MIU student Melanie Telego
With her family in 2013 on the occasion of her husband receiving the Purple Heart military award
Speaking during an MIU ChangeMakers essay contest where she won second place
With fellow students in Fairfield during Marianne Williamson’s visit
Melanie Telego served two years in the US Army in the 1990s and spent a large part of her life around military installations, following her career soldier husband. She worked as a substitute teacher in public schools as well as in a Department of Defense school in Germany.
Most recently, Melanie ran the US Army’s Career Skills Program for the Fort Drum Army Education Center in New York, where she helped establish civilian employment skill training programs for soldiers who had completed their military service.
Melanie has always been interested in holistic health, but couldn’t find a university that offered a suitable program. She attended college three different times and studied psychology, but between working full time and raising two children she never had the chance to graduate. She became a certified yoga teacher, completed a yoga training course for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and studied yoga philosophy and Ayurveda in her free time.
In 2018 Melanie saw an ad for MIU on Instagram and was excited to discover a degree program in Maharishi AyurVeda and Integrative Medicine. She originally applied for the online program, but decided to move to Fairfield and study on campus in August 2019.
“MIU has been a life-changing experience for me,” said Melanie. “MIU offers a very unique learning opportunity. I have found a safe, supportive, and nurturing environment where I can rediscover myself and who I really am at my deepest foundation.”
Melanie soon realized that many former military service members and their families would enjoy the same benefits she has experienced. “Soldiers are often looking for a rural location, a supportive community, and degree programs in agriculture, sustainability, health, business, and entrepreneurship,” she said.
Using her connections in the military, Melanie would like to facilitate collaboration between MIU and the US Army so that more soldiers can learn about MIU. Her dream is to promote the incorporation of the Transcendental Meditation® program into basic military training in order to reduce stress and PTSD.