Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

Publication Date

Spring 3-25-2024

College

Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, College of

Department

Public Relations, Department of

BURS Faculty Advisor

Christie Kleinmann

Presentation Type

Oral Presentation

Abstract

Human connection is effortless in the age of the Internet—for those who fit the mold. For young adults with cross-cultural, nuanced identities, it’s easy to get lost in the sorting of algorithms. Forming deep connections becomes difficult. Finding who you are seems impossible. Isolated and socially disconnected, culturally fluid young adults often lose themselves among peers who appear secure in their identities and homes.

This is why the Belmont Culturs team has worked strategically to bridge the gap between identity and diversity for our target audience: Belmont University students. Belmont Culturs is paving a new path to “we” through simplifying the Culturs message and connecting it to our real, everyday neighbors. We’ve used holistic, sustainable momentum by partnering with existing Belmont University and Nashville communities to encourage students to listen to others’ stories and embolden them to share their own.

Throughout this campaign, we brought Culturs and its mission to Belmont students, effectively increasing awareness of Culturs on campus by 1100%. We worked to engage as many students as possible in our events with a total of 163 students in attendance throughout the campaign. As students became aware and engaged, we encouraged them to get take action by getting involved with cultural discussions at Belmont and in the greater community, gathering 36 applications for the newly created ambassador program that will outlast this campaign under the supervision of Belmont University. To maximize campaign effectiveness, a preliminary survey was sent to students to gather data on initial attitudes and needs of students regarding cultural programming. A post-event survey was sent out to students at the end of our second event to analyze successes from the programming and identify necessary adjustments for the latter half of the campaign.

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