Diane Marie St. Ange has worked in medical administration for 20 years and now is a medical coder at a large insurance company in Louisville, Kentucky. She is also pursuing an MBA degree online via MUM Distance Education.

Diane is a seasoned online student. She earned her undergraduate degree in communications and business online from Southern New Hampshire University. Diane has also been interested in yoga and meditation, and in 2016 she read about the Transcendental Meditation^® technique. She became intrigued, did some research, and a few weeks later learned the TM^® technique at her local Transcendental Meditation Center. Soon she had two of her three children also learn the TM technique.

“TM is amazing,” she said. “It makes life so much easier. I am watching myself get healthier as I practice.” Diane is a single mother who works full time and maintains a straight A average. She even had the time to complete a 200-hour yoga teacher certification last year while doing the MBA program.

Diane started MUM’s online MBA program a year ago and was excited to participate in Consciousness-Based^SM education and study principles of Maharishi Vedic Science^SM incorporated in the business curriculum.

She also enjoys being part of a live class three times a week, when she and her fellow online students join the on-campus MBA class via web conferencing. “I think it’s important to be able to engage with professors, especially at an MBA level,” she said. “This is missing from most MBA programs I have researched.”

Diane appreciates the exposure to international students and faculty at MUM. Whenever she can, she drives to Fairfield for the weekend to participate in class and meet her classmates from around the world. In the summer of 2019 she also learned the TM-Sidhi^® program.

When Karen Ballinger joined MUM Student Government five years ago, she embarked on several projects to sustain Student Government for years to come. First she organized a weeklong annual leadership training for Student Government representatives, which recently completed its fourth session.

She also began documenting everything members needed to successfully run Student Government and represent the student body. She and three-time representative Cris Evergreen created the Student Government How-to Guide, helping each representative with their specific role.

Karen, now starting her fifth year with Student Government, serves as active alumni advisor along with Cris. Several other students in recent years also served on Student Government for multiple years, providing continuity. The result has been a more knowledgeable and empowered Student Government that can serve the student body more effectively.

“Student Government members are gaining self-confidence and leadership skills,” said Karen. “They are learning how to deal with different situations, speak up for other people, run meetings, work as a team, and communicate with administrators.”

The goal of Student Government is to improve students’ experience outside the classroom. One of the recent developments is the growth of student club activity. According to Cris, student clubs help build community, which is one of MUM’s eight core values. “Clubs create a sense of belonging, which is key to the longevity of a community and improved retention rates for the university,” said Cris.

Student Government has also created several new traditions, such as the annual Solis outdoor festival, and the ChangeMakers Month. In addition, they arranged to provide evening meals for Muslim students during Ramadan, facilitated the establishment of a student garden, and helped the student club Queer Coalition introduce gender inclusive housing and bathrooms. In addition, Student Government has helped ensure that students can comfortably practice the Transcendental Meditation^® technique.

“Students join Student Government because they see others becoming leaders and making changes to improve our campus,” said Karen. “They want to be a part of that.” Student Government’s goal for this year is to organize cultural events that showcase the diversity of campus.

MUM student Daniel Ayalew Belay had already earned an MBA from Edinburgh Business School. However, he wanted to become an expert in SAP enterprise software, so he joined MUM’s MBA in SAP Finance Program.

Daniel, who is from Ethiopia, worked for the African Union Commission for over ten years, first coordinating the financial affairs of 12 offices located in various countries in Africa, then overseeing the financial and administrative activities of the African Union Mission in South Sudan.

For several years Daniel and his brother also ran a printing company in Addis Ababa. They even published several issues of their own magazine called Armemo, which means “silence” in Amharic, referring to Daniel’s interests in self-reflection and personal development.

At the beginning of his career Daniel wanted to discover how to live “a useful and successful life,” so he began reading personal development books. Over time he decided to share what he had learned with his friends and other youth by volunteering to give short courses on self-esteem, goal setting, and personal finance. So Daniel finds MUM’s focus on self-discovery and inner growth helpful.

“Being here in Fairfield is a break for me, since I have been working for 15 years,” said Daniel. “Now I can reflect on what I want to do in the future. I am enjoying my courses, but I don’t feel stressed.” In his free time, he is writing a book for young people on how to adapt to their environment, select the direction they want to take in life, and find the courage and motivation to accomplish their goals.

Daniel especially enjoyed participating in the Capstone online business simulation, where his team placed in the 94th percentile. He also gained valuable experience from doing a research project on how to support the accounting needs of Fairfield’s small businesses through mentoring, networking, and internship programs. “People are very supportive and cooperative here,” he said. “Everyone wants you to succeed.”

After completing his studies Daniel wants to return to Ethiopia, start his own consulting company, and continue writing about personal development.

Born in Waterloo, Iowa, Shawn Brogan Diddy has been a performer since age 14. She became Miss Iowa USA in 1997 and has enjoyed a productive career in the music and television industries. Shawn is currently pursuing a PhD in management at MUM.

Shawn began her entrepreneurial adventures at age 20 by operating a karaoke and DJ business on cruise ships out of Florida. She has also recorded a country music album in Nashville and performed as a vocalist with various bands. She has acted on stage, in film, and on television, and worked as a news correspondent in Los Angeles.

However, she spent most of her time being a product expert on multiple shopping channels and acting in commercials. Shawn was an on-camera brand expert on the QCV Channel, hosted a show with Chef Emeril Lagasse from the Food Network, and hosted Jewelry Television and ShopNBC. She has also worked as a corporate coach, brand consultant, and speaker.

Getting a PhD degree has always been part of Shawn’s carefully crafted life plan. She earned an MA in mass communications from Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland, and entered into a doctoral program in 2009, which she wasn’t able to pursue due to work commitments.

Shawn describes herself as a “recovering perfectionist,” and while she loves entertaining and being on camera, she has had her struggles with anxiety and burnout. In 2011 she switched her focus to becoming a health and wellness expert. Her desire to become a “stress scientist and joy detective” led her to learn the Transcendental Meditation^® technique in 2016, and in 2018 she enrolled at MUM.

“The MUM PhD program offers university level teaching experience and research opportunities, as well as the integration of a regular TM practice, so I can work toward my professional goals while balancing personal health and well-being,” said Shawn.

Shawn wants to continue working on television as a lifestyle expert, and having a doctorate can help her achieve that. She is currently acting as a product expert on ShopLC, where she mentions MUM from time to time.

“My entire life’s mission has been to make people’s lives easier,” she said. “I want to use my PhD research to show people what TM can do in corporate America. It can really help people in this high-pressure and highly creative environment.”

MUM alumna Pia Fritsch recently published a paper in World Futures: The Journal of New Paradigm Research. In her article, titled 1.5 Degrees Celsius: The Metamorphosis of the AMERICAN Way of Life, A Transition in Collective Maturation, Pia argues that in order for the United States to become a sustainable society, it must go through a complex transformation process similar to adolescence.

Pia grew up in a family that practices the Transcendental Meditation^® technique and, after three of her siblings graduated from MUM, she decided to attend as well. Pia was interested in psychology, philosophy, and sustainability, so she pursued the philosophies of sustainability track in the Sustainable Living Department.

Pia enjoyed the block system and the courses offered by the Sustainable Living Program at MUM. “Most other programs are under environmental philosophies, but sustainable living is an apt name and subject highlighting how humans interact with the environment, rather than thinking of the environment as something separate you need to preserve.”

During her studies at MUM Pia encountered the concept of ecofeminism, a small sub-field of feminism that studies the intersection of feminism, environmentalism, and environmental justice. This discovery also served as inspiration for her article on American attitudes towards climate change examined from the perspective of developmental ecopsychology and ecofeminism.

Pia graduated from MUM in 2015 and is now completing a master’s program in gender studies at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. Pia is passionate about sustainability and gender equality. “Because of the gender division of labor in many parts of the world, a lot of the burdens of a changing environment fall on women. That’s why ecofeminism is becoming more pertinent.”

Pia is currently working on her graduate thesis on ecofeminism as exemplified by a woman-led art collective in Amsterdam which enacts art demonstrations at cultural institutions that accept money from the fossil fuel industry.