Living the Dream at Day to Dream

Annual fall festival emphasizes how hope and joy are best experienced together  

Belmont was once again transformed for its Day to Dream festival, bringing together the entire campus for a celebration of hope, joy and community — rain or shine. 

This year’s celebration brought Belmont’s mission to life in new ways. From morning reflections on friendship and community to an all-day festival filled with laughter and creativity, Day to Dream 2025 reminded the campus that hope is built — and lived — together. 

Faculty and Staff Kickoff Brunch

Faculty and staff enjoyed a delayed start and gathered for a faculty and staff kickoff brunch to celebrate the theme of "unlikely friends" and highlight the importance of community and collaboration. 

At the start of the semester, President Greg Jones announced Belmont’s theme for the academic year: Living the Dream Together with Hope. At the start of the brunch, Jones took a moment to set intentions for the Day to Dream by highlighting one word — together.  

“What I think is so treasured about Belmont is the way we work, live and enjoy life together,” he said. “That doesn't mean that we don't have challenges and we don't have times for working individually, but it's about the coming together and the ways we pitch in to encourage each other that is so life giving.” 

Unlikely Friends Panel 

An engaging panel discussion served as a feature event of the kickoff. At the beginning of the semester the Office of Formation, the Belmont Formation Collaborative and the Office of Hope Unity & Belonging recruited leaders across campus to participate in the Unlikely Friends faculty and staff initiative, a pilot program for friendship and interdepartmental exchange.  

Unlikely Friends paired colleagues from different areas across campus to shadow one another, exchange perspectives and deepen mutual understanding in the spirit of living the dream together. 

As the four panelists reflected on their experiences in the faculty and staff Unlikely Friends pilot program, a common theme emerged — the most meaningful connections often come from the most unexpected places.  

“Participants built meaningful connections that transcended titles and departments, reminding us that collaboration and empathy are at the heart of what makes Belmont so special,” said Dr. D’Angelo Taylor, VP for The HUB.  

SOUL Awards 

Continuing the tradition, the Faculty and Staff SOUL Awards were presented to two leaders within the campus community who make significant contributions to the University’s work by being champions for hope, love, joy, humility and wisdom. 

Faculty SOUL Award
Mike Pinter, Mathematics Professor & Senior Fellow of the Teaching Center 

Staff SOUL Award 

Morgan Champion, Recruitment Coordinator, Career & Professional Development 

Day to Dream rain plans transformed the Curb Event Center into a 90,000 square foot fall playscape, complete with inflatables, pumpkin painting, live music, crafts, trick-or-treating and much more.  

Day to Dream — one of campus’s favorite traditions — was a resounding success, reflecting the achievements of an already outstanding year with more to come.