Jon Acuff Concludes Four Part Series on ‘Your Dream Job’

On Wed., Jan. 16, Jon Acuff, author of Quitter: Closing the Gap Between Your Day Job and Your Dream Job and Stuff Christians Like, concluded his four-part “Your Dream Job” series.

Following worship at the Massey Performing Arts Center, Acuff shared his own personal struggle on his journey to “do work that matters.” He once had the opportunity to speak at a Christian conference in Chicago while still working at his first desk job. He remembered how elated he was during the conference and how he cried on the flight back home. “I knew I was going to have to go back to my desk. I did the reverse Superman,” he said. “I put my clothes back on, and went back to work.” He explained that the road to truly fulfilling work is a long one and calls for much patience.

Acuff kept the packed-out Massey Performing Arts Center laughing throughout his talk.

He likened the experience to the Jews release from slavery in Exodus. “God did not lead them directly to the promised land. He took them the long way, through a desert road,” he explained. “It was frustrating, but God can see things we can’t see. He has a reason.”

Acuff explained that often, the need for patience feels like a desert road and can be interpreted as punishment. However, Acuff believes the desert road is a gift. “God may have something he doesn’t want us to return to,” he posited.

He returned to the question “how do we do work that matters?” with the infamous “you complete me” scene from Jerry Maguire. The movie, like much of pop culture, implies that people can, and need to, be fixed, Acuff explained. This impedes the ability to do work that matters. “If we constantly try to fix, God can’t use us because we become obsessed with the fix.” (more…)

Belmont Introduces WeCar as Alternative Transportation Option

Sarah  Bouse  bummed rides to the grocery store from her friends until she discovered a car-sharing program that covers gas and keeps her from circling Belmont parking garages.

“In the past when I needed to go somewhere, I used other people’s cars or I would say to my friends, ‘hey, if you are going to Target, let me know,’” said Bouse, a junior from Indianapolis, Ind., studying classical performance, pedagogy and Spanish. She signed up for WeCar in August and uses a Toyota Prius twice a week to get around Nashville for service learning projects and to observe piano lessons to fulfill requirements for class. “With the classes I have this semester, it is beneficial to not have to bug other people for rides, especially when they would have to go out of the way to take me places like Mount Juliet.”

Parked in reserved spaces between Wright Hall and Whitten Soccer Field, the Toyota Prius  and a Mini Cooper are available to all Belmont employees and students aged 18 and older. Membership along with low hourly and daily rates includes gas, maintenance, roadside assistance, travel up to 200 miles and a reserved parking spot. Students between 18 and 20 must have their own liability insurance, and WeCar provides insurance for members 21 and older.

“Our partnership with WeCar strengthens our commitment to provide the Belmont University community with flexible, environmentally-friendly transportation options,” said Vice President for Administration and University Counsel Jason Rogers. “We are committed to a variety of strong sustainability programs and look forward to working with WeCar to further develop the university’s car sharing initiative and provide our students, staff and faculty with a solution that best matches their needs.”

The University has offered a membership-based car sharing program to the campus community since 2008 and switched to Enterprise-owned WeCar in August. Through Career Services, WeCar is offering a Belmont student a paid internship to help with promotions of the membership-based car sharing program around campus. (more…)

Career Services Implements ‘Call to Serve’ Initiative

In February 2011, Belmont senior Carlin Lawroski and the Office of Career Services implemented the “Call to Serve” initiative on Belmont’s campus. Lawroski and Career Services will plan and offer programs to educate Belmont students about federal service. The Office of Career Services will promote internships and jobs with the federal government.
To accomplish these goals, the Partnership for Public Service–a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works to revitalize the federal government by inspiring a new generation to serve–works with colleges and universities across the country to ensure that students are knowledgeable about opportunities in federal service. In addition, The Partnership for Public Service partners with federal agencies to develop innovative recruiting methods and effective hiring techniques to improve government’s capacity to build the workforce it needs.
Currently, the Call to Serve network consists of more than 720 schools and more than 75 federal agencies.