Alumna Carla Worthey (’04) presented “Interview Strategies for Success” Belmont & Beyond program to students on Nov. 4. Worthey earned her Master of Business Administration and serves as the director of executive development at HCA. Nearly 100 students attended the program to learn tips to help them succeed in job and internship interviews. Sponsored by Career Services, the Belmont & Beyond program series is designed to assist students with the transition to life after Belmont.
Alumna Return to Campus to Share Interview Strategies
Walkers Raise Funds for Breast Cancer Research
Health Services Nurse Practitioner Lisa Scholl and Kelly Otten, from Recreation & Fitness, were co-captains of the Team Belmont for the annual Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk for American Cancer Society Nov 2. The team had 90 walkers and raised $2,900 for cancer research.
Social Work Faculty, Students Present at Professional Conferences
Assistant Professor of Social Work Julie Hunt recently co-presented at the annual convention of the North American Association of Christians in Social Work held in Atlanta, Ga. The presentation was entitled, “Help! How Do I Do This? Developing Spiritually Sensitive Social Work”. Co-presenting with Hunt were Ali Hearon, a senior social work major, and recent alumna Katie Cross.
Associate Professor and Chairwoman of the Social Work Department Sabrina Sullenberger also made a recent presentation at the annual program meeting in Dallas, Texas of the Council on Social Work Education. Her session was entitled “Waiting to Be Cinderella’d? Constructions of social class and gender.”
Biology Student Conducts Research Alongside University of Tennesee Professor
Emily Deas, a sophomore biochemistry and molecular biology major and Pathways scholar, recently worked in a marine microbiology lab at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Deas worked with Dr. Karen Lloyd, and their main research was doing cell counts through a process called Catalyzed Reporter Deposition Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (CARD-FISH). She took samples from White Oak River’s estuary and did cell counts with Lloyd’s method to show that when the correct enzyme is used, bacteria and archaea are found in basically equal population. Deas was also included as an author on Lloyd’s research poster titled Activities of extracellular peptidases in sediments of the White Oak River Estuary, N.C.
Environmental Science Class Adopts Section of Richland Creek
As part of a service-learning project in Introduction to Environmental Science, five students adopted a section of Richland Creek in Nashville and organized a stream clean-up day on Oct. 19. The Belmont students organizing the clean-up were Megan Brady, Walter Burn, Luke Castle, Katie Keast and Jessie Wynn. Six additional students and Dr. Darlene Panvini, professor of the course, assisted in the clean-up event. Richland Creek is an urban watershed with five major tributaries: Sugartree, Unnamed Tributary, Jocelyn Hollow, Vaughn’s Gap and Belle Meade, along with many smaller branches that feed the system.
The Adopt-A-Stream program, part of the Nashville Metro Water Services, lasts for a period of two years and requires at least one stream clean-up per year and the stenciling of storm drains leading to the adopted stream segment. Metro Water Services provides a sign acknowledging the adopting group and stream. Belmont’s official sign is posted at England Park between the walking trail and Richland Creek
McDowell Has Book of Poems Published
Dr. Gary L. McDowell, assistant professor of English, has a newly published book of poems, Weeping at a Stranger’s Funeral (Dream Horse Press). He was also recently interviewed by Nashville magazine Native and will be featured as the artist of the month in the November issue.
Belmont Public Relations Society Receives National Honors
Belmont public relations majors received national accolades at the recent Public Relations Student Society of America National Conference in Philadelphia. Belmont PRSSA received a Star Chapter Award, recognizing excellence in 10 areas including community service, ethics advocacy and leadership.
Two Belmont students received individual awards. Andy Cole, immediate past president of Belmont PRSSA, received a PRSSA National Gold Key Award for outstanding leadership and professional promise. Cole and Katie Mulrain, Belmont PRSSA vice president, received a PRSSA President’s Citation for contributions to the local student chapter.
Eight student leaders and two faculty members from the department of public relations attended the conference. Students attending were Cole, Mulrain, Makenzie Albracht, Arielle Schrader, Catie Benenson, Mary Anna Davis, Alex Heavner and Victoria Lewis. Faculty attending were Dr. Bonnie Riechert, associate professor and chair of the department of public relations, and Dr. Kevin Trowbridge, assistant professor in the department.
Riechert and Cole spoke on a panel on hosting regional conferences, sharing experiences from the PRSSA Region 5 Conference hosted here in March 2012, for which the chapter received the 2012 Outstanding Regional Conference Award.
“Our public relations students are engaged in cutting-edge trends and developments in the industry,” said Riechert, who has served as PRSSA faculty advisor since 2006. “Our student leaders are carrying on the standard of excellent student leadership that is a tradition in our department.”
PRSSA is made up of more than 10,000 students and advisers organized into 332 chapters in the United States and one in Argentina. It is the foremost organization for students interested in public relations and communications. PRSSA is supported by parent organization, the Public Relations Society of America, which offers professional development, networking opportunities and leadership in ethics. The Belmont Chapter of PRSSA is sponsored by Nashville PRSA. (image – PRSSA_2013_award.jpg)
Occupational Therapy Student Guides Runner through New York City Marathon
Nathan Cruse, a third-year doctoral student in the School of Occupational Therapy, was part of a volunteer team organized by Achilles International to guide a blind runner through the 26.2-mile New York City Marathon on Nov. 3. Cruse signed up to be a guide in May and was chosen to be one of three individuals to guide runner Theresa Khayyam. In the months leading up to the marathon, he guided Khayyam in training runs once or twice a week, working on running in unpredictable weather and on unfamiliar courses to increase her confidence in her abilities and her faith in her guides.
“I love the feeling of completing a race, knowing that all the sweat and pain of training has truly paid off,” said Cruse. He added, “I have always imagined what it would feel like to cross the finish line of the New York City Marathon. Little did I know that taking a back seat and standing alongside another runner while she completed the race would be an even greater experience,” said Cruse, an avid runner.
Cruse has become increasingly involved with Achilles International, an organization that coordinates guides for athletes with disabilities. He participates in weekly runs and has performed guide duties for athletes with a wide variety of disabilities, from cerebral palsy to visual impairments to spinal cord injuries.
“It is an amazing opportunity to help others find joy in an activity that has become such a big part of my life,” he said.
On race day, Cruse ran alongside of Khayyam as she trekked through all five boroughs of New York City, battling exhaustion and chilly morning air while being encouraged by enormous crowds.
“The running was completely her own,” said Cruse, “and through determination and perseverance, Theresa completed the marathon in six hours, 45 minutes and 34 seconds. I could not have been prouder to stand by her side.”
Ward-Belmont Alumnae Celebrate Reunion and Centennial Anniversary of School
Hose and heels, one pair of white gloves and no hats were evident at the annual Ward-Belmont Alumnae Reunion as alumnae gathered on Nov. 2 in the Belmont Mansion to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the school.
In 1913, Ward Seminary (a school for girls then located in downtown Nashville) and Belmont College (a school for girls that started in 1890 on the site of Belmont’s campus after the death of Adelicia Acklen) merged to form a new school called Ward-Belmont. It was primarily a boarding school for young women seeking a two-year college degree, but over the years also included a boarding and day school for high school girls, a grammar school and a music conservatory.
Often, the college girls went on to Vanderbilt or other major universities for their last two years of higher education. Ward-Belmont was the first junior college in the South to receive accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. In the spring of 1951, after several years of financial problems, the board of trustees decided to sell Ward-Belmont to the Tennessee Baptist Convention, and in the fall of 1951, the new Belmont College had its first co-educational freshman class.
Billboard Editorial Director Challenges Students to ‘Ruthless Self-Accountability’
Frequently called on as a music, technology and entertainment business expert by national media outlets, Billboard Editorial Director Bill Werde spent time at Belmont Wednesday sharing his insights with students in the Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business. Werde’s focus centered on his own career journey and instilling in students traits that could lead to their long-term success.
“I’m still a diehard music fan, and I listen to it for hours a day,” Werde said. “If you don’t really, really, really love music, then there’s way better ways to make money if you’re smart. [The music business] is hard, it’s a hustle.”
Werde recalled hearing author and New Yorker magazine contributor Nicholas Lemann speak to a class, noting, “99 percent of journalists are doing the same story. If you want to be a success, go after the one percent.”
