CHARLOTTE — Sixteen Diocese of Charlotte seminarians have been assigned to work at parishes this summer, the diocese’s Vocations Office has announced. They will serve from June 2 to Aug. 8.
Seminarians and their assignments are:
- Angermeyer, Christopher: St. John the Evangelist Church in Waynesville
- Balkey, Darren: Queen of the Apostles Church in Belmont
- Bauman, Robert: St. Ann Church in Charlotte
- Brock, Christopher: Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro
- del Cid Lucero, Anthony: St. Mark Church in Huntersville
- Dimock Jr., Matthew: St. Michael the Archangel Church in Gastonia
- Huber, Aaron: St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlotte
- Martin, Luke: Sacred Heart Church in Salisbury
- Martinez, Kevin: Holy Cross Church in Kernersville
- Nnebe-Agumadu, Chinonso: St. Therese Church in Mooresville
- Palma Torres, José: St. Vincent de Paul Church in Charlotte
- Rusciolelli, Peter: St. John the Baptist Church in Tryon
- Sifuentes, Noé: St. Ann Church in Charlotte
- Suttle, Elliott: St. Francis of Assisi Church in Jefferson
- Tran, Kevin: St. Therese Church in Mooresville
- Tweed, James: St. Margaret Mary Church in Swannanoa
— Catholic News Herald
BELMONT — Belmont Abbey College recently announced the completion of the newest addition to its campus: a 136-room residence hall. It primarily serves upperclassmen but also adds new classrooms, offices and meeting spaces. At $12.4 million, the project is the largest capital investment in the college’s history.
The Benedictine-run college also recently announced the launch of “Abbey Online,” a slate of popular undergraduate degree programs being offered completely online for the first time this fall.
Residence Hall
The brick-clad residence hall was designed by MKC Architects to mirror the Gothic architecture prominent on the college’s historic campus. The college partnered with University Housing Solutions and Shiel Sexton Inc. on the project.
“The new residence hall is so pretty! I like that there’s a kitchenette on each floor because it’s an easy way to be around friends,” said Lauren Carpenter, a resident of the new dorm. “The laundry rooms on each floor are very convenient as well. It is one of the best spots on campus right by the cafeteria and close to all of the buildings for classes.”
The structure is five stories, with the first story featuring meeting areas, social areas, offices, two classrooms, and a student lounge available to all students, including commuters. The upper floors alternate between a men’s and women’s floor. Each residence floor has a kitchenette, study areas, a laundry area and a gathering area on each side. For security, the upper floors are accessible only via the elevator and stairwell with a student’s magnetic ID permitting them to go to their floor.
The Belmont Abbey College Board of Trustees and the Southern Benedictine Society approved the addition of the new residential hall in 2018. Construction began in January 2020 and finished this past January.
“The new residence hall answers a need we’ve had for several years,” said Vice Provost and Dean of Student Life Tom MacAlester. “When students live on campus, they have a more enjoyable and more successful college career. We look forward to having greater capacity on our campus, and giving more students the ability to call Belmont Abbey College their home away from home.”
The new hall welcomed its first residents at the beginning of the spring semester in January 2021. The annual cost for the new residence is $7,300 per year – about $70 more per month than St. Scholastica and St. Benedict Halls, which were the last new halls built in 2013.
Online programs
In addition to expanding its campus facilities, Belmont Abbey College also recently announced its first undergraduate online degrees in business management, accounting and interdisciplinary studies. These degree programs – already leading programs for residential and commuter students – will be completely accessible online.
Applications may be submitted anytime. Classes are available on five start dates, with the first approximate start date this fall set for Aug. 17.
The Abbey Online degree programs are significantly less than in-person instruction at $349 per credit hour, and the online aspect gives those students the ability to manage their degree and their studies as they wish.
For details, go online to www.bac.edu/abbeyonline.
— Rolando Rivas