On Saturday, April 11, more than 140 Belmont students came together at Rose Park to celebrate the University’s 15th annual Family Literacy Day. Held every year, the event invites families from the Rose Park neighborhood to read with Belmont students to promote literacy throughout the community. This year, more than 160 community members registered for the event, doubling numbers from last year’s celebration.
Belmont’s Director of Service Learning and event organizer Tim Stewart said Family Literacy Day began as part of a grant that has funded and spurred the creation of many other events that encourage literacy throughout the Nashville community. “The fact that we’ve been doing Family Literacy Day for so long is a strong testament to Belmont’s desire to encourage children and families in our community to read. It also provides a great opportunity for our students to give of themselves to brighten the lives of others,” Stewart said.
Student organizations, campus departments and individual volunteers created reading groups, centered around a theme, and invited attendees to join their station for a book or two. Inside the Easley Community Center, students could participate in a variety of activities, all centered around celebrating reading. Activities included a free book “store,” poetry contest, book cake walk, reading crafts, face painting and Dr. Seuss games.
This year’s event also included a participation incentive – the more the children read, the more stickers they received. The stickers were used inside the Center to participate in games and activities. The incentive was introduced to encourage attendees to enjoy the day and its festivities.
While the event is organized by Stewart and the Belmont Volunteers for Literary student organization, a number of organizations joined efforts this year to partner with the team. Delta Kappa Gamma, a local sorority, brought a group of teachers who hosted a costume-based reading circle, the Nashville Adult Literacy Council sponsored a booth to provide resources for parents, Book’em provided free books for participants and three Belmont faculty members incorporated the event into their courses as a service learning component.
The event serves as a family friendly celebration for community members who live within the Rose Park neighborhood, but above all, it provides an opportunity for children to experience education in a new way. Allowing students to read outside with college students and receive prizes for doing so continues to encourage literacy and the chance for students to strengthen their reading skills.
“Family Literacy Day is very rewarding to see. The smiles on the faces of the children, their parents and our students make it all worthwhile!” Stewart said.
For more information on the event and the Belmont Volunteers for Literacy organization, click here.
English Professor Douglas Murray recently spoke to the Nashville chapter of the English-Speaking Union at a breakfast meeting held at Belmont’s Massey Business Center. His talk, entitled “The Road to ‘Downton Abbey,’”concerned the way the popular television series has encapsulated previous literature about the English Country House. The English-Speaking Union celebrates British heritage and seeks to foster global understanding and good will.
Dean of the College of Health Sciences Dr. Cathy Taylor was recently featured “The Mother & Child Project: Raising our Voices for Health and Hope,” a compilation of personal narratives, research and essays from inspirational leaders, politicians, philanthropists, speakers and musicians including Kimberly Williams Paisley, Amy Grant, Melinda Gates, Senator Dr. William H. Frist and Michael W. Smith, among others.
Assistant Professor of Public Relations Kevin Trowbridge moderated a student-led panel discussion for the second half of the event, opening the conversation by noting that recent studies indicate that “44 percent of millennials don’t worry about privacy at all” in the digital age. That’s a statistic that needs to change, according to the panelists.
Passersby may have wondered why students were dressed in funny clothing, running around and “capturing” their friends to throw them into a makeshift jail. The answer? Jailbreak – an annual event where ATO members raise money for their philanthropy, 
College of Law Dean Judge Alberto Gonzales said, “When Belmont announced it was starting a law school, we made it clear that we believe a vital element of the Belmont Law education involved preparing our students for roles as community leaders and change agents. Seeing such impressive employment numbers, particularly from the College’s charter graduating class, bodes well that our mission is being accomplished.”
Of the 119 Class of 2014 graduates, 102 are employed, with 78 of the positions listed “bar admission required” (i.e. license to practice law) and 16 of the positions noted as “JD advantage.” From the class, 46.1 percent are employed in law firms, and 24.5 percent in government, which includes judicial clerkships, administrative or executive branch agencies, and prosecutors. Another 25.6 percent of graduates are employed in business, which includes in-house legal counsel and management, and 2.9 percent are employed in public interest/civil legal services positions.
While Music Row is well known for its production of albums, hit singles and award-winning collaborations, neighbors can expect to hear more sounds of theatrical scores as Belmont’s Ocean Way Nashville becomes the premiere spot for video game score production. Nashville is no longer home to just country music stars and frequent live shows – the video game scoring industry has taken a liking to Music City and with Ocean Way at the helm, the recordings and their awards continue to stack up.