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NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Chad Huckaby of Martinsville has been appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott to serve as student regent on Stephen F. Austin State University's Board of Regents during the 2016-17 academic year.

Huckaby, who graduated from Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ in May 2015 with a Bachelor of Science in mathematics, is now pursuing a Master of Science in mathematical sciences at the university. He was named Mr. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ during his senior year.

Huckaby serves on the student advisory board of Omicron Delta Kappa, a national leadership honor society, and he will join ODK's national advisory council later this summer. He also works as a graduate teaching assistant in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics in Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ's College of Sciences and Mathematics.

"I am humbled to be selected to serve as student regent," Huckaby said. "It means a lot to me, and it speaks to the university's ability to develop student leaders that a person from a small town like Martinsville can be chosen as one of only a few student regents in Texas to serve in this capacity."

A third-generation Lumberjack, Huckaby said he plans to graduate with his master's degree in May 2017 and pursue a career in public service.

"My tenure at Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ has fundamentally changed who I am as a leader," he said. "It has strengthened my work ethic, and I bleed purple."

Huckaby's first official duty will be attending the quarterly meeting of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Board of Regents July 25-26.