godfather is a lawyer. There is a lot of law in the family,” said LoStracco. “I don’t remember making the decision to go to law school. I really thought I wanted to do family law, though. I did a year of it in Lufkin and it was fine, but there wasn’t an opening for it in Nacogdoches. The only thing open was the position in the DA’s office. I walked in and just loved it. I loved prosecuting. There is a real team feeling of getting cases ready and going to trial.”
LoStracco got her law degree from Texas Tech University in Lubbock. She doubled her courses her second year so that she could graduate early and marry James R. LoStracco. They have two children; Juliette, 4; Trey Robert III, 2.
LoStracco Interview - Jordan Lea Smith
On Sept. 24 Nicole LoStracco walked on the stage to talk to thousands of Stephen F. Austin students about “sex, drugs, and alcohol.” She talked about the importance of being aware of each of these things and how to handle situations where they were included. Ten days later, SFA student Nikolas Gallegos died of alcohol poisoning.
“I had the fun topics,” LoStracco said. She thinks that those topics are things that students like to listen to rather than fire safety, harassment and hazing, some of the other topics discussed at SFA’s Risk Management Training.
Discussing sex can be hard with some groups of people, but on a college campus it is an important thing. With date rape rates being one of the highest crime rates on college campuses, it needs to be talked about. LoStracco not only discussed this topic at the Risk Management Training, but also at the Kappa Alpha fraternity’s date rate prevention seminar. She says, “If someone is so drunk they can’t consent, it’s rape.”
Drugs and alcohol fall on the same plane with her. When she was a teenager problem with these substances were taken much more lightly than they are now. “You sorta got your hands slapped.” she said, “Now, nobody sorta lets you slide.” It is a big deal if a college student is caught in possession of drugs or alcohol. Even though it probably won’t ruin someone’s permanent record they have to go through all sorts of procedures and those aren’t cheap.
If police find even the slightest hint of alcohol on a minor’s breath they will arrest him or her. Their parents will have to bail them out of jail and then many court appearances will follow. Court and lawyer fees can add up to a high price.
LoStracco, an exuberant speaker, is 37 years old and runs her own criminal defense practice. She is married to James R. LoStracco and they have two children, Juliette and Trey. She was born and raised in San Fransico, California. When she was two her father was transferred to Belgium. They stayed there for five years.
LoStracco said, “It was a good basis for other travel I did later on.” They moved back to San Fransico and lived there until she graduated from high school. LoStracco then moved to Oakland to attend Mills College, a liberal arts women’s university. When she moved to college her parents moved to Honolulu, Hawaii. LoStracco spent many Christmas breaks and summers on the sunny beaches of Hawaii. She also spent 18 months in Spain for college.
When she was getting ready to graduate from Mills College she started applying for law school. She got accepted to many schools, but chose Texas Tech University in Lubbock. “Having a boyfriend from Amarillo helped make that decision,” she said. Ironically that relationship didn’t work out, but she meet James LoStracco. James LoStracco was a Nacogdoches native so when it came time for him to graduate and move back LoStracco didn’t want to be too far away from him so she hurried along with her schooling and graduated earlier in order to move to Nacogdoches.
One would think that after all the travel she had done, moving to little old Nacogdoches would be a big step for her. She said, “I never saw myself as a city girl.” She grew up riding horses, so she knew she could handle the move.
After they were married Nicole LaStracco began her search for a practice to join. “You’re pretty much going to go where the niche is,” she said about finding a law firm to join in Nacogdoches. She wound up in a family law firm in Lufkin but quit after one year because she didn’t want to commute.
When coming back to Nacogdoches to look for another job the only opening was in the District Attorney’s office working under Tim James. She handled the violence against women’s act and ended up specializing in child’s sexual assault cases. “It’s a real, real satisfying case to prosecute with,” she said. She stayed with the District Attorney’s office for eight years and during
that time had her first child. In October 2004 she left and opened her own practice.
LoStracco said that she gets a lot of questions like, “How can you go from prosecuting people for all those years and then defend people?” She said that it’s just more fulfilling and more along the lines of what she thought she wanted to do.
Even though she loves running her own practice she is running for District Attorney in the upcoming election. She said she feels like she needs to go back to the DA’s office for several reasons. There are some decisions being made that she thinks could be made differently. Another reason is that the win rate in cases has dropped from in the 80s to the 50s. “That’s a problem for the community,” she said.
She is running against the incumbent, who is also running on the Republican ticket. What that means is that since the Democratic Party doesn’t have a candidate that the district attorney for Nacogdoches County will be decided by the primary election in March 2008.
LoStracco has started up a new program where she will attend meetings with groups on campus to talk to them about handling different situations correctly. The program is different from just telling students what not to do, it is more like a “now that you’re busted” type of thing or “if you’ve been in trouble before, how to clean up your record.”
She is friends with SFA’s Dr. Scott and Beverly Farmer and is also “relatively approachable” so she will continue to be asked to return to SFA to speak to students on topics such as “sex, drugs, and alcohol.”
“I had the fun topics,” LoStracco said. She thinks that those topics are things that students like to listen to rather than fire safety, harassment and hazing, some of the other topics discussed at SFA’s Risk Management Training.
Discussing sex can be hard with some groups of people, but on a college campus it is an important thing. With date rape rates being one of the highest crime rates on college campuses, it needs to be talked about. LoStracco not only discussed this topic at the Risk Management Training, but also at the Kappa Alpha fraternity’s date rate prevention seminar. She says, “If someone is so drunk they can’t consent, it’s rape.”
Drugs and alcohol fall on the same plane with her. When she was a teenager problem with these substances were taken much more lightly than they are now. “You sorta got your hands slapped.” she said, “Now, nobody sorta lets you slide.” It is a big deal if a college student is caught in possession of drugs or alcohol. Even though it probably won’t ruin someone’s permanent record they have to go through all sorts of procedures and those aren’t cheap.
If police find even the slightest hint of alcohol on a minor’s breath they will arrest him or her. Their parents will have to bail them out of jail and then many court appearances will follow. Court and lawyer fees can add up to a high price.
LoStracco, an exuberant speaker, is 37 years old and runs her own criminal defense practice. She is married to James R. LoStracco and they have two children, Juliette and Trey. She was born and raised in San Fransico, California. When she was two her father was transferred to Belgium. They stayed there for five years.
LoStracco said, “It was a good basis for other travel I did later on.” They moved back to San Fransico and lived there until she graduated from high school. LoStracco then moved to Oakland to attend Mills College, a liberal arts women’s university. When she moved to college her parents moved to Honolulu, Hawaii. LoStracco spent many Christmas breaks and summers on the sunny beaches of Hawaii. She also spent 18 months in Spain for college.
When she was getting ready to graduate from Mills College she started applying for law school. She got accepted to many schools, but chose Texas Tech University in Lubbock. “Having a boyfriend from Amarillo helped make that decision,” she said. Ironically that relationship didn’t work out, but she meet James LoStracco. James LoStracco was a Nacogdoches native so when it came time for him to graduate and move back LoStracco didn’t want to be too far away from him so she hurried along with her schooling and graduated earlier in order to move to Nacogdoches.
One would think that after all the travel she had done, moving to little old Nacogdoches would be a big step for her. She said, “I never saw myself as a city girl.” She grew up riding horses, so she knew she could handle the move.
After they were married Nicole LaStracco began her search for a practice to join. “You’re pretty much going to go where the niche is,” she said about finding a law firm to join in Nacogdoches. She wound up in a family law firm in Lufkin but quit after one year because she didn’t want to commute.
When coming back to Nacogdoches to look for another job the only opening was in the District Attorney’s office working under Tim James. She handled the violence against women’s act and ended up specializing in child’s sexual assault cases. “It’s a real, real satisfying case to prosecute with,” she said. She stayed with the District Attorney’s office for eight years and during
that time had her first child. In October 2004 she left and opened her own practice.
LoStracco said that she gets a lot of questions like, “How can you go from prosecuting people for all those years and then defend people?” She said that it’s just more fulfilling and more along the lines of what she thought she wanted to do.
Even though she loves running her own practice she is running for District Attorney in the upcoming election. She said she feels like she needs to go back to the DA’s office for several reasons. There are some decisions being made that she thinks could be made differently. Another reason is that the win rate in cases has dropped from in the 80s to the 50s. “That’s a problem for the community,” she said.
She is running against the incumbent, who is also running on the Republican ticket. What that means is that since the Democratic Party doesn’t have a candidate that the district attorney for Nacogdoches County will be decided by the primary election in March 2008.
LoStracco has started up a new program where she will attend meetings with groups on campus to talk to them about handling different situations correctly. The program is different from just telling students what not to do, it is more like a “now that you’re busted” type of thing or “if you’ve been in trouble before, how to clean up your record.”
She is friends with SFA’s Dr. Scott and Beverly Farmer and is also “relatively approachable” so she will continue to be asked to return to SFA to speak to students on topics such as “sex, drugs, and alcohol.”
LoStracco Interview - Kayla Babin
Nicole LoStraccoo, J.D., born in San Fransico, California and ended up in Nacogdoches running for District Attorney. Married to fellow attorney James R. LoStracco and has two children. She is a brunette, Republican, Red Raider.
Mrs. Lostracco was born in San Francisco, but shortly after that her father was transferred to Belgium till she was in the third grade. Then they moved back to California where she continued school to go to Mills College in Oakland, California graduated and decided to go to law school. Her number one choice was Texas Tech In Lubbock, which is where she met her fellow attorney husband. After finishing law school she moved to Nacogdoches where her husband was originally from.
When deciding to go to law school LoStracco has several personality traits about her that fit the job some of them were she is a very approachable person, isn’t scared to talk in front of a large group of people, and she didn’t want a job that she could say what she though because it might cause her to get fired. After graduating six months early her specialty first was in divorce, so she found her first job in Lufkin. After a year there she didn’t like the long commute and decided to take a job with the district attorney, Tim James, where she was the prosecutor for violence against women. She handled all the cases that came in that involved women or sexually assaulted children for about eight years. Then she went on to form her own criminal defense practice in 2004 which was totally opposite of what she had been doing for so long and about 90 percent of her cases ended up with a plea bargain. On the other hand she had a couple of requirements for her clients, which were that they tell her the whole truth and if she can tell they are lying, she refuses to represent them. She also said, “I will take many cases, but the one thing I will not defend are child sex offenders. I don’t know if it is because I have children of my own; of what I just refuse.”
Mrs. LoStracco also does many public speeches on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University about the dangers of alcohol, drugs, hazing, rape etc. Recently she was one of the speakers at SFA’s Risk Management Training on September 24 just ten days before the death of SFA student, Nikolas Gallegos, which was alcohol related.
Not only does she speak about the effects of such things she is starting a new program where she informs students on how to react after being caught by the law. She said, “Many students make matters worse for them because they like to handle their tickets by themselves because they try to hide it from their parents.” She wants to educate students on how to handle the after math of probations or getting records swiped clean.
LoStracco has taken on a new challenge and is running as a Republican for the office of district attorney of Nacogdoches. Her running mate is aquitance Stephanie Stephens who is now district attorney and also a Republican. If LoStracco wins the primaries on March forth her name will be put on the ballot. Currently there are no Democrats running against them which means whoever wins the election will automatically win the position and will start work in January 2009.
LoStracco took a stand when she said, “To be a good district attorney it takes good office management skills and a good attorney.” The win rate has gone down 50 percent and there are a lot of staffing issues that she is ready to take on and handle. LoStracco has lawyer in her blood because her father and godfather were lawyers, she loves criminal law, and likes the team aspect that comes with it.
Mrs. Lostracco was born in San Francisco, but shortly after that her father was transferred to Belgium till she was in the third grade. Then they moved back to California where she continued school to go to Mills College in Oakland, California graduated and decided to go to law school. Her number one choice was Texas Tech In Lubbock, which is where she met her fellow attorney husband. After finishing law school she moved to Nacogdoches where her husband was originally from.
When deciding to go to law school LoStracco has several personality traits about her that fit the job some of them were she is a very approachable person, isn’t scared to talk in front of a large group of people, and she didn’t want a job that she could say what she though because it might cause her to get fired. After graduating six months early her specialty first was in divorce, so she found her first job in Lufkin. After a year there she didn’t like the long commute and decided to take a job with the district attorney, Tim James, where she was the prosecutor for violence against women. She handled all the cases that came in that involved women or sexually assaulted children for about eight years. Then she went on to form her own criminal defense practice in 2004 which was totally opposite of what she had been doing for so long and about 90 percent of her cases ended up with a plea bargain. On the other hand she had a couple of requirements for her clients, which were that they tell her the whole truth and if she can tell they are lying, she refuses to represent them. She also said, “I will take many cases, but the one thing I will not defend are child sex offenders. I don’t know if it is because I have children of my own; of what I just refuse.”
Mrs. LoStracco also does many public speeches on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University about the dangers of alcohol, drugs, hazing, rape etc. Recently she was one of the speakers at SFA’s Risk Management Training on September 24 just ten days before the death of SFA student, Nikolas Gallegos, which was alcohol related.
Not only does she speak about the effects of such things she is starting a new program where she informs students on how to react after being caught by the law. She said, “Many students make matters worse for them because they like to handle their tickets by themselves because they try to hide it from their parents.” She wants to educate students on how to handle the after math of probations or getting records swiped clean.
LoStracco has taken on a new challenge and is running as a Republican for the office of district attorney of Nacogdoches. Her running mate is aquitance Stephanie Stephens who is now district attorney and also a Republican. If LoStracco wins the primaries on March forth her name will be put on the ballot. Currently there are no Democrats running against them which means whoever wins the election will automatically win the position and will start work in January 2009.
LoStracco took a stand when she said, “To be a good district attorney it takes good office management skills and a good attorney.” The win rate has gone down 50 percent and there are a lot of staffing issues that she is ready to take on and handle. LoStracco has lawyer in her blood because her father and godfather were lawyers, she loves criminal law, and likes the team aspect that comes with it.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Ryan Gest
By Alex Urband
Ryan Gest, Kilgore sophomore, does a lot of unique and different things that there were so many to write about. He is a radio/ tv major and he works at a store called Farm and Ranch Store, and sells about eight pallets of deer corn a week, which is unique because he does that on his weekends.
Ryan collects guitars. He has been collecting for seven years now and he said, “ I just started with one and the collecting just kept going.” He has about five vintage guitars that are very important to him, and he said he paid for them all, and they are locked up safely in a closet at his house. Ryan said, “ My guitars are very important to me, I’ve had them for so long now, I work just to get a new one.” Not a lot of young adults will pay for their own things and collect things pretty often. Of course the guitars shows that he likes music.
Ryan loves music and was in a band named the Madhatters for a couple years. They were a small local band that consisted of him and two girls. He said, “We played a few gigs, but not enough to be known.”
At first, Ryan seemed really shy and timid, but once he started talking the information flowed right of of him.
Ryan is into photography and likes to travel and take pictures. He has a darkroom at his house and explained the type of photographs he likes to take, which is randomness. Ryan likes to do a lot of traveling and taking pictures of things that he sees. He had talked about this past summer, and how he went with his girlfriend to West Texas, and would work and built houses to help those in need.
Ryan’s three top favorite movies are classics such as “A Deer Hunter,” “A Clockwork Orange,” and “A Full Metal Jacket.” “Clockwork Orange” maybe considered as a scary and disturbing movie, and he said, “It’s about how society can change in a instant.” Ryan said it cleverly.
A first impression of Ryan was a withdrawn and reserved person, but he had a lot to say and was more than glad to talk about it. The information about him was told within a 50-minute period. He wears casual attire to class, a T-shirt and shorts with flip-flops, which is standard for all college students.
Ryan is a nice guy, and interesting to talk with, once he gets to talking.
Nyja Stevens
By Ashleigh Fontenot
Nyja Stevens, Dallas Junior, is knowledgeable about a lot things most people might not be aware of. For example “Margarine is one molecule away from being plastic,” Nyja explained at the beginning of her interview. Nyja says, “I’d rather eat butter because it seems healthier than eating something close to plastic.” She may be a good candidate for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire or Jeopardy, where people are often rewarded for knowing random facts. Nyja enjoys watching tv in her spare time. She watches anything from X-men to Batman or the history channel, so she is well informed.
Things that interest Nyja are the history of Greece, their ancient civilization and how advanced they were in technology. At the same time in studying marketing Nyja believes she could also pursue math and become a teacher. Nyjja said, “math is my favorite subject.”
Nyja can be described as keeping to herself but not shy. She doesn’t talk much but she’s thinking all the time. She is a great listener and is very in tuned with her surroundings. She is type of person who pays attention to the detail.
Nyja seems to dress for comfort most of the time, just an average SFA college junior taking care of business. She can be described as a down-to-earth mellow personality.
Nyja is the oldest of two children. Nyja’s mother is her best friend. Nyja can watch almost any movie and be entertained except musicals. She says they are a bit cheesy/ cliché. Nyja is tuned into the latest technology and electronics. She currently holds a job as the Communications lab monitor.
When watching cartoons Nyja says she likes to stick to the originals Batman and X-men.
She has a history of writing poetry. She wrote poems to express her feelings of curiosity about love. She also wrote for her high school newspaper. She wrote about the happening of her local high school.
When Nyja was asked Mac or PC she responded PC. She believes they are more accessible and everything is laid out more clearly. Macs are too confusing Nyja exclaimed!
Monday, October 8, 2007
Jordan Smith
By Ashley Taylor
People can always try to predict the future but never know what life will bring them. Jordan Smith just knew her life course was to be the next big Broadway actress. This 18-year-old freshman from Vanvleck, Texas, discovered that she would not be the next Broadway star at the beginning of her adulthood.
“I loved theatre!” she confessed. When it came to the real world she knew she had to choose a career that would involve a promising future. Jordan let go her love for theatre after she won her first performance role her senior year.
“ I had never won anything my entire life, but my senior year I won Best Actress in The Gut Girls,” she stated proudly. Although she won, she realized that the theatre world was very competitive.
College was a wake-up call for Jordan; she took in her love for baseball and football to decide that she wanted to pursue a career in public relations.
“ I am a performer,” she said. She figured she could put her love for performing into doing public relations for her favorite sports teams, the Astros and Cowboys.
Once Jordan became a college student she realized that there is more in life than she realized before. She is a member of Zeta Tau Alpha (ZTA) sorority and in the Freshman Leadership Academy. Jordan is the first person in her family to go Greek and she hopes to continue the legacy.
She hopes to be married someday with four children and maybe pursue another career in pre-law with politics. Jordan Smith is a well-dressed young lady with a bright future in front of her. Life is about finding yourself and Jordan is in the midst of making her path.
Sam Arnold
By Angela Bradley
Being able to write about something enjoyable is a dream that to most would never become a reality. Sam Arnold, a 20-year-old sophomore at Stephen F. Austin, from Liberty Texas, has made that dream a reality. Arnold often writes concert reviews for publication to an information website based out of Houston. Arnold has been writing reviews for the website for three months now. Each review is one to two pages and he has done five reviews for the website.
Arnold said he had been to at least 30 concerts since 2004. When asked what concerts he has been to Arnold replied, “ Mostly rock; Tool in Dallas, ZZ Top in Houston, Incubus and Mastodon (a heavy metal band).”
Arnold said that of all the concerts he has attended ZZ Top was the best. When asked how a college student could afford to go to so many concerts, Arnold replied, “ It’s hard, it costs a lot of money, but they reimburse me with their talent, the effort they put out and the show they put on.”
Arnold told about the first concert he attended in 2004. “ The first concert I attended was ZZ Top at Ford Park in Beaumont, Texas. I was 17-years-old and my seats were all right. I wanted to get closer so when I saw that the bouncers were tied up I slipped past them down to the front row” Arnold continued, “ I watched Hank Williams Junior from the front row and I even got a drumstick. ZZ Top was just about to take the stage and I couldn’t believe no one had come to claim the seat I was sitting in.” Arnold remained in the seat through out ZZ Top’s performance where he made conversation with the woman in the seat next to his. The woman Arnold had been talking to turned out to be one of the opening band member’s mothers. The woman gave Arnold a backstage pass where he was able to meet ZZ Top. “ I was only 17-years-old, so it was definitely a high point, don’t know if I ever came down from that one,” Arnold said.
Arnold is attending SFA as a double major. He is majoring in radio-television as well as political science. Maybe he has found his calling already. #
Ashley Taylor
By Jordan Lea Smith
Ashley Taylor has a pleasant smile and a keen sense of fashion. Her hair is short, but always styled in a cute way. Taylor, a Houston sophomore, is waiting for the right amount of hours to become a junior. When asked what her classification was Taylor said, “well, a junior really soon.” Taylor is a radio/television major, public relations minor. She currently works at Aramark as a store manager. Taylor was the only child born to her parents. “Yeah, I’m a loner,” she said, but only in the sibling’s sense. Taylor has a warm personality and is easy to talk to.
All throughout her high school career Taylor participated in her school’s volleyball program. She said that she loved playing volleyball. She moved from a college prep-type high school to another school before she graduated for academic reasons, so she ended up playing volleyball for two different schools. In her original school they took all advance placement classes that tested their academic abilities. Because of this all of the students were very close in rank which placed Taylor, although she had around a 3.8, in the bottom half of her class. After the move she maintained her GPA and became 19th out of around 300 students, placing her in the top 10 percent and able to be accepted into any state supported university. Her GPA also enabled her to be entered into the National Honor Society. Before she graduated Taylor applied for the Warren Moon Scholarship. Many thousands of people apply for this scholarship each year and only seven receive it in the whole United States. In order to apply for the scholarship students had to have participated in some sort of high school sport and been in need of financial support for furthering their education.
After graduation Taylor hadn’t heard from them, so figured she was not one of the seven. “They called me one day in June and said that I’d won the scholarship and they were sending me to Vegas.” Taylor, along with the other six scholarship winners, one other from Texas, one from California, and four from Las Vegas, received an all expenses paid trip to Vegas to meet with many different sport’s stars and to help in the fundraising for next year’s scholarship. Some of the stars included Ozzie Davis and boxer Winkie Wright. Taylor said that she wasn’t ready to leave when it was time to but on the last day there she got to meet Winkie and that completed the trip for her.
They were treated like celebrities themselves, getting the VIP treatment at Vegas’s Mandalay Bay. “They told me when I went to check in at the hotel that I had to go to the VIP check-in. I thought that I could handle that.”
Other than the trip to Vegas she received the actual scholarship for $2,000 each year she spends at college. Here at Stephen F. Austin Taylor is involved with many things on campus. She is a RHA social co-chair, an activities coordinator for Big Jacks, and a Supreme Court Justice. Majoring in radio/television Taylor hopes to one day become a radio personality and then be the number one radio personality out there with her own show. She also wants to delve into club promotion and thinks that she might lean more towards advertising minor than public relations one.
After college she plans on moving to Atlanta, which is where her mother lives. Taylor knows that she wants to get married sometime in her life, just not anytime soon. When asked about children she just laughed. “Kids aren’t for me. My momma’s going to want grandkids, but oh well.”
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Caroline Riettini
By Federico Montemayor
It began at the age of six when a little girl saw the “Indian Princesses” perform majestically on their stallions and began her life long ambition of being around horses. This was developed into a desire to compete in dressage, the art of competitive horse training.
Caroline Riettini, Houston sophomore, has never been able to narrow her passions to one activity. Though her passion for horses was ignited when she was little, Riettini joined the choir while in middle school in the Memorial area of Houston, and Junior Teachers, newspaper and drama while in high school. While participating in all of these activities, Riettini was always able to find time for her favorite past time.
Thus far, Riettini’s dressage career has been a short but eventful one. She began training at the age of eight and has owned her current show horse, Snoopy, an Arabian Pinto, since it was 2 years old. During Riettini’s senior year in high school, she and Snoopy entered a championship competition with 22 other competitors in their class.
“We did really well and got third out of 23,” Riettini said.
After graduating from Stratford High School, Riettini went to Stephen F. Austin with aspirations of being a teacher until the course material proved to not be enough of a challenge for her.
“Everyone says SFA has the best education department, but the course I took was so simple and the professor spoke to the class as if we were the four year olds that I was just disillusioned and decided to not do education anymore,” Riettini said.
Inspired by Snoopy, Riettini decided to pursue zoology. This was before she encountered on little problem.
“I failed big time,” Riettini said.
It was at this time when she chose to switch her major to photojournalism with a possible minor in creative writing.
While an incoming freshman to the university, Riettini decided to abandon all of her extra curricular activities so she could focus on just school and her horse.
“I had Snoopy up in the university barn but I would always spend my free time there, even if I had a major exam the next day,” Riettini said.
This led to Riettini’s decision to leave Snoopy home this year and currently visits her horse on the weekends.
“Since I cannot train Snoopy one weekend and expect him to compete the next, I have pretty much taken a break from competing until school is over,” said Riettini.
Now with the rest of her college career ahead of her, the 20-year-old redhead has been able to find a stable balance between school and Snoopy and waits for the day she can once again trot onto the area to scores of fans.
Becky Richey
True Life
By: Kayla Babin
Becky Richey, a Stephen F. Austin graduate student, is from all over southern Texas. Sbe has known as life as a military wife, never living in one place for more than five years. She graduated from Louisiana College in 2005 in Pineville, Louisiana, with a degree in philosophy. While in college she started to dabbled a little bit in debate, but as she started going to competition she started winning octo-finalist and second place in national tournaments. Then after graduation she moved to Nacogdoches, Texas, to carry on her education to eventually get her doctorate in public speaking.
In 2002, married Pat Richey, who is a teacher of public speaking here at Stephen F. Austin State University. He is also a fellow debater and a part of the US Army. They have a six-month-old daughter named Abby Richey.
Why does Becky want to be a college professor? She said, “I love to teach.” “There is so much you can learn from your students.” She wants to continue to learn from teaching others. Another reason for her goal in life is to give her daughter a better life too. With her success comes a better life for Abby.
Becky was also a bra fit specialist at Dillard for five years. She mainly worked the breast cancer patients after they had mastectomies. Becky said that some of the patients were tough to not get emotional. “It was like a knife into the heart when I would hear some of their stories and see the emotions they were going through,” she said.
Throughout Becky’s life she has had to move from place to place while continuing her education. Now she is taking care of her little girl. Becky is short, brown haired, blue-eyed with a heart of gold
By: Kayla Babin
Becky Richey, a Stephen F. Austin graduate student, is from all over southern Texas. Sbe has known as life as a military wife, never living in one place for more than five years. She graduated from Louisiana College in 2005 in Pineville, Louisiana, with a degree in philosophy. While in college she started to dabbled a little bit in debate, but as she started going to competition she started winning octo-finalist and second place in national tournaments. Then after graduation she moved to Nacogdoches, Texas, to carry on her education to eventually get her doctorate in public speaking.
In 2002, married Pat Richey, who is a teacher of public speaking here at Stephen F. Austin State University. He is also a fellow debater and a part of the US Army. They have a six-month-old daughter named Abby Richey.
Why does Becky want to be a college professor? She said, “I love to teach.” “There is so much you can learn from your students.” She wants to continue to learn from teaching others. Another reason for her goal in life is to give her daughter a better life too. With her success comes a better life for Abby.
Becky was also a bra fit specialist at Dillard for five years. She mainly worked the breast cancer patients after they had mastectomies. Becky said that some of the patients were tough to not get emotional. “It was like a knife into the heart when I would hear some of their stories and see the emotions they were going through,” she said.
Throughout Becky’s life she has had to move from place to place while continuing her education. Now she is taking care of her little girl. Becky is short, brown haired, blue-eyed with a heart of gold
Fred Montemayor
A Tight Schedule
By: Caroline Riettini
Standing at 6 foot 3 inches tall, Houston sophomore Fred Montemayor is a very busy person. From religion to culture, Montemayor is involved in many groups here at SFA. He is a Community Assistant in Steen Hall and a member of the Organization of Latin Americans. He is also involved in the Pagan Alliance, the debate team and is a contributing writer for the University newspaper, the Pine Log.
“I don’t have any extra time for hobbies,” Montemayor laughed, “I’m always going from one meeting to another.” With wavy black hair and tan complexion, Montemayor has a few bonuses for keeping such a tight schedule. “Being a CA helps out with tuition a lot. It also pays my full housing bill,” he said. Montemayor also enjoys Steen Hall in particular, because it does not have community bathrooms and because it has elevators and a 24-hour visitation policy.
But why did Montemayor choose these organizations in particular? “Well, I was involved in newspaper since I was a senior in high school, and in debate since I was a sophomore. I decided to keep them up,” he said. His reason for being involved in the Pagan Alliance is because he was raised Catholic and wanted to see what Paganism is all about. “I’m very open minded when it comes to different religions,” Montemayor said, sitting back in his chair. “Pagan Alliance has taught me a lot.”
Montemayor also enjoys being a member of the Organization of Latin Americans. “I know it’s stereotypical group for me to be a part of,” he joked, “But my culture has always been important to me.” Montemayor has helped plan the Tone of Oppression event on November 6, which the Organization of Latin Americans will be hosting. Montemayor described this event as “kind of like a museum gallery of different types of racism. It will open people’s eyes when it comes to different cultures.” This event will take place in the education building.
Although he is already juggling these many organizations and events, Montemayor’s schedule is far from finished. He is taking 18 hours of classes this semester and double majoring in journalism and political science. Balancing his grades with his level of involvement in school organizations has not been an issue. “Grades have been pretty easy, now that I’m able to take classes that are more specific to my majors,” he said. Before Montemayor did not have such an easy time with political science. Because it is a requirement course for the major, Montemayor is taking the introduction to political science class. “The first five chapters were over statistics and numbers! I’m a Liberal Arts major for a reason. Math is not my strong point,” Montemayor pointed out. Now that his class has moved on from the math side of political science, he is not as stressed out.
With such a full calendar, most students would be in dire need of a massage. Montemayor, however, is a very easygoing person. “I like to take life one day at a time. If I tried to look at it all at once, I would probably freak out,” he said. Although he is balancing so many activities and classes, he does not seem to be slowing down anytime soon.
Sherraud Boyd
SFA wrestles in a Top Student
By: Justin Spears
Sherraud Boyd, Dallas sophomore, wrestled his way into the college world by having success at Justin F. Kimball High School. He played football there, but he really enjoyed the sport of professional wrestling.
Growing up in Dallas, he fell in love with the famous wrestler, The Heartbreak Kid, Shawn Michaels. His favorite memory of the Heartbreak Kid was when Michaels won the first ever “First Elimination Chamber Match” after four years of being away from the sport. Boyd owns all “Wrestlemania” videos and is working on collecting the “Royal Rumble” videos as well. Besides his memories of the Heartbreak Kid, Boyd also grew up idolizing the World Championship Wrestling superstar, Sting. Boyd remembers how Sting beat the New World Order single-handedly and how he defeated Hulk Hogan for the championship.
“I really loved it when Sting joined the Wolfpack,” Boyd said. He still gets excited on Monday nights when he awaits the showing of “WWE Monday Night Raw.”
Boyd chose SFA because of the country environment. “I was born in the country, but moved away to the city shortly afterwards,” Boyd said. “I had family that lived in the country that I would visit and I fell in love with the atmosphere.” Although he grew up in the city, Boyd still loves to watch the show, “The Boondocks.”
Boyd flexes his muscle when he talks about his high school life. He has tons of memories of when he played on this high school football team, but only two seasons really stick out in his mind.
“I liked my sophomore (2003) season because we won district by having a nine-win season, “ Boyd said. “I also enjoyed my senior (2005) season for the same reason. The memories from that season can never be replaced.”
He began to lose his love for the game of football as a player, but he has never stepped away from the game as a fan. He loves to watch his childhood (and now adulthood) hero, Brett Farve (Green Bay Packers quarterback), on Sunday afternoons. He likes Farve because he gives his all on every play, no matter the game situation.
“That attitude is why he has recorded the most touchdown passes in NFL history,” Boyd added. He also likes to watch the outspoken wide receivers, Randy Moss (New England Patriots) and Chad Johnson (Cincinnati Bengals). He likes them because they bring their “A” game with them every Sunday afternoon and prove that they belong in the National Football League.
Boyd is a single bachelor here on campus, but admits he was a “lady’s man” in high school. He currently lives at Hall 20 where he loves the community there. He likes to “chill with friends” during his free time and watch some television. His favorite shows include the Bernie Mac Show, WWE Monday Night Raw, Flavor of Love, The Wire and South Park.
Boyd’s outlook on life is very positive. He does not allow simple things to bother him. He never looks to the past, but always looks to the future. His favorite group is The Jackson Five. He enjoys how they each play their own instrument and brought their unique factors to the band. His favorite “Jackson” is Jermaine because, “He had the biggest afro, plays the bass guitar, and was a great singer.” Boyd loves Jermaine because he didn’t need to be the lead singer in the group, but he made the biggest contribution to the band.
Boyd continues to be the greatest person he can be, while attempting to succeed here at SFA. Maybe you will see Sherraud Boyd around campus and listen to his stories of his childhood memories or maybe hear why he believes Brett Farve is better than Peyton Manning.
David "Doc" Smith
By Nicole Newby
David Smith, Dallas sophomore, differs from the typical college student as he plays the role of both full-time student and father.
“My job right now is being a father,” commented Smith. “My five-year-old daughter, Desiree, is unique in her own way.”
Smith considers his daughter a tomboy. She loves sports, especially basketball, softball, football and soccer.
“I first exposed her to basketball when she was three months old. We would sit there and watch it all day,” said Smith.
Desiree, however, lives in Mississippi with her mother while Smith attends school. The last time he saw his daughter was during the spring of 2006 and he hopes to see her again this December when she celebrates her sixth birthday.
“I talk to her on the phone every day. She has my number on speed dial, so either she calls me or either I call her,” added Smith. “She knows that I am in school, too, even though she doesn’t understand how college is different from her school. She asks me if I am going to class and if I am being good. She basically asks me the same things that I ask her.”
Smith added that his daughter’s personality is just like his. She acquired her love of sports through her father, who has met NFL players such as Tony Dorsett, Jerry Rice, Steve McNair, Walter Payton, Deuce McAllister and Eli Manning.
Smith also has a love for music. He was exposed to it for the first time when he was in the first grade and has since then played the French horn and the trumpet for his school bands. He became a member of the band fraternity Kappa Kappa Psi in 2000 at Jackson State University in Mississippi. Proof of his love of music is also seen when he wears his headphones everywhere he goes. Smith’s other trademark in the classroom is his headgear, whether it is a cap or a comb in his hair. He also always wears a smile on his face and possesses a sense of humor. When asked what was unique about him, Smith replied with a smile: “The most unique thing about me is that even though I am 27, I don’t look like I am 27.”
Smith has lived in four states and traveled to 788 cities throughout his time as an employee for Greyhound Transportation. He has resided in California, Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi, where he met his daughter’s mother. He graduated from Cedar Hill High School in 1997 and currently resides in Nacogdoches. He moved to East Texas in August 2005 to follow a relationship and now attends Stephen F. Austin State University. He is studying to become a history major with a minor in radio and television. Once he finishes with school, he hopes to return home to teach for a year and then move to Nashville, Tennessee.
Smith is the oldest sibling in his family. He has two younger sisters and a younger half-brother. Growing up he was protective of his sisters and anticipates being the same way with his daughter, Desiree. He is also an uncle to four nieces and a nephew.
Alex Urband
By Ryan Gest
Alex Urband, Houston sophomore, couldn’t be summed up as anything less than a unique individual. After her senior year of high school, Urband was given the opportunity to travel to Europe in what she describes as “the best time I ever had.” During her journey Urband witnessed the sights and the cultures of Spain, Italy, and France.
Back on campus, Urband collects designer purses that bear names such as Louis Vuitton and Gucci. “I started in the seventh grade and now I have eight,” said a relaxed Urband. She spends much of her time shopping with friends, but there is a size gap between massive Houston and tiny Nacogdoches.
“I really miss Houston,” said Urband. Coming to a small town has been hard for her and Nacogdoches lacks many of the restaurants and activities she is accustomed to. One in particular is Chipottle, a popular Mexican food restaurant only based in larger cities like Houston, Austin, and Dallas. Among other things the shopping opportunities is East Texas don’t quite meet her standards.
Like everyone in the world, Urband likes to be entertained. She listens to a lot of acoustic and classic rock music. She mentioned artists like Brand New and Bob Marley. Urband also enjoys watching movies on occasion. Her tastes range from “Dazed and Confused” to “Clueless”, which is an eclectic mix of comedy and what Urband calls “girl movies.” She also has a strong love for television listing “Grey’s Anatomy”, “Desperate House Wives”, and the “Real World”, three currently popular.
Even with all of this Urband makes time for school. She says that she enjoys school. She chose to major in public relations because she is social and approachable. Urband says the main reason she goes to SFA is because she enjoys her friends, in particular her roommate, who she says is her best friend.
Urband can be described as a laid back person who takes life one day at a time. Though she spends a lot of her time working hard, she takes a few moments out of life to spend time with her friends and simply enjoy herself. Urband is a person almost anyone could sit down and have a conversation with.
Justin Spears
"A Tale of a Blue Collar Country Boy"
By Sherraud Boyd
Justin Spears, Liberty sophomore, has taken the SFA world by storm. This man is a country boy to the fullest. Spears is a huge fan of country music and Blue Collar Comedy. His favorite country singer is Tim McGraw and the song that hits Spears the hardest by McGraw is “Live Like You Were Dying.” This song came out right about the time Spears lost his grandfather.
When asked his reason for loving country music, Spears’ said, “It always tells a story. Sometimes it’s depressing, but everyone goes through depression. It’s just good to know that you ain’t the only one going through it.”
Blue Collar Comedy is also a favorite of Spears. Jeff Foxworthy and Ron White are two of his favorite comedians. “I love it. The stories are true and hilarious. Some stuff just cannot be made up. You hear redneck jokes and say I know somebody like that. Just the way they tell their stories makes you want to laugh your butt off,” Spears said.
Spears came to SFA because a close friend came here and he figured he would follow him. Spears was a member of many athletic clubs during high school. He ran cross-country, track played baseball, basketball and played football his freshman year in high school. The team aspect is what Spears liked the most about cross-country: “You ran by yourself but were judged as a team. Love the team aspect”, he said.
Spears is a CA (Community Assistant) in Hall 14 at SFA. That has been his occupation for two months. “Love living on campus. It’s a good way to meet new people. It’s easier as a CA to do that”, he said.
Spears is an eligible bachelor. The things he looks for in a girl is a sense of humor, brains and beauty. Some of Spears’ hobbies are chilling friends, watching TV and listening to music. In his leisure time, Spears enjoys reading “How To Make Black America Better” by Tavis Smiley.
Spears is also a huge sports fan. His favorite baseball team is the Houston Astros He loves watching college football and the NFL. Two of Spears favorite quarterbacks are Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Spears could go on and on about how good Peyton Manning is. “Peyton Manning is the best quarterback in the league. There is no one who could lace up his cleats”, he said.
Some of Spears favorite TV shows include: “House”, “Bernie Mac”, “George Lopez,” “Fresh Prince,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Sports Center” and “Survivor” “ My day is not complete without watching “Sports Center.” As far as “Survivor” goes, just to see people stranded on an island and not getting along is entertaining to me,” he said.
Spears is an upbeat and positive person. “I take everything in stride. I don’t little things bother me or get me down. Life is too short to let problems hinder me from having fun and just living. The world would be much better if more people would realize that,” he said. A motto that Spears has is “Live For Today and Hope For Tomorrow.”
Spears is a hard working country boy trying to maintain and live life. His personality speaks for itself. Spears is always smiling and always has something positive to say.
“Yeah you can refer to me as the life of the party. He said, I’m the one who starts the party and keep it going. People just live life and have fun because you never know when it’s your time to go.”
Angela Bradley
By Sam Arnold
Hard work is often personified with the large, burly tools of the common man. The hammer is a prime example of this, textile workers, and truck drivers. Sometimes, however, hard work is personified in a person who puts forth more effort than the person standing next to them, and goes on to achieve the goals many men and women lay in bed and dream about night after night. Angela Bradley is one such individual who best personifies hard work, charisma, and devotion to her family.
Bradley was born right outside of the Motor City up north, in Clarkston, Michigan, where she has spent the majority of her life, going to school and taking on various odd jobs in and around the city. Moving away from the North and sprawling downtown Detroit, Bradley has since relocated to the fabled Piney Woods of East Texas, in a small, out-of-the way town known as Carthage, with her husband of two years, and their step-child Lindsey, who is 13 years of age.
It was in Carthage, while going to school and working at a local Sonic Drive-In. She had a chance encounter with the President of Strong Services, a local oil and gas firm, Sam Strong who offered her an office job upon noticing the hard work she displayed while taking on the modest task of delivering food orders to patrons. She has since been with the company for two years now, grinding steadily away, taking care of the companies billing needs, filing papers, and a plethora of other office jobs.
Bradley said, “ I love my job, the environment, and people I am around. It keeps me on my toes, and one of the biggest fears this company has at the present is if I will be around in the future.” No doubt she has made quite the impact in the oil industry of East Texas.
Apart from working a steady 40-hour work week, she also attends school full time at Stephen F. Austin State University, double majoring in advertising, and ad Design, while maintaining a 3.0 grade point average. Bradley on her future career plan, “ I enjoy art, and the satisfaction of designing ads for firms of any kind.” Upon further inquiry into her majoring fields, Bradley admitted to jumping the gun, by developing an ad for a major Chevrolet car dealership in Detroit. They picked up and used her ad, which was seen by many in a city known the world over for it’s manufacturing of automobiles. She is 30 hours away from completing her goal.
Apart from her steady schoolwork and job hours, she is also happily married, which prompted her to move from the big city in the first place. She said, “I miss my friends, and family the most, but we all stay in regular contact. I must admit that I miss the shopping a great deal, however, you can not beat the traffic out here.”
The next time somebody mentions hard work, or the American Dream, your thoughts may wonder onto the hammers, the textile workers, and the men on the oil rigs. But you may also picture a slender, 5’6, bleached blonde woman who above all else, personifies hard work, and what it takes to get ahead in life.
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