Master Zhang Gaocheng is a graduate of MIU’s MS in Computer Science program. He is also a Daoist master, who over the past 20 years has revived the almost extinct Southern Sector of Daoism in China.

Master Zhang was on faculty at Zhejiang University in China in the 1980s when he learned the Transcendental Meditation® technique. In 1986 he learned about MIU’s holistic approach to education and decided to enroll.

“When I arrived at MIU, I was deeply touched by the genuine care and friendliness the MIU leaders, faculty, and staff gave us,” said Master Zhang.

After graduating from MIU, he worked in the US and earned a green card. However, a few years later he returned to China to pursue his new goal. At a sacred Daoist site at Tiantai Mountain in Zhejiang province, he has built a cluster of 12 temples, known as Tong Bai Gong Palaces, and established the first Daoist college in the province. The palaces are among the most visited Daoist places in China.

Over the years, Master Zhang stayed in touch with MIU and in 2012 received a visit from MIU President Bevan Morris.

The college has hundreds of students who grow vegetables on the campus grounds and follow a vegetarian diet. They also perform Daoist ceremonies every day to prevent natural disasters, such as typhoons, which plague the area every year. Master Zhang said that these practices have protected Tiantai county from typhoons over the past 17 years.

“Like Maharishi’s Vedic knowledge, the Daoist practices have produced all of these miracles in the past many decades,” he said. “Maharishi’s Vedic knowledge is the knowledge of Dao.”

These achievements have attracted the attention of environmental organizations and world leaders, and Master Zhang spoke at a 2015 climate summit in Paris and met with Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in 2017. In the same year, he became the general secretary elect for the World Federation of Daoism.

One of the central aspects of Master Zhang’s mission is the protection of the environment. “The Chinese Daoists focused on the unity of human and nature,” he said. “The world is united now, we are united as one to protect our only home, planet Earth.”

For his contribution to the Daoist tradition, to education, and to world peace and harmony, MIU awarded Master Zhang with an honorary doctorate at the 2021 commencement ceremony. In his acceptance speech, Master Zhang invited all MIU alumni and students to stay at his complex for free. “Just mention TM and MIU,” he said.

Jenna Doran has been a sign language interpreter in the Moline, Illinois, school district for ten years. Her job involves interpreting for one deaf or hearing-impaired student all day, facilitating communication with teachers, and helping her student integrate with the rest of the class.

Last year Jenna decided to earn a bachelor’s degree online. She had practiced meditation and heard about MIU. She was drawn to the Transcendental Meditation® technique, along with the online degree programs and the short, two-hour drive to Fairfield from her home. Jenna enrolled in August 2019 and is majoring in applied arts and sciences with a minor in sustainable living.

“Studying at MIU has helped me get to know myself more,” said Jenna. “I have a deeper experience and connection with my students and I am enjoying my job even more.” The practice of the TM® technique plays a large part in her transformation. “I realized how smoothly my work day goes when I practice twice a day.”

Jenna has a special interest in doing environmental work. Last year she began a campaign to encourage the use of washable lunch trays, instead of single-use styrofoam, at her stepson’s high school. She talked to the school board and called 30 similar schools about their practices. Soon the high school returned to using the washable trays.

Jenna is particularly interested in composting. She is currently working with Iowa Waste Exchange to find a way to compost the food waste at the school where she is teaching.

“I think it’s fascinating that everything returns to where it comes from and then continues to help other things grow,” she said. “It’s silly that we throw away things that could go back into the ground, and it also costs money.”

After completing her bachelor’s degree, Jenna plans to enroll in MIU’s MBA in sustainable business.

Aalok Prakash Shrivastava grew up in New Delhi, India, surrounded by his extended family of parents, grandparents, aunt and uncle, and cousins, who all practice the Transcendental Meditation® technique. From an early age, he knew someday he wanted to attend MIU, just like his cousin Ram and sister Amrita have.

Aalok earned a bachelor of technology in electrical engineering from Vellore Institute of Technology, India, and worked in the solar energy industry for a year. His interest in sustainability and desire to attend MIU led him to enroll in the MBA in Sustainable Business Program in 2018.

“Within a week of starting my MBA, I realized that Consciousness-Based education was more fulfilling than my previous education,” said Aalok. He enjoyed the small classroom size, the interactive learning experience, and the detailed feedback from his professors.

Aalok’s second goal was to complete the Transcendental Meditation Teacher Training Course, which he was able to incorporate into his study schedule and finish in February 2020. After the course he returned to India and co-taught a ten-week course, including the TM® technique, at MIT-World Peace University in Pune.

He finished his MBA courses in December 2020, and at the June 2021 commencement ceremony he received the Outstanding Student Award from the Business department. He is currently enrolled in the MA in Consciousness and Human Potential program.

“The experience of Consciousness-Based education, the Fairfield community, and being able to participate in group TM program all inspired me to stay,” he said.

After completing the master’s program, Aalok would like to earn a PhD in Maharishi Vedic Science℠ from MIU and participate in teaching the Vedic knowledge and the TM technique.

On June 19th Maharishi University of Management held its 44th commencement. Around 600 students from 49 countries graduated this year, including 78 students from the Maharishi Invincibility Institute, MIU’s sister institution in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The commencement ceremony this year fell on Juneteenth, a holiday that commemorates the abolition of slavery in the US. Commencement speaker Dr. Yolanda Lewis-Ragland expressed her belief that the recent declaration of Juneteenth as a national holiday is a beginning of true emancipation and can set the country free from a mindset that focuses on division. She also acknowledged the role of Consciousness-Based℠ education in developing the potential of every individual.

“Transcendental Meditation gives us a new definition of emancipation,” said Dr. Ragland-Lewis. “It helps us rid ourselves of the limitations of our minds, the shackles placed on us from childhood traumas, rejections in society, from toxic ideologies and relationships. With TM, we break free from those shackles and embrace our creativity, our ability to learn, and fully participate in this world.”

Dr. Lewis-Ragland is an MD, board certified in both pediatrics and obesity medicine, who has lived and practiced in the most impoverished and traumatized communities of Washington, DC. She has created the Dr. Yolanda Cares Foundation, an organization that focuses on reducing health disparities in vulnerable communities. She also works as a wellness coach combating obesity and is the author of three books.

Dr. Lewis-Ragland serves on the board of directors of the David Lynch Foundation and is a strong advocate of the Transcendental Meditation® program. She has received numerous recognitions for working to improve the quality of health and promote health equity. For her service to global health, MIU awarded Dr. Lewis-Ragland an honorary doctor of science degree.

MIU presented three additional honorary PhD degrees this year. Rena Boone received a doctor of education degree for her lifetime service to Consciousness-Based education and teaching the TM® technique. Ms. Boone taught at Maharishi School for 25 years and is currently the David Lynch Foundation’s regional director for the Washington, DC, area.

Jeffrey Abramson, who served as chair of MIU’s Board of Trustees for the past 12 years, received an honorary doctorate of world peace. Mr. Abramson is co-owner of The Tower Companies, an award-winning leader in green building. He has supported MIU and numerous educational and peace-creating projects around the world. He is also founding trustee of the David Lynch Foundation and the creator of the Rona and Jeffrey Abramson Center for Peace, dedicated to preventing conflict and fostering peace in war-torn regions.

Watch the replay of the commencement ceremony here.

MIU alumna Simone Cabizuca hails from Belo Horizonte, the capital city of southeastern Brazil’s Minas Gerais state. Simone earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and worked as a teacher of English as a Second Language for 30 years, teaching professionals and working with corporations.

For most of her life Simone experienced anxiety and frustration when she wasn’t constantly busy. In 2016 she felt she needed to switch gears, so she began taking online courses on meditation and other wellness modalities. In 2017 she attended an introductory lecture about the Transcendental Meditation® technique, and she knew instantly she wanted to learn it.

“In the first few months I had amazing experiences,” she said. “I felt I was at home inside myself. I didn’t need to go anywhere to search for things. It was incredible and I wanted to go deeper.”

She soon learned about MIU and decided to apply. She joined the on-campus master’s program in consciousness and human potential in 2019 and enrolled her 14-year-old daughter at Maharishi School. After six months, she had to return to Brazil due to a family health emergency, so she continued her studies online.

For the last two years, Simone has also been involved with her father’s coffee-growing business, helping to market and sell their line of specialty coffee. In addition, she organized online seminars on Vedic knowledge by MIU faculty for her local community, viewed by hundreds of people.

Simone graduated this June, receiving the Outstanding Student Award from the Department of Maharishi Vedic Science℠. “One of the main things about this program is that it changed my perception about life, myself, and my relationships,” said Simone. “I feel calmer, more patient, happier, and more joyful. It’s fun being myself.”

Simone has also enjoyed making friends and appreciated the support of the faculty. She feels that finishing her degree online allowed her to integrate the knowledge with her experience more easily. When her daughter finishes high school in two years, Simone plans to apply for the PhD program in Maharishi Vedic Science.

MIU student Christi Nickey grew up in a small farming community in Indiana, where her grandparents and parents farmed the same land. When she was in high school her family moved to Florida, where she attended culinary school and worked as a chef in Palm Beach County.

When a series of hurricanes struck the Florida coast in 2003 and 2004, Christi and her parents decided to move to safer and more sustainable grounds. They bought a farm in South Carolina, where Christi worked while pursuing a bachelor’s degree in animal science at Clemson University.

After graduating, she moved to Colorado Springs to work as a chef. When the COVID pandemic hit last March, Christi and her partner, who is also a chef, both lost their jobs.

Christi decided to return to school and study organic, sustainable agriculture. She looked for programs online and found MIU’s Regenerative Organic Agriculture Program. After visiting and taking an online course last spring, they moved to Fairfield and she enrolled at MIU.

Christi enjoys the hands-on experience of the program and the safe, friendly atmosphere of Fairfield, which reminds her of her hometown. Christi says learning the Transcendental Meditation® technique was the right next step to take, along with returning to farming.

“I feel more confident now that I am making the right decisions,” she said. “When you are on the right path, you know it. Practicing TM has increased that feeling of being on the right path, and making good choices is easier.”

While attending school and raising her three children, Christi also took a staff position with the Sustainable Iowa Land Trust (SILT) as farm and food coordinator for Fairfield. As part of a new SILT campaign called Circle Our Cities, she is working to protect land for sustainable food production on local farms around Fairfield during this year, with the ultimate goal of surrounding ten Iowa cities with ten permanent food farms in ten years. “I am passionate about farmers, protecting land and biodiversity, and making great food,” she said.

After graduation, Christi would like to stay around Fairfield and start a permaculture-style farm.