On Sun., March 2, eight current Belmont West students and four Belmont alumni served as part of a staff of 30 who ran the “Oscar Fan Experience.” About 800 fans were chosen to sit in the stands along the red carpet and enjoy The Academy Awards’ arrivals. The fans arrived at the Dolby Theatre early Sunday morning and were welcomed by the Bruins who handed out gift bags and served breakfast. The Oscar Fan Experience included massages, make-overs and a photo booth while the fans waited for the celebrity arrivals. Despite the rainy weather, it was a great experience for the fans who came from all over the world. During the arrivals, the students and alumni managed the fan stands. Once the carpet was closed, the fans were led across the street to The El Capitan Theatre where they were served dinner and watched The Academy Awards live.
Belmont West adjunct instructor Valerie Vanderwest said, “Having an almost 15-year presence in Los Angeles, the Belmont West students have earned a reputation of being professional, hard-working and ambitious. We were so excited to get the call to return to the Oscars to work on the Oscar Fan Experience and extend this once in a lifetime experience to our Belmont West students.”
This was the second time that Belmont students have had the opportunity to work on the production of The Academy Awards. In addition to The Academy Awards, the current group of Belmont West students have been collecting a semester of hands-on entertainment opportunities including working The GRAMMY Awards and attending an intimate listening party with Pharrell Williams for his new release, Girl.
Dr. Oscar Arias Sanchez, former president of Costa Rica and 1987 Nobel Peace Laureate, spoke last night at a free, public event as part of Nashville’s second annual PeaceJam and will join student volunteers this afternoon at the Cole Elementary School Family Resource Center (5060 Colemont Drive) as part of the event. 
Belmont’s Center for Entrepreneurship and sweets lovers are celebrating the return of rock candy, chocolates, wax bottles and jelly beans to Belmont Boulevard as student-operated Buzzy’s returned to its original home this month where it opened four years earlier.
Alumna Mandy Strader (’12), one of the original founders of Buzzy’s, assisted current students and the Center for Entrepreneurship with the unwrapping of the new store. The new Buzzy’s has more modern sweets, like Sour Patch, Dove and Heath bars, than the former candy shop, which focused on old school candies.
Belmont custodian Lilia Jurado became a U.S. citizen on Feb. 21 when she took the Oath of Allegiance during the citizenship ceremony, a celebration for new citizens during which they are introduced to the U.S. justice system, recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the U.S. flag and hear from speakers on the responsibilities of citizenship. Jurado is a native of Mexico and works in the University’s Facilities Management Services.
Associate Professor of Chemistry Dr. Alison Moore and the Student Members of the American Chemical Society (SMACS) led an interactive crime-solving event for students last Thursday during a convocation event. With a theme reminiscent of the popular CBS TV series “CSI,” students were challenged to play the role of Crime Scene Investigators and draw conclusions about a hypothetical crime based on their research.
While working at local app development company Aloompa, Belmont senior Bryn Bodayle partnered with photographer Jeremy Cowart as the primary IOS developer for 
On Feb. 18, second-year students in the Master of Sport Administration program hosted a basketball tournament for nearly 200 Special Olympians from Middle Tennessee. The tournament was held at the Curb Event Center for the fourth straight year. The competition was incorporated into the Sport Event Management and Planning course and offered students the opportunity to work in all phases of organizing an event for participants with intellectual disabilities.