Graduation 2012

Congratulations to Maharishi University of Management’s class of 2012! Maharishi University is proud of you and appreciative of your contributions to the campus’ academic and community life. Maharishi University of Management’s graduation festivities included:

• A graduation ball
• Faculty presentations to friends and family of the graduates
• Commencement garden party for graduates and their guests
• Commencement awards ceremony

Photo by Gabe Romero

The graduation ceremony included speeches by Valedictorian Patrik Nils-Olof Siljestam (Business), Salutatorian Florence Nickerson (Sustainable Living), and special guest Candy Crowley, CNN chief political correspondent.

Florence thanked all the “cool people” graduating today and shared appreciation for having been able to attend a university with such progressive individuals.

Patrik reflected that the most useful course he took while he was a student at Maharishi University of Management (MUM), the course that he would use knowledge from every day of his life was the TM-siddhis course. “If practicing Transcendental Meditation (TM) is like looking upon a vast and beautiful ocean,  practicing the TM-siddhis is like surfing that ocean,” said Patrik.

Photo by Emanuel Schachinger

Candy wished for the graduates that all their dreams would come true, but more than that she also wished that their “undreams would come to.” When she spok of “undreams” she described them as those things in life that you never knew you wanted, but that shape life to be even better and more enjoyable than you could ever imaging. During her speech she gave the following advice to the graduates by using personal stories from her own life to illustrate them:

1. Do your revolution your way, but let others do it their way.
2. Move through life unafraid and life will take care of itself.
3. Stand up and be who you are in order to get to where you are supposed to be in life.
4. Find the beauty in life wherever you are, whether you have to look hard for it or simply look up to see the stars in the night sky.
5. Balance is a transitive verb.
6. You always know what you need to do.
7. Be honest and demand honesty.
8. When you think you can’t be who you are in the environment that you are in, be the point guard in the basketball game of your own life and play the game your way. Don’t let others take you out of your own game.

Photo by Soren Pearson

This year’s 268 graduates of Maharishi University of Management (MUM) represented 37 countries. The largest number of graduates coming from Nepal (55 students), with Ethiopia in close second (54 students).

If you are interested in studying at Maharishi University of Management, consider coming to a Visitor’s Weekend or applying online.

Anna Bruen is a MUM alumna who graduated with a degree in Sustainable Living. Anna is the resident blogger here at MUM. To learn more about Anna take a look at her introduction post.

Tagged as: Candy Crowley, Graduation, Maharishi University of Management