Belmont University

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.

While many families will be sharing holiday meals together this Christmas, there are also many who will be celebrating alone. That's why on Tuesday, Belmont welcomed local senior citizens to join the campus community for a special holiday brunch in the Harrington Place Dining Hall. Arielle Markowicz, a junior music business student, helped spearhead the whole project and rallied the campus together to pull off the event for the community. The idea was born during a shift at Nashville's beloved Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, when Markowicz began helping an elderly woman with her order. The customer told Markowicz about an ice cream recipe she used to have, and when Markowicz suggested she make it for her family over the holidays, the woman responded, "It's just me." "As I returned back to behind the counter, I began to think about all the people who don't have any family or friends to spend the holidays with and what I could do to change that," said Markowicz.

Belmont honors student Rose Kores, a freshman legal studies major, was one of 518 youth from 42 states across the nation honored at the Congressional Award Foundation's annual Gold Medal Ceremony for earning the Congressional Award Gold Medal. The Congressional Award is the United States Congress' only charity and the highest honor bestowed upon a youth civilian through the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, recognizing initiative, service and achievement.

The beginning of a new school year looks different each year. It can include moving into a new dorm room, wayfinding through campus or scoping out the best spots for future study sessions. For more than 2,000 Belmont University freshmen and transfer students, this year's new school year included all these things and a special opportunity to serve their community. During the Towering Traditions orientation program, new Bruins spend an afternoon traveling to 50 locations across the greater Nashville area for service. The event, called SERVE, allows students to immerse themselves in their new hometown.

The beginning of a new school year looks different each year. It can include moving into a new dorm room, wayfinding through campus or scoping out the best spots for future study sessions. For more than 2,000 Belmont University freshmen and transfer students, this year's new school year included all these things and a special opportunity to serve their community. During the Towering Traditions orientation program, new Bruins spend an afternoon traveling to 26 locations across the greater Nashville area for service. The event, called SERVE, allows students to immerse themselves in their new hometown.

A group of Belmont student-athletes and administrators recently returned from Kenya as part of the Bruins' annual mission trips.

Students from Belmont University spent days of their Spring Break serving the Nashville community, a biannual tradition led by the Office of Residence Life during both Spring and Fall Break each year.

For 125 Belmont University students, faculty and staff, Spring Break this year meant a trip away from Nashville, but it didn't include the typical beach and relaxation scene most often associated with Spring Break. Rather, these groups traveled to locations in the United States as well as overseas, including sites in Mexico and the Dominican Republic, to serve their neighbor.

Instead of traveling the country or spending their fall breaks visiting family, 70 members of the Belmont community spent time serving in five locations across the U.S. as part of the University's "Plunge" Fall Break program.

A group of 35 Belmont University students chose to participate in "Immersion Trips" over spring break to contribute to the community and focus on personal reflection.

Dozens of Belmont students joined their peers from across the city Jan. 17, 2015, to carry on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. when they spent five hours volunteering in the fifth annual MLK Day of Service.

For the second year in a row, Belmont's University Ministries office led a team of students on a "Fall Break Plunge," a three-day mission project Oct. 12-14. The Plunge is an allusion to the University's annual "immersion" spring break trip program, which is designed to give students the chance to be immersed in God's world in various destinations, experiencing God's work in a number of contexts. The Plunge enables participants to get a taste of what a week-long mission trip could be.