Belmont University

Belmont University students Christiana Allison, Kylie Campbell, Logan Applin, Finn McGinnis, JW Smith and Benedict Yancey performed in the main cast for the Nashville Shakespeare Festival's production of "Pride and Prejudice." Savannah Raeder, Lindsay Weidenfeller, Xander Kline and Michael Shelley were understudies.

Rob Thomas, member of Phi Kappa Tau, found leadership experience through involvement in Fraternity Life at Belmont University.

Each year, approximately 40 Belmont students from the psychological sciences and neuroscience programs travel to conferences across North America. Senior Caroline Avery found the confidence to call herself a 'scientist' through presenting psychology and neuroscience research at these prestigious events.

As Belmont concludes its Black History Month 2025 celebration, one student leader stands at the intersection of community building and cultural celebration. Esther Gitimu, junior public health major and president of the Black Student Association (BSA), embodies the transformative power of finding and fostering belonging on campus.

This year, Belmont University provided 24 students with the opportunity to work at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles through Service Corps, a student organization that provides experiential learning in the entertainment industry. Davaja Rivers, co-creative director of the organization, had dreamed of attending the Grammys since childhood.

Junior commercial cello performance major Grant Brown took the stage to perform in Russell Dickerson's newest music video, "Bones (Wedding Version)."

Over the holiday break, Belmont introduced new charging spaces for students on the go - a new student venture called Plug. Plug was made possible by junior business student Abdul Abdurasulov who partnered with the Thomas F. Cone Sr. Center for Entrepreneurship to take actionable steps in bringing power banks to campus. Plug power bank stations offer a portable power bank sharing service where chargers can be rented for convenient usage at the rate of $2 an hour, or $6 a day. The idea stemmed from a trip last summer to his family's home in Uzbekistan, where power bank stations are regularly found at local coffee shops, restaurants and cafes.

Biannual pitch competition empowers student entrepreneurs to turn ideas into reality

Belmont University recently released the Dean's List for the fall 2024 semester. Approximately 53% of the University's 7,175 undergraduate students qualified for the fall 2024 Dean's List.

Each year, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board awards scholarships to students pursuing an education in accounting and auditing. This year it was awarded to graduate accounting student Elena Steffa. The $15,000 award encourages students to take their education to new heights.

For many aspiring scientists, the opportunity to conduct meaningful research often feels like an academic process reserved for graduate students. However, at Belmont University, students like Brady Pinter are proving that substantive, student-led research can commence long before a student receives his or her undergraduate degree.

Belmont University student Kayley Tigges is tired of hearing the response, "Well it's good to have a back-up plan," after sharing with someone that she is a psychology and songwriting double major. The junior does not look at one major as the best possible outcome and the other as a safety net, but rather both as pursuits of something she loves and is unwilling to compromise on.

Hayley Newton, a senior faith and social justice major at Belmont, is leveraging her passion for art to address social inequalities and restore dignity to marginalized groups. As a staff member at Room In The Inn, Newton uses art to ethically share stories of those experiencing homelessness. Looking ahead, Newton hopes to bring theatre into incarcerated spaces to restore humanity and dignity to justice-impacted populations while fostering practical skills.

Senior Lauren York has always had a passion for nature. Raised in the small town of Rome, Georgia, she is no stranger to life on farms, being around animals and observing how the outdoors provide. As an environmental science major today, she is actively working to give back to nature in return.

Rising junior Mary Margaret Jones never expected her Maymester trip to the Netherlands to make a lasting impact on her day-to-day life and open a pathway for her to effect small change that is making a big impact.

Fourth-year students Emily Schiedemeyer, Honor Thomas and Olivia Hobbs earned first place in the one-day competitive charrette to commence the architecture studio 6 course in the O'More College of Architecture and Design, Tuesday, Jan. 9.

On Thursday, Feb. 16, senior sports administration major JaQobi Scantling received the Volunteer Friend Phoenix Award from the Nashville non-profit, Healing Arts Project, Inc. (HAPI), at its 13th Annual Phoenix Art Gala. HAPI provides opportunities for people in mental health and addiction recovery to promote healing, community awareness and inclusion. The organization provides free art classes taught by professional artists, art exhibitions, publication opportunities and outreach events in an effort to fill a gap in recovery and rehabilitation services. Scantling has volunteered with HAPI since 2019. What started as fulfilling his Bell Tower Scholar service requirement has transitioned into a rewarding experience that also allows him to exercise one of his passions- being an advocate for others.

Omicron Delta Kappa, the National Leadership Honor Society, celebrates students who are serving as circle (chapter) presidents. Students who serve as circle presidents are leaders amongst leaders. Members of ODK must be sophomores, juniors, seniors, or graduate/professional students in the top 35% of their class and embrace the Society's ideals. They also must demonstrate leadership experience in at least one of the five pillars of campus life celebrated by ODK: academics and research, athletics, service to campus and community, communications, and creative and performing arts. Fewer than five percent of students on a campus are invited to join each year.

The following people recently were initiated into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation's oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines.

Savannah Stover, a junior public relations and corporate communications transfer student, was recently published in the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society's national literary journal, Nota Bene. Stover's essay "In My Death, I was Born" competed against 440 submissions to be one of 28 published stories. Stover's journey is unlike most others. After her husband of nearly twenty years tragically passed in 2018, Stover became a single mother to seven children. Shortly after her husband's passing, Stover returned to school. Starting at Volunteer State Community College then transferring to Belmont this semester, Stover discovered a new passion: writing. Through her poetry and short stories, Stover found a way to fully express herself and process her grief. To read more about Stover's recent accomplishment, visit the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society website.

Psychological Science Professor Dr. Timothy Schoenfeld published an article with neuroscience major Chance Swanson in Biomolecules. The article, entitled "A runner's high for new neurons? Potential role for endorphins in exercise effects on adult neurogenesis" extensively reviewed current literature to understand how endorphins, often credited for the infamous "runner's high," may instead be helpful in promoting the creation of new neurons in the brain. These new neurons are thought to contribute to learning, memory and positive mood states, all things that exercise enhances.

Sara Saif, a second-year student in Belmont University's College of Pharmacy, was given the opportunity to conduct research in a polypharmacy project within the COVID-19 and Cancer Consortium (CCC-19), a consortium of more than 120 cancer centers and other organizations who have come together to collect data about patients with cancer who have been diagnosed with COVID-19.