On Monday, February 24, Belmont University hosted the annual Metro Council Minority Caucus Reception held on campus. Belmont University President Dr. Bob Fisher and Nashville Mayor John Cooper shared a few words to begin. Attendees were eager to hear from many distinguished speakers, including keynote speaker Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba from Jackson, Mississippi.
Lumumba spoke on giving more people control of their governance and building self-determined communities. “We recognize that when communities find themselves in the condition which many of them are in today, these communities did not fall because someone was too radical or fought too hard on their behalf. I would argue the opposite – that someone has not fought hard enough,” he explained. “What do we do when we see a world with a lack of integrity? You find it in yourself, and you begin to change the world right from where you’re standing.”
Belmont University serves as the host for this event each year. Joyce Searcy, director of community relations, shared, “Each year, this night tops the previous year. Belmont is honored that so many now look forward to the event and count on coming. Attendees know that Belmont is their University and their home, too.”
Belmont alumna Emily Weisband co-wrote on the single “Boy With Luv” for BTS, a seven-member South Korean boy band, featuring Halsey.
Weisband said, “I’ve always been a big fan of BTS. I’ve seen every video and listened to all the songs. They just radiate creativity and talent.” Already a fan of the band, it was a no-brainer when Weisband’s sister informed her of an opportunity collaborate with them.
BTS reached out to Weisband’s publishing company, hoping to collaborate with her, in January. They sent her the “Boy With Luv” track, and Weisband added melodies to the track.
When “Boy With Luv” came out, Weisband’s manager told her, “Go listen! It’s just what you sent them.” With Korean lyrics over it, Weisband was ecstatic that her music was used in the single. The first 50 seconds or so of the song, the first verse into the chorus, contains a big chunk of the melodies she sent them.
“Being a Nashville writer, being in the room every day digging into lyrics, it was a super weird experience for me, in a good way. There are so many ways to make music now with people all over the world who you haven’t met, so it’s really cool,” Weisband shared. “The fact that we all feel the same things from across the world is mind blowing to me. I’m just so grateful that they wanted to make it their own and put their words to it.”
Spotify created a playlist entitled “Written by Emily Weisband” which can be found here.
Belmont pharmacy student Jill Morgan recently won Poster of the Year at the Tennessee Pharmacists Association (TPA) meeting in Nashville. She competed in the Tennessee Society of Health-System Pharmacists 2020 poster presentation and was selected by four judges out of more than 40 submissions.
Morgan’s poster was titled, “Evaluation of Discontinuing Bolus Insulin and Substituting with a Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Agonist (GLP-1 Agonist) in Veterans with Poorly Controlled Type 2 Diabetes While on a Basal-Bolus Insulin Regimen.”
In addition to Morgan’s victory, alumna Maren Richards-Brinton was also recognized in the contest as a “Distinguished Poster.” Richards-Brinton’s poster was titled, “Evaluation of Alvimopan Use After Major Small or Large Bowl Procedures.”
Belmont Law sent two moot court teams to the American Bar Association’s National Appellate Advocacy Competition in Brooklyn, New York over the weekend of February 22-23. With 32 teams and almost 100 individual competitors just in this region, one Belmont team finished as Regional Champions, meaning they will advance to nationals in April.
The first team of John Nix, Ward Pickens, and Colin Quinn performed admirably and won two rounds of oral argument, but ultimately did not advance. John Nix received commendation as the tenth best oral advocate in the region.
The second team of Eric Donica, Marisa Garcia, and Joseph North went completely undefeated and emerged as regional champions. They were also recognized as having the number one best briefin the region. Eric Donica was named as the eighth best oral advocate in the region, and Marisa Garcia was named as the number one best oral advocatein the region.
This means that Belmont swept every category with a first place finish. This team will be advancing to the national level of this tournament that takes place in Chicago, Illinois in early April to compete against the best of the best.
Professor Amy Moore, director of advocacy, said she is proud of each and every dedicated team member that competed this past weekend. “Everyone did an amazing job of stepping up and representing Belmont in a positive light,” she said. “Thanks to Richard Swor for his efforts as assistant coach and all the wonderful alumni, local attorneys and faculty members who helped us practice before the regional competition. We are prepared to lean in and work even harder towards an amazing showing at the national level.”
When the awards were being read, the announcer had to finally ‘break the spell of Belmont’ to read out other names as also receiving awards.
Belmont students personally bested or were ranked above teams from Duke, Faulkner, Brooklyn, William & Mary, Miami, University of Texas, Samford, Texas A&M, St. Thomas, St. John, Rutgers, New Mexico, Oklahoma University, Oklahoma City, FIU, Southwestern, Cleveland-Marshall, Barry and more.
Alumna Marie Hines (Commercial Music, 2009) can be heard singing “Hit me With Your Best Shot” in the “Birds of Prey” movie trailer. Released under her artist project ADONA, the song is featured in the new DC Comics film “Birds Of Prey” and on the soundtrack on Atlantic Records.
The cover of “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” was born out of a vocal recording session. The song was recorded and produced by Matt Bronleewe and Dustin Wise.
“I was in the vocal booth tracking the lead for another song,” explained ADONA. “Between takes, Dustin jokingly sang “Hit Me With Your Best Shot.” We all laughed, then paused and said ‘Oh wow, that would make a fantastic trailerized cover!’” In addition to “Birds of Pray,” the cover has also been used in an ABC promo, a UFC promo and an Apple+ Television show.
The trio attended the cast and crew screening of the movie in LA. ADONA said, “It was a really special experience. This is also my first big movie, so hearing my song in such a prominent spot in the movie was just incredible. It felt so big in the theatre and really added to the tension and intensity of the scene- it was an incredible experience.”
“It was crazy to watch the movie for the first time with the people that made it. If random stunt guys came on the screen, you’d hear people cheering for their friend. If something really cool happened in the lighting and effects in the movie, people would cheer for their friends in the lighting department.”
Belmont’s Office of Leadership Development (BOLD) hosted “Tower Talks,” a WELL-Core event where students presented and shared their personal growth in leadership. Students gave brief presentations highlighting a transformational leadership story that enhanced their leadership skills and qualities. Fifty students and staff attended the event and were inspired by stories of resilience after years of rejection, courage in the face of fear and delight after achieving long desired personal goals.
Now in his senior year, Hunter Lindsey shared how the BOLD Moves Leadership Challenge prepared him to finally become a TT Leader. He believed he was the “perfect leader” but soon realized that he will always have more to learn on his leadership journey.
Claire Mitchell discussed how she had been nervous preparing for a long awaited Disney internship interview. She explained, “Although it was initially daunting, it became easier to think of the interview as a conversation rather than an interview.” The conversation became easier because Claire participated in BOLD’s leadership development program Social Change & ME (SC&ME). SC&ME helped her understand and communicate her personal values and how they were directly aligned with Disney. She got the internship and is excited about the opportunity ahead this summer and fall.
Kevin Botros shared how after several years at Belmont, he was given the responsibility of leading the Mock Trial team. He is striving to become a third generation lawyer in his family. Through this new responsibility, Kevin was transformed and learned that “leadership comes from growing with others and developing together.” He and three other presenters credited the the leadership experiences they gained through BOLD for preparing them for specific leadership roles on and off campus. BOLD had given them a chance.
Tower Talk presenters shared images and words of how they overcame obstacles, learned to lead as themselves and are able to demonstrate that leadership is an opportunity to give back. Presenters reminded their peers of the impact a leader’s efforts can have on the lives of students in Belmont’s community. Participants in this event left inspired to embrace their own leadership journey.
The next event hosted by BOLD is the Campus Wide Student Leadership Awards on April 15 in the Maddox Grand Atrium. Students interested in learning more about the event should contact the BOLD office at bold@belmont.edu or follow BOLD on BruinLink.
Physical Therapy Professor Dr. John Halle was recently featured in a physical therapy faculty interview series. Dr. Halle talked about his career development and what inspired the establishment of the human anatomy lab at Belmont University.
Throughout the interview, Halle discussed how teaching strategies in the human anatomy lab help to improve student knowledge and outcomes. Additionally, this laboratory space has provided an excellent opportunity for inter-professional education (IPE) and research publications related to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. He finishes the interview with advice for individuals considering a career in physical therapy.
Physical Therapy Professor Dr. Mike Voight recently served as an invited research judge for the 2020 Scandinavian Sports Medicine congress in Cophenhagen, Denmark, sponsored by the Danish Society of Sports Physical Therapy (DSSF) and the Danish Association of Sports Medicine (DIMS).
As the editor in chief of the International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, Voight was one seven editors chosen from the top Sportsmedicine journals in the world.
In his invited role, Voight served on a panel that reviewed several hundred abstracts submitted to the scientific committee to be considered for inclusion to the congress. Onsite, Voight reviewed and judged both poster and oral presentations to determine the best at the congress.
Belmont University is the newest sponsor of carbon offsets offered through the Hytch Rewards mobile app, a transportation demand management initiative that verifies shared rides in real time.
Recent Tennessee Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Award winners, Belmont and Hytch are teaming up to provide cash incentives for faculty, staff and students living off campus whenever they share rides to the University. Furthering the University’s commitment to sustainability, these rewards are intended to encourage more sustainable mobility choices as it encourages the Belmont community to reduce carbon emissions by carpooling to and from campus.
“We have a responsibility to preserve our earth for generations to come. Our Conservation Covenant is a promise to care for the place that cares for us,” said Belmont’s Vice President for Administration and University Counsel Jason Rogers. “This partnership with Hytch engages everyone to use our daily commute as an action in our Conservation Covenant with the Earth.”
Belmont will launch a pilot of the program beginning on March 2,
which will ultimately line up with the University’s Sustainability Week and
later, Earth Day.
“The theme for Earth Day 2020 is climate action, and we’re excited to be taking action. At Belmont, we believe taking care of God’s creation is more than a cause. It’s a charge. We see it reflected in verse after verse in the Bible as we are given the responsibility to preserve God’s creation for generations to come,” said Vice President for Spiritual Development Todd Lake. “Hytch Rewards is another tool we’re providing our future thought leaders here at Belmont to aid in solving the enormous challenges of our time.”
Employees use the Hytch App to carpool to Belmont’s campus
The Hytch mobile app acts as a daily mobility diary, tracking emissions reduced or avoided by participating users. Each qualifying carpool mile tracked through the mobile app will be rewarded with cash incentives and carbon offsets. Users are able to see their positive impact on air quality firsthand, virtually saving trees by driving with others, walking, biking or using mass transit. Challenges will be set during the pilot period for faculty, staff and students to see how many trees can be saved, for example.
Mark A. Cleveland, co-founder and CEO of Hytch Rewards said Belmont is doing something measurable and specific by focusing on driving behavior change. He said, “By investing in people who make smart mobility a part of their daily routine, leaders turn Earth Day into an Earth Habit. It’s a fun and compelling vision to build a virtual forest using our free and open platform. 50 miles saves one tree. If Belmont users were to reach 5,000 miles on Hytch, they will have saved the equivalent acreage of their 95-acre campus.”
Hytch Rewards is a Nashville-based social impact, mobility incentive platform that rewards users for lowering carbon emissions, protecting clean air and reducing traffic congestion by logging their shared commutes. Employers and communities use Hytch to engage employees in corporate social responsibility initiatives, promote the habits of sharing a ride, walking, biking or using mass transit, and even to connect people to job opportunities and critical services. Hytch was recognized as the Nashville Technology Council’s Emerging Company of the Year, and has received the Tennessee Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Award, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s Sustainable Transportation Award, and the Nashville Entrepreneur Center’s 2018 NEXT Award as Social Enterprise and Sustainability Startup of the Year. To learn more, visit www.hytch.me or email press@hytch.me for media inquiries.
Alumnus Mark McBryde spent several days on campus sharing his experience in post-production sound with the Curb College community. With more than 25 years as a Foley artist and ADR-mixer, McBryde has worked on the sound department of more than 200 productions.
His expansive resume includes work on episodes of Lost, Criminal Minds, Grey’s Anatomy, American Horror Story, Boy Meets World and Hannah Montana, as well as feature films such as TheFundamentals of Caring and Atomic Blonde. McBryde is currently the owner of Postmark Audio Services, a company that works on shows for Netflix, Apple, Amazon, Hallmark, Lifetime, OWN, A&E and more.
Students had the opportunity to learn from McBryde during the seminar “Best Job Ever: Audio Production,” where he shared details of his career path, along with other panelists, in hopes of encouraging career exploration among students. Additionally, he spoke to Sound for Picture and Foley classes.
Before heading back home to Los Angeles, McBryde met with Curb College faculty and staff in a roundtable Q&A about his experiences with the entertainment industry on the West Coast. McBryde is one of many alumni who have generously donated their time to Curb College students in the last month during homecoming season. You can read more about recent alumni visits here.
