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Belmont Abbey College

The Catholic College of the South

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Being Broke Is No Joke… How To Become Financially Literate in College.

Author: The Crusader Staff Writer, Regina Vegihe

“Money the Abbey Way” (MTAW) is Belmont Abbey College’s program to improve students’ financial literacy. This program has the following mission statement: “Your beliefs about money, and the decisions you make about money, are intimately related to what it means to live a good life and to lead a life of integrity, to succeed professionally, to become a responsible citizen, and to be a blessing to yourself and others.”

In other words, MTAW teaches students how to wisely save, earn, spend, borrow, and tithe money. Dr. Cote, the advisor of MTAW, recommends that students start saving now as she says, “Putting money aside daily instead of buying coffee will pay off for the long term.” Furthermore, “It is about thinking long term, not just short term.”

MTAW hosts many events for Financial Literacy as well. In September, MTAW hosted its first Financial Literacy event of the year. Soon, an email will be sent out with details about a speaker presenting on investment risks. In the spring, a speaker will be presenting on employee benefits. Dates of these events will be coming soon.

There are five tips that MTAW strives to teach Belmont Abbey Students. These include…

  • Knowing Personal Finance to make an informed financial decision
  • Apply Finance principles to a situation and choose the best financial outcome for them
  • Understand Church Teachings about money and apply them to their life.
  • Think about beliefs and values to use money wisely for themself, their family, and their community.
  • Confidence in making a financial decision. To learn more about MTAW, go to the Online Student Success Hub on

canvas and look under modules for “Financial Literacy: Money the Abbey Way” Many resources, such as bac.igrad.com, will help students understand personal finance.

Being broke is no joke, so start learning about personal finance now. You will thank yourself later!

This article was originally posted in the Fall 2022, Issue 2 of The Crusader Newspaper. Download the full issue.

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English Major Looking Forward to Potential Jobs

Author: The Crusader Staff Writer, Katherine Scifers

The idea of graduating college is both an exciting and very nerve-racking thing to think about. Saying that we only have about nine weeks left in the whole of the first semester, graduation is coming up faster than most seniors probably realize, and it is definitely almost here for those of us troubled souls who are graduating in December, one of which I am. No matter when the seniors are graduating, we are all concerned about what we will be doing as soon as we leave Belmont Abbey. As an English major who has absolutely no idea what I am doing once I graduate, this is extremely nerve-racking.

Having been an English major for almost my whole career at the Abbey, I have heard all the common sayings about never finding a job as an English major or that the only job I will get will be a teacher. Although being a teacher is a noble and important job, I am sure that not every English major wants to be a teacher. Therefore, I thought it might be helpful to share all the jobs I plan on applying to as an English major because I am convinced I can get a job with my degree.

The first type of job that I am applying to are jobs in social media. These jobs are new and exciting and allow for creativity. Social media jobs are great for English majors because a lot of social media actually has a lot to do with writing and rhetoric, two elements that English majors know all too well. Plus, it’s an excellent way for people who want to be creative writers to have a creative outlet and write new but short things all the time.

The next type of job that I am applying to is a reporter/journalist. These jobs are made for English majors, and I bet that each one of us English majors has dreamed about being a reporter or journalist. Therefore, we should apply for these jobs, even if we think we will not get them. 

Not getting a job is not bad; the bad thing is not applying for a job because we are afraid of rejection, which goes for every major. Even if you do not meet all the requirements but want that job, you might as well apply. I mean, you never know; you might be surprised.

The last type of job that I am going to apply to is a brand strategist. This job is perfect for an English major for similar reasons to why the social media job is excellent for an English major. Both of these jobs have to do with the image, tone, and overall rhetoric of a brand, which as English majors, we are used to changing and/or presenting in a specific and well-thought-out way.

If none of these jobs sound appealing to you as an English major, I would recommend checking out Indeed’s 20 Great Jobs for English Majors. Overall, as an English major and all soon-to-be-graduates, it is crucial not to lose hope when doing a job search. Finding a job is difficult, and you will most likely get a lot of rejections, but it is all about preserving and taking risks. So, apply for that dream job and just keep on applying.

This article was originally posted in the Fall 2022, Issue 2 of The Crusader Newspaper. Download the full issue.

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Stowe Hall: 136 Years of History

Author: The Crusader Staff Writer, John Walker

We walk past it every day, but how often do we think about Stowe Hall’s history? Built in 1898, Robert Lee Stowe Hall has been a vital part of Belmont Abbey College’s campus as an academic building, a dining hall, a residence hall, and even more. Named for local entrepreneur Robert Lee Stowe, the building is on the National Register of Historic Places as a part of the Belmont Abbey College Historic District, having been added in 1993.

Construction began under Abbot Leo Haid and Brother Wolfgang Trexler in 1886, taking twelve years to complete the building. In those days, it was called the College Building. It was built directly attached to the monastery for ease of use by the monks. The building features a Gothic-style tower on its western side, while the front entrance features a neo-Classical portico.

In 1900, a fire burned through the inside of the College Building, destroying much of the inside. Work to restore the inside began immediately, and fundraising efforts helped return the building to its former state. Classes were able to be held in the building again the next academic year. As the college grew in the 20th century, the College Building was used for classes, dining, and residence. There was even a rifle range in the building at one point.

Eventually, the name was changed to Robert Lee Stowe Hall in 1983, honoring the textile magnate and Gaston County native. The Stowe family has been vital to the development of the town of Belmont and our college. Over 136 years since the beginning of its construction, Stowe Hall remains our main academic building and one of the most iconic buildings on campus.

This article was originally posted in the Fall 2022, Issue 2 of The Crusader Newspaper. Download the full issue.

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Softball to use Communication to Improve Record

Author: The Crusader Staff Writer, Ellie Ripchik

Did you know that Belmont Abbey College has two softball teams? There is the main softball team that plays in Conference Carolina and then there is a developmental team that plays different junior colleges and community colleges. This is the first year that there is going to be a conference tournament for the developmental team. The main softball team is coached by Tony Mele and the new assistant coach is Samantha West. This will be Tony’s fourth year with the team with a 32-win streak in the 2022 spring season.

The new addition to the softball team is assistant coach, Samantha West. She played at Tusculum University for 4 years as an infielder. This is her first year as a coach at Belmont Abbey. These two coaches are ready for some softball.

In the last season, the main team went 32-15 overall and was 15-9 in the conference. Mackenzie Allison, an infielder believes, the main team “exceeded coach Tony’s expectations from the fall”. They went through some adversity throughout the season with pretty bad injuries that affected the team tremendously. In the end, they pulled through and finished with a high ranking. One of the best Mackenzie Allsion said during her sophomore year her favorite part was “beating Mount Olive a (top-ranked team) in the conference tournament.”

Mackenzie believes that this year will be even better. The Devo team had a rough start. According to midfielder Elizabeth Tucker, “we didn’t start off the season as well as anyone hoped, but after some long hours of practice and conditioning, we learned how to communicate about things that needed to be fixed and eventually then ended the season with a long win streak”. Due to a lot of postponed games and cancellations, they ended their season being 8-6.

During their season they went through a lot of injuries, these injuries led to some of the girls moving to different positions but everyone rallied and worked hard to have a fun season. Saige Stanley, a junior infielder, has high hopes for the developmental team’s upcoming season. She said, “I’d like to think that our record would be more than positive this year.” She feels if “we communicate with one another on and off the field and share a strong bond with each other throughout the season we won’t have to worry about losing.” With the new assistant coach, that means a new head coach for the Devo team. There are some improvements that Stanley thinks the team needs to work on, “putting down bunts and being more vocal in the dugout.” Overall, she is very excited to start the upcoming season strong and win softball games.

Maddie Phillips, a sophomore midfielder, is ready to play some softball. Maddie believes, “this season is a whole different culture than the previous year.” She has high expectations that they will win the conference championship this year. She says that “the dedication and hard work of this team all play a tremendous role in how we will perform this year. Believing in one another and performing to our best ability, they will be hard to beat.”

This fall the main team gets to play the University of North Carolina Charlotte, they are part of Conference USA and are a high-ranked division one school. Maddie says that “UNCC is definitely going to be a tough school to play in but I think we have a very good chance of beating them.” Maddie is excited and ready to crush UNCC because they beat them badly last year.

Please come out and support these women as they strive to have a great winning season on both teams.

This article was originally posted in the Fall 2022, Issue 2 of The Crusader Newspaper. Download the full issue.

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Coaches Job from The Athletes Perspective

Author: The Crusader Staff Writer, Miles Gutzman

The track and field team has recently hired Coach James Thierfelder, a former Belmont Abbey track and field athlete who is now a well-respected and very dedicated coach with many records to his name that hopes to advance the program further. This past year he graduated and accepted a job to help coach the track teams sprinters. I got the chance to interview him and get an insight into the key differences he has noticed and experienced since becoming a coach for his past team.

“What influenced you to want to become a coach?” 

“I wanted to offer the skill and knowledge I learned from being a part of the team along with bringing a new sense of coaching and further developing the team’s abilities.” 

Previous teammates of Coach James stated that he has experience in his training through practicing as a teammate, proving his form of practice has been very beneficial.

With the freshman class coming in, the team has picked up a handful of talented athletes in all events that have come to further their abilities and help improve the team’s ranking. One freshman athlete, Miles Gutzman, is a long jumper and short sprinter from Marietta, GA. Miles’ personal records include 21ft 11.75″ in the long jump and 11.3 seconds in the 100 meters. He hopes to increase both of these personal records substantially and possibly even break the school long jump record of 22ft 5 1/4″ in the up-and-coming season with the help of Coach Dan, Coach Tomas, and Coach James.

Many more outstanding freshman athletes add to the amazing team, steadily improving and performing to the best of their ability. With these athletes coming to the school, providing their strengths, and being guided by amazing coaches, there is no doubt that the team will finish conference ranked higher than ever before.

This article was originally posted in the Fall 2022, Issue 2 of The Crusader Newspaper. Download the full issue.

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