Two Belmont sophomores, Ale Delgado and Hayden Coleman, want to be “Moovers and Shakers” with a new entrepreneurial project. The duo hopes to purchase a food truck to serve milkshakes and ice cream floats from their mobile parlor. They’re currently trying to raise $5,000 before April 24 through a Kickstarter fundraising campaign.
According to the Moovers and Shakers website, the concept began when Coleman and Delgado serendipitously discovered that they both wanted to open classic soda parlors. This idea quickly evolved into the idea of a mobile milkshake truck roaming the streets of Nashville. They immediately dove into writing their business plan and, after three weeks of lots of caffeine and little sleep, they won second place in Belmont University’s Business Plan Competition.
Now with $2,000 in their hands, they’re gearing up to raise the rest of their start up funds, revamp a truck, and get on the road by May 2011. ” As of now,” Coleman told the Nashvillest, “our plan is to run full time in the summer, and then try to move into catering and special events in the off-season when we won’t have a very regular flow of customers. This way, we can still operate in some capacity while we’re in school.”
In addition to the Nashvillest story, Moovers and Shakers has also received local media coverage from the Nashville Scene.
Belmont Students Aim to Be ‘Moovers and Shakers’ With Mobile Soda Parlor
Greek Week Raises $10,000+ for Rose Park Scholarship Recipients
Belmont Greek Life recently held another successful Greek Week, resulting in more than $10,000 raised for the Rose Park scholarship recipients. Using the theme of “The Greek Network” to help bring chapters together for the week, the Greek organizations came together to raise money to provide the Rose Park scholarship recipients with laptops, as well as computers for the Easley Community Center and underprivileged high school seniors attending college in the fall.
The chapters also competed in different social networking-related games such as Words with Greeks, Angry Birds and campus morning searches for the Twitter bird and Facebook “f,” and they also attended events such as the Network Launch Party and a Greekwide semi-formal.
Members of Greek Life spent their Saturday connecting with the Nashville community by working either at the Nashville Brush with Kindness Habitat for Humanity build or Family Literacy Day.
The men of Phi Delta Theta emerged victorious at the conclusion of the week as 2011 Greek Week and Greek Sing champions, followed by Alpha Sigma Tau, as Greek Week runners up. Alpha Gamma Delta finished in third place, with a second place win in Greek Sing.
Greek Week was chaired by Alpha Gamma Delta’s Morgan Caldwell, Phi Delta Theta’s Zach Hughes and Phi Mu’s Kelly Redfern, and under their leadership, Belmont Greek Life was successfully able to unite for a week of service, socials and celebration of the achievements of the Greek community. Click here to view video highlights from Greek Sing, and click here to view the Greek Olympics photo gallery.
Guitar Ensemble Performs on WPLN
The Belmont University Guitar Ensemble performed on WPLN’s “Live in Studio C” program on April 13. The program and photos from the event are available here.
Belmont Mansion, History Department Host Teaching Symposium
On Sat., April 2, the Belmont Department of History in partnership with the Belmont Mansion hosted its Second Annual History Teaching Symposium, “Nashville and the Civil Rights Movement: A Teaching Symposium.” Social studies teachers from Metro-Nashville, Sumner County and Rutherford County schools earned professional development credit through attendance at panel presentations and participation in discussions. Department of History faculty Brenda Jackson-Abernathy and Pete Kuryla co-chaired this year’s symposium.
Riechert Serves as Panelist at VPRS Week
Bonnie Riechert, director of the Public Relations Program, was an invited panelist at the recent Vanderbilt Public Relations Society’s first annual VPRS Week, which was themed “All of the Lights.” Panel speakers discussed professional experiences and career advice and answered questions from attendees. Activities of the week included a networking event, fashion show and clothing swap. Members of the student group include students interested in public relations, journalism, marketing, advertising and broadcasting internships and events. Belmont students including Katie Siklosi and Allison Durfee, officers in the Belmont Chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), also attended some of the Vanderbilt special events of the week.
Kuryla Publishes Article
Peter Kuryla (History) published a peer-reviewed article in April, which appeared in a special double issue of Patterns of Prejudice that was dedicated to the presidency of Barack Obama. The article is titled “Barack Obama and the American island of the colour blind” and can be found here.
Stepnick Presents at Southern Sociological Society Meeting
Andi Stepnick (Sociology) presented a paper in early April, with Dr. Kris De Welde of Florida Gulf Coast University, called “It’s Not as Glamorous as it Looks: Lived Experiences of Women Academics” at the Southern Sociological Society meetings in Jacksonville, Florida.
Dean Raines Publishes Article
Dr. J. Patrick Raines, Jack C. Massey Dean of the College of Business Administration and professor of economics, recently published an article in the International Journal of Social Economics (Vol. 38, No. 4) titled “Natural Religion and Moral Capitalism: Insights From Adam Smith and Thorstein Veblen.”
Skinner Completes FBI Academy
Kathy Skinner, director of International Student Services, recently completed the FBI’s Citizens’ Academy. FBI employees and previous academy graduates nominate local community leaders to participate in the program. Skinner was chosen because of her knowledge of immigration, a current focus of the FBI.
Belmont Invited to Become a Science Communication Fellow as Pharmacy Students Impact the Lives of Young Tennessee Women
In February, four Belmont student pharmacists volunteered their time at a hands-on science summit for the Tennessee Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Research (TWISTER). TWISTER is a program to inform and motivate high school girls to pursue science and technology careers, provide positive role models and engage young women with limited opportunities for success in positive math and science experiences.
Pharmacy students Erica Evans, Laci Hendress, Jessica Paullet and Lindsey Smith dedicated a Saturday to mentor young women and promote pharmacy as a career field. These students modeled the professional, career-oriented women who work in pharmacy to 9th through 12th grade girls. “TWISTER seems to be a wonderful opportunity for these highly motivated individuals,” said Hendress.
These four women have demonstrated excellence in academic coursework, the work place and extracurricular activities while at Belmont. “I was excited to have the opportunity to give back, especially to this group of girls because I had so many mentors in my life who inspired me to set my goals higher and to go achieve them,” said Smith.
The four students gave a 15 minute presentation, followed by a series of pharmacy-oriented, hands-on lab activities: compounding ointments, accurate measurement exercises and a timed pill-counting competition.
TWISTER’s effect on the lives of high school participants is immeasurable. Belmont University School of Pharmacy and TWISTER hope to continue to inspire young women to excel in the sciences and educate them on possible career options. Paullet said, “If I can make a difference in one girl’s life and help guide her along a career path, then it is well worth the time spent.”
As a result, Belmont University has been invited to become a 2011-2012 Science Communication Fellow for the Adventure Science Center of Nashville. As a Fellow, Belmont will build sustainable partnerships with the science community, provide professional development opportunities that prepare scientists, and create public programs throughout Tennessee. “Twister was a wonderful experience and we are thrilled to extend our efforts as part of a program that is offered at only five science centers across the country,” said Dr. Ronda Bryant, Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice and project mentor. “Being a 2011-2012 Science Communication Fellow is a privilege.”
