by Jeff Whitten | Aug 9, 2021 | Achievements, Alumni Profiles, Excluded from search, MIU News
August 9, 2021 • ISSUE 584
Leo Alexander III
Connecting the African American Diaspora with Africa through Business
Leo Alexander III just graduated from MIU, earning a BA in applied arts and sciences with a specialization in business. For his senior project, he managed the construction of a greenhouse in Kenya, the installation of an irrigation system, and the transplantation of 1,000 strawberry plants. He has also implemented agroecological farming practices, such as water conservation, composting, and intercropping, while staying true to local agricultural techniques.
Although he was able to complete this project in a few months while being in Fairfield, the idea for the business goes back to his teenage years in Houston, Texas. When Leo was learning about African American history and the untapped economic opportunities on the African continent, especially in agriculture, he decided to somehow connect the African American community with Africa through business and investments.
The construction of the greenhouse in Kenya
While attending a community college in Colorado, he heard about MIU and the Concept to Market Institute and applied. Leo arrived in January 2019, spent three months at the MIU Student Farm in the summer, and in September headed to Africa for a four-month internship. He visited small farms in Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya and talked to over 1,000 people about running a farm business and sustainable farming practices.
Leo feels that connecting to deeper states of consciousness with the Transcendental Meditation® technique played a large part in his ability to manifest his desire. “I couldn’t have done it without meditation and visualization,” he said. “TM helped me stay centered and focused on my goals.”
Finished greenhouse with drip irrigation
Leo used the connections he made in Kenya to come up with his business plan and help him with on-site management. To finance the project, he used the funds from his stock trading activities. His ultimate goal is to make the project profitable, scale up the operation, and use the profits to help others in the Black community take advantage of similar economic opportunities in Africa.
“This idea presents a new win-win opportunity for African Americans to lift their economic boat while simultaneously lifting the economic boat of Africa,” he said.
Water tank for irrigating the greenhouse
by Livia Horváth | Apr 17, 2018 | Alumni Profiles
MUM alumna Nicole Winning
Working at the Bethesda TM Center in 2014
With fellow students at a TM retreat on the Mother Divine campus
Doing performance art at her solo show called “Un Govern Able Spaces” in Gallery 244 at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
MUM alumna Nicole Winning is currently pursuing an MFA degree at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and exhibiting her art around the country. During the past year, her work has been included in 20 shows in 12 states, including two solo exhibits.
Nicole’s days are jam-packed with working in the art studio and pursuing two part-time jobs. Nevertheless, she always finds time to practice the Transcendental Meditation® and TM-Sidhi® programs twice a day, which keep her recharged. “My daily TM practice is the only way I feel I can accomplish as much as I do without burning out,” she says.
Nicole earned her undergraduate degree in art from the University of Mary Washington in her hometown of Fredericksburg, Virginia. She is also a certified Hatha Yoga teacher, having taught yoga at retreat centers in the U.S. and abroad.
She learned the Transcendental Meditation® technique in 2014 and soon after was offered a job as administrator of the Transcendental Meditation Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Listening to the variety of guest speakers coming to the Center from Fairfield, Nicole became increasingly interested in Yogic Flying® and Maharishi Vedic ScienceSM, and nine months later she enrolled at MUM.
During her two years at MUM, Nicole completed the MA in Maharishi Vedic Science program, learned the TM-Sidhi technique, participated in monthly weekend TM retreats, and joined the Invincible America program for three months.
“I have found the most fulfillment at MUM,” said Nicole. “Through these practices, I gained the ability to have access to inner peace and stability and finer levels of awareness of my emotions and my thoughts. I continually see manifestations of greater joy in my life as well.”
After completing her MFA degree, Nicole hopes to pursue a holistic-based career and lifestyle, where the practice of the TM technique, her artistic expression, and bodywork practices seamlessly integrate.
by Paul Stokstad | Nov 2, 2017 | Alumni Profiles, Excluded from search, Gifting News
Students participating in the first MUM Quest (photo by Peter Arnold)
Magic, dance, and art were at the heart of the two-hour adventure that involved over 80 students last month as part of MUM Quest, a series of events this academic year based on teamwork, fun, and fantasy, all with the purpose of engaging students and fostering connectedness.
The donor-funded Quest Event recieved contributions of $4,940, which was 123% of its fundraising target of $4,000. The University thanks not only donors who made the event possible, but the many student advocates who spread the word about this unique experience.
MUM’s ‘most mythical and mystical’ event
MUM students loved the Quest so much that student organizers plan to create three additional productions over the coming year.
“The Quest was the most mythical and mystical event MUM has ever put on,” said student Alexandria Van Boven.
Planned by alumnus Chris Grace and student Haley Spitzfaden, the MUM Quest was modeled after Harry Potter’s Triwizard Tournament. During the inaugural event six teams of students trekked across campus to engage in challenges. Teams earned points based on the quality of their teamwork, enthusiasm, and achievement of goals.
The MUM Quest participants with their art challenge pieces at Waterworks Park (photo by Cody Olivas)
Escaping the ordinary
“A goal of the Quest was for the students to escape the ordinary world for two hours, and cross a threshold to experience something magical,” said Chris Grace.
The Quest commenced with an 8-minute video featuring MUM President John Hagelin reading an alternate history of Fairfield and the MUM campus, based on a 19th-century diary “found” during the demolition of Carnegie Hall. The story involved Freemasons, magic, a uniquely powerful energy vortex in Fairfield that’s in danger of being lost, and the immediate need to re-enliven this vortex by priming three “ley lines” that intersect on campus. The participants had until sundown to achieve this; otherwise, the vortex would be lost forever.
Fun challenges all along the way
The goal was to re-enliven the ley lines by completing four challenges. The faith challenge involved walking on water. During the art challenge, each team was given a canvas to create a design, with each canvas ultimately becoming part of a larger design.
The magic potion challenge entailed thinking specific thoughts, which then caused a liquid to change color. For the dance challenge, students had to dance in three circles in time with four drummers. For the grand finale, all of the teams gathered under the pine trees at Waterworks Park for a pizza party.
“The Quest was the beginning of a journey,” said Cris Evergreen, student body president. “The first of its kind, it opened me up to the magic of what’s possible when we work together. It was light-hearted and fun. I look forward to seeing what the game masters conjure up for next time.”
What Students are Saying about The Quest:
Undergrad.
“The Quest was as magical as promised, and even more. I was stumped and enthralled by the magic, which was performed and had to ask my more left-brained friends how liquids changed colors and fire burst out of nowhere before our very eyes. My favorite place was definitely the Love Forest, which is still up even though the first Quest has since finished. My favorite aspect was the ‘real history’ of Fairfield, intertwined with our tasks. The Quest was the most mythical and mystical event MUM has ever put on! Only at MUM will gaggles of students chant Gaelic spells at a school sanctioned event. I am so proud to be a part of this wonderfully weird place.”
Masters Candidate
“The Quest definitely brought about a liveliness on campus. It was quite a beautiful experience, seeing such a diverse group of students split into teams, where barely anyone knew anyone … to come into coherence to achieve the goals that were presented to us. Since I’ve been at this University, normally people get caught up in the swing of classes and the cliques they form, so that the school year just passes by. But by the end of the quest, not only did we have fun and make new friends, but we were all united in the end. Definitely two thumbs up from me. Thank you!”
Pre-Integrative Medicine Student
“The Quest demonstrated a magic that went beyond its premise of Gaelic lore and Leylines. It provided an inviting and seamless experience that drew many to answer its call and follow through to a satisfying end.”
MUM Student Body President
“The Quest was the beginning of a journey. The first of it’s kind, the Sept 23 Quest opened me up to the magic of what’s possible when we work together. It was light-hearted and fun. I look forward to seeing what the Game Masters conjure up for next time!”
by Livia Horváth | Apr 18, 2017 | Alumni Profiles
- Awards: Distinguished Entrepreneur Award, Forty Under Forty, Inc. 500
- Home: Naples, Florida
- From: Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
- Job: President of Location Based Services, RacoWireless
- Specialty: Software Development
- MIU Degree: BS, Computer Science, 1994
“There is very little I have today that I could not trace back to my education at MIU,” says Felix Lluberes, founder and CEO of Position Logic.
During some of the financially toughest times in recent history — the economic downturn that began in 2008 — Felix was busy accomplishing something that even in good times few entrepreneurs can manage: building up a small business that would be named to the prestigious Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing companies in the U.S.
Felix and his wife Andrea, whom he met while studying at MIU.
A computer science bachelors graduate from MIU, Felix started Position Logic in his home before expanding it to more than 42 employees in four U.S. states and two countries. In 2014, this high achiever won the Distinguished Entrepreneur Award from the Florida Small Business Development Center at Florida Gulf Coast University, and was named to the Gulfshore Business “Forty Under Forty,” celebrating successful young business leaders in Florida. Felix lives in Naples, Florida with his wife Andrea and their three children, Bianka, Romulo, and Felix.
Early Roots
Felix Lluberes grew up in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, raised by parents whose education did not exceed 8th grade. He attended the local Maharishi High School, located just three blocks from his home, where he learned the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique at age 12.
He grew to love meditation and Maharishi’s teachings. In 8th grade he decided that he wanted to attend Maharishi International University in Fairfield, Iowa after graduating from high school. However, his family’s financial limitations made that seem like a far-flung dream. “I thought that if I applied myself for five or six years, I might get a scholarship,” says Felix. In the spring of 1989 he received word from MIU: he’d won a full tuition scholarship. Felix arrived in Fairfield in August 1989.
Not yet proficient in English, he enrolled in an ESL program before embarking on his degree work. His first moments on campus felt like a dream come true. “Just being able to see the Domes, see the campus, it was amazing,” recalls Felix. “I started to meet the students. That was the beginning of an unbelievable family, unbelievable friends who became lifetime assets.”
Success at MIU
Felix’s three children Felix, Bianka and Romulo
He chose computer science as a major and earned his BS degree in 1994. He landed his first job at a Fairfield company and then relocated to Kansas for a position developing security frameworks. After working a few more jobs in software development, his breakthrough came in 2003 when he created a platform for asset management and GPS tracking.
Based on that technology, Felix founded his company, Position Logic, which within six years earned the Inc. 500 distinction. “In our Naples office alone, where I spend most of my time, we have 42 employees representing 19 different nationalities,” says Felix. “It’s an international family, just like at MIU. It’s something I’m very proud of.”
Mentoring at MIU
Felix attributes much of his career success to what he learned and experienced at MIU. “The faculty there mentor you,” he says. “You get the sense they really care about the students. You can easily approach individuals who sit higher up. They are so accessible, so open, so able to help you. And they do so in a very kind manner.” At MIU, he says he learned to look at things from a deeper level.
“I can see from a different point of view than most people,” he says. “I can relate just about everything back to nature. That’s important.” Felix credits MIU for helping him gain a business advantage, and sees the practice of TM as enabling him to function better. “I call it true clarity,” he explains. “TM plays a critical role in anything I set out to do. It gives me that center, that peace that is necessary to do the right thing at the right time. “I am so lucky to have had this education and experience,” he says. “It has been such a blessing throughout my life.”
by Livia Horváth | Apr 18, 2017 | Alumni Profiles
Amy Spitzfaden
I got the idea for my novel in December 2011,” says Amy Spitzfaden, 23, who earned a literature degree from MUM the following year. “The first sentence came to me, and that’s what got me started. The protagonist feels she’s ‘missing’ someone but doesn’t remember who it is. I liked that concept, though I didn’t develop it at first.”
The story did gel over time. A key moment in what would become Amy’s first novel, Untold – winner of the Inkfingerz award 2013 – took place during a storytelling class given by MUM Media & Communications instructor Cullen Thomas.
“For homework we had to write a certain number of pages each night,” says Amy. “So I decided to start into the story. What was really helpful was that Cullen asked all these leading questions, like ‘Where is this missing feeling coming from? What happens then? What does the scenery look like?’ I thought about it all, and saw mountains and forests and trees, and before I knew it the book was starting to happen.”
Amy found much-needed support and writerly tools in MUM’s literature department, which prepared her to work through a full-length novel. Professor Nynke Passi “was amazing at teaching technique and giving guidance,” Amy says. “It’s such a respectful community. In a lot of writing classes you can get the feeling of competition. At MUM, everybody is so happy to listen to everybody else’s writing. I loved that.”
Amy’s book tour for Untold included a stop in Fairfield, Iowa, home of MUM, for readings as well as a radio interview on KRUU on the show Writers’ Voices. You can listen to the show here.
Currently Amy works in marketing at Publishers Single Copy Sales Service (PCSC), a consulting company based in Peterborough, New Hampshire. The company’s focus is on magazine publishing, sales, and distribution. Amy manages social media, works in promotion and offers client support.
In 2013 Amy married Ravi Both, whom she met when both were students at MUM. Ravi, a native of Holland, works as a web developer and SEO expert, also at PSCS.
- MUM Degree: BA, Literature & Creative Writing, 2012
- Winner: Inkfingerz Award for Fiction, 2013
- Debut Novel: Untold (1st World Publishing, 2012)
- Job: Marketing Assistant/Social Networking Expert at PSCS Consulting
