IMPORTANT NOTE: These are the archived stories for Belmont News & Achievements prior to June 26, 2023. To see current stories, click here.

Home Blog Page 328

Health Sciences Students Provide Health Care in Guatemala

Staff Writer
-
0

Student taking blood pressure of Guatemalan childDuring Belmont’s spring break last March, students and faculty from the nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy and social work programs traveled to Guatemala to provide health screenings, patient teaching programs and medications and vitamins to citizens in Antigua. The trip was made possible through the university’s partnership with a Guatemalan coffee company, Kafes Guatemala, through its CoffeeMed Program. The students and faculty served over 350 people.

Belmont’s College of Health Sciences and Nursing has been involved with the CoffeeMed Program for the last three years, serving more than 800 patients. The program aims to provide basic needs to workers on Guatemalan coffee plantations who don’t always work under ideal conditions. In addition, the program takes students on a hands-on tour of plantations, hoping they will realize the importance of their involvement. Students who participate in the program are expected to fund the trip themselves by selling coffee from Kafes Guatemala in their communities.

In addition to current students and faculty, 2015 nursing graduate Claire Zetak served as a team leader on the trip. Zetak noted the importance of student engagement in an interview conducted recently with Roast Magazine. “In the health care profession, interdisciplinary works are always taking place,” said Zetak. “Nurses are working with doctors or physical therapists or pharmacists, so this is an example of what they’ll be doing in their future careers.”

Founder and President of Kafes Guatemala Pablo Castaneda realizes the value of the help Belmont students bring to Guatemala and expressed his gratitude for their work. “Thank you, Belmont students, for your love for others,” Castaneda said. “Never forget you can change lives for good. Your love for others is impacting so many lives, and it goes beyond medical attention to proving you are serving a living God.”

For more information on the programs provided by the College of Health Sciences and Nursing, click here.

Psychology Club Participates in Out of the Darkness Suicide Prevention Walk

Hope Buckner
-
0
Psychology Club Participates in Out of the Darkness Suicide Prevention Walk

A group of 18 Belmont students and faculty members, representing the Belmont University Psychology Club, participated in the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s Out of the Darkness Walk on Saturday, September 10. The walk took place in the Music Row community, starting at Owen Bradley Park. The Psychology Club donated $250 towards the walk fundraising goal, allowing them to be an event sponsor.

With more than 800 participants, the walk raised more than $73,000. According to the AFSP website, the Out of Darkness Community Walks has created a movement. Held in hundreds of cities across the country, these events provide people with the courage to open up regarding their own journey and creates a platform to change our culture’s approach to mental health.

Mathematics Major Receives Actuarial Scholarship

Hope Buckner
-
0

ellyElly Fell (mathematics major, class of 2017) was awarded the Southeastern Actuaries Conference (SEAC) Scholarship for the 2016-2017 academic year. This $1,500 award is a competitive scholarship available to students at southeastern U.S. universities who plan to pursue a career as an actuary.

Actuaries work in the insurance and financial sectors and specialize in analyzing the financial impact of risk and uncertainty.

Belmont University’s Belmont Actuarial Students Society is an organization for students interested in pursuing the Actuarial profession. Dr. Daniel Biles is the faculty advisor for this student organization.

Campus Security Donates Bikes to Edgehill Community

Staff Writer
-
0
Campus Security Donates Bikes to Edgehill Community

Belmont Campus Security–in partnership with Residence Life and Facilities Maintenance Services–recently donated 30 bikes to the Edgehill Bike Club, an organization in the Edgehill neighborhood that aims to provide free bicycles to local children. The partnership began last year when Campus Security members donated 20 bikes to the organization.

Security gathers the donation by collecting abandoned or forgotten bikes from racks across campus at the end of every summer. After sending out several notifications to current students in an effort to have the bikes reclaimed, they donate the ones that have been left behind to a local non-profit.

Officers were referred to the Edgehill Bike Club by a similar program at the Oasis Center that usually receives the donation but had a full inventory. The Edgehill Bike Club, which “seeks to change lives one child at a time by combining the refurbishing of bikes with regular bike rallies and mentoring,” was created in 2013 by Terry Key in an effort to create crime-free communities. Key hoped to achieve this goal by educating and inspiring children and families living in disadvantaged neighborhoods to participate in active community-based programs.

Belmont Campus Security Administrative Captain Louis Mills described how this donation process rewards the members of their office in addition to those receiving the free bikes. “The most rewarding part about donating the bikes is seeing the joy on people’s faces when they receive them and knowing that you are helping the community and those in need,” Mills said. “Having been a bike patrol officer for over ten years, it is a blessing to share and cultivate the love of cycling with others.”

Freshman Gracie Schram Interviewed on WKRN

Hope Buckner
-
0
Freshman Gracie Schram Interviewed on WKRN

Gracie Schram, a freshman from Kansas City, was recently interviewed by WKRN’s Samantha Fisher for her creatively decorated dorm room and coordinating music career. A singer-songwriter and all around social media enthusiast, Schram has a youtube channel that promotes her music and after moving to Belmont, her stylish dorm room.

Prominently featured on the shelves above her wardrobe, Schram has many pairs of yellow shoes–a choice specifically made to link her style to her music. The first single from her premiere album is titled, “Yellow Shoes” and gives a nod to Schram’s colorful personality–the same style seen in her room.

Schram’s “humble abode,” as she calls it, is more than the place she sleeps each night. Looking towards the future, she hopes to continue building her career in that room as she takes classes at Belmont and furthers her education. Giving credit for her already found success as an artist to her social media involvement, Schram said her more than 30,000 viewers find her in a variety of ways and are always interested in following along.

“Anything helps, ” she said. “It’s just about exposure and having more people be able to see and be part of my journey whether it’s the fact that they love my dorm room, or they love my music, or they love my yellow shoes.”

For more information on Gracie Schram and her musical career, click here.

15th Annual Humanities Symposium Explores Technology and Humankind

Staff Writer
-
0
15th Annual Humanities Symposium Explores Technology and Humankind

Belmont’s School of Humanities has been busy preparing for the 15th annual Humanities Symposium set to take place Sept. 19-Sept. 26. The event is structured around the central theme of technology and how it has impacted the meaning of humanity. Several topics that will be explored include artificial intelligence, virtual reality, technology’s effect on language, online classes and the digital impact hitting traditional libraries and writers across the globe.

humanities-symposium-program-coverThe symposium will begin with the Monteverde Plenary Address given by Professor and Director of the Asian Studies Program Dr. Ronnie Littlejohn. He will introduce the theme and discuss the history of technological fascination beginning with its emergence in ancient Chinese texts. The events will then continue throughout the week featuring student panels, writing workshops, faculty presentations and film screenings. Additionally, there will be a writing contest offered and a viewing of the first episode in the weekly “Star Trek” series.

This year’s symposium also incorporates a number of featured speakers, including poet Neil Aitken, linguist Dr. Carl Blyth, historian and author Dr. Michael Bess, podcast creator and Belmont graduate Dr. Eric Detweiler and Digital Humanities Professors Drs. Amy Earhart and Andrew Jewell.

Chair of the Department of English Dr. David E. Curtis, who has been involved with planning the symposium, discussed how this year’s theme coincides with several questions and concerns that have been explored in the humanities over the course of its evolution.

“The Humanities have traditionally raised questions about what constitutes progress for humans and societies, and many of these questions have arisen as the result of technological innovation,” said Curtis. “Questions about what is intrinsically and authentically human have evolved as not only our machines but whole human environments have been radically altered by new physical and intellectual ‘affordances’—from new media to biotechnological enhancements to the reshaping of human communities among more fluid electronic borders.”

The symposium will conclude on Sept. 26 with a reflection and discussion of the themes from the events led by the Symposium Committee.

For more information on individual events included in the symposium, click here.

Honors Program Offers Retreat to First-Year Students

April Hefner
-
0
Honors Program Offers Retreat to First-Year Students

The Honors Program recently held its annual retreat for first-year students at Deer Run camp in Thompson’s Station, Tennessee. The Honors Program has done this event for five years, using it to help with community-building and retention within the Honors Program, according to Honors Director Dr. Jonathan Thorndike.

As one student noted in a reflection on the event, “I think that the Honors Retreat at Deer Run was a nice change of pace from how crazy classes have been. I was engaged and involved the entire time, which is very welcome as a new freshman. Seclusion was such a great aspect of the camp, as it is away from the hustle and bustle of the city… As far as Honors goes, I have a better understanding of what to expect in the future, and also see how close the members are.  I am leaning towards the LEAD pathway… I am very impressed with the Retreat team and believe it is a true passion and goal for them to make newcomers feel welcome. I love how their energy spreads throughout the entire team and how contagious the happiness is. Overall, I was very happy with my experience and am thankful for all that went into making it happen.”

Belmont Praised in Multiple Categories in Annual U.S. News College Rankings

April Hefner
-
0
Belmont Praised in Multiple Categories in Annual U.S. News College Rankings

At No. 6, University lands in South region’s Top 10 for eighth consecutive year

Prospective students and other readers of U.S. News & World Report’s 2017 edition of America’s Best Colleges may think they’re seeing double, triple or more when they scan the latest college rankings as Belmont University lands high across multiple categories in the site’s recent publication. Landing at No. 6 in the Best Regional Universities—South field, Belmont now marks eight consecutive years maintaining a Top 10 regional ranking and remains the highest ranked university in Tennessee in this category.

In the publication Belmont is also lauded for the ninth year in a row for its commitment to “making the most innovative improvements in terms of curriculum, faculty, students, campus life, technology or facilities,” landing second on the “Most Innovative Schools” in the South list. And the accolades just keep coming. Belmont is praised in the following categories as well, lending more proof to the outstanding nature of the University’s academic programs and the dedication Belmont has to student success:

  • Strong Commitment to Undergraduate Teaching (No. 2 in the South): The strong commitment to undergraduate teaching ranking is determined via a survey of peer institutions, who cite their fellow institutions who best reflect that quality.
  • Best Colleges for Veterans (No. 6 in the South): To be included, institutions must be ranked in the top half of their category, be certified for the GI Bill and participate in the Yellow Ribbon Program with 20 or more students using GI Bill benefits to fund their tuition and fees.
  • Internships/Co-ops (one of only 22 institutions recognized in the nation): Schools in this category encourage students to apply what they’re learning in the classroom to work in the real world through closely supervised internships or practicums.
  • Learning Communities (one of only 18 institutions recognized in the nation): In these communities, students typically take two or more linked courses as a group and get to know one another and their professors well.
  • Service-Learning (one of only 27 institutions recognized in the nation): Required volunteer work in the community is an instructional strategy in these programs—what’s learned in the field bolsters what happens in class and vice versa.

Belmont President Dr. Bob Fisher said, “This is great news. I’m so privileged to be associated with faculty and staff who give their best every day to create extraordinary learning experiences for our students. The categories where we have been recognized are a direct result of our goal to be student-centered, and these areas are central to providing an education that equips our students for lives and careers filled with meaning and purpose.”

The U.S. News analysis places Belmont in a premier position among the 139 public and private institutions included in the South region, an area that covers Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi and Louisiana.

At the start of the semester Belmont reached a record-breaking enrollment number for the 16th consecutive year with a total of 7,771 students on campus.

Amy Grant Performs, Speaks About Stillness at Chapel

Staff Writer
-
0
Amy Grant Performs, Speaks About Stillness at Chapel

Gospel Music Hall of Fame singer Amy Grant spoke to students and faculty about her faith journey in the Massey Performing Arts Center on Sept. 9. She centered her message on the idea of stillness and how hard it can be to find time for solitude in today’s busy world.

Grant began the event by performing her original song “If I Could See (What the Angels See)” on acoustic guitar. She then changed gears by telling a story of when she took her daughters to the family’s farm to spend a day in nature– only to be left alone with the campfire when her daughters ran off to play. Grant discussed how solitude was something she wasn’t used to and how she didn’t know what to do with all of the time she’d spend by herself that night. She eventually turned her attention to the night sky and ended up spending hours thinking about its vastness and various layers.  She also considered her relationship with the God who created every part of her view.

“We’ve taken our relationship with God and made it like a school project. We have Sunday school and Bible study,” Grant said in her talk. “But we can’t contain any of our relationships, much less our relationship with the one who spun all of this.”

Grant discussed the importance of having time for stillness in our lives so we can pay attention to the miracles around us. “When you give something your full attention, there’s a better chance it will open itself up to you,” Grant said.

The event ended with a meditation exercise led by Grant that involved the audience identifying the constant “chatter” that clouds their minds and trying to block it out by telling themselves that they are “yielded and loved.” Grant says the point of this practice is to slow one’s mind and only focus on remembering that we are loved before we are anything else that we feel like we need to be.

Grant made it clear that she is still trying to figure out her own relationship with God and that she continues to grow in her faith over time. “I have sung so many songs, I’ve given so many talks, and I feel like I’m still figuring out my journey with faith,” said Grant.

Grant has given faith-based talks at Belmont for several years. She was introduced by the Vice President for Spiritual Development Dr. Todd Lake.

Ferrells Speak as Part of Belmont Scholars in Action Series

April Hefner
-
0
Ferrells Speak as Part of Belmont Scholars in Action Series

Dr. O.C. Ferrell and Dr. Linda Ferrell recently led a “Belmont Scholars in Action” convocation conversation about ethics, integrity and leadership in business. With Associate Provost for Academic Affairs Dr. Beverly Schneller moderating, the couple discussed two of their recent publications, one on gender and pricing and another on the role of the senior financial officer and firm behavior relative to Sarbanes-Oxley Section 406 Code of Ethics.  They also spoke to their careers as scholar-teachers and their roles as educators and consultants to national and multinational corporations.

The Ferrells, both Distinguished Chairs of Business Ethics, came to Belmont in 2015. Dr. O.C. Ferrell is the co-author of four noted books and numerous articles in marketing, management and ethical decision-making. Dr. Linda Ferrell has co-authored five books in business leadership and numerous articles in marketing science, particularly in the use of case studies as decision-based learning strategies.

1...327328329...859Page 328 of 859
Belmont University Logo | News & Media

CONTACT US

University Marketing and Communications
615-460-6650
communication@belmont.edu

FOLLOW US

Secret Link