Education News: Top Stories

88-year-old 'golden student' graduates with Maharishi University of Management class of 2008
by Global Good News staff writer

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10 July 2008

Speaking 4 July 2008 on the Maharishi Global Family Chat, Dr Peter Swan, Minister of Communication for the Global Country of World Peace, shared reports on the achievements of Betty Sheasgreen, 88-year-old Maharishi University of Management (M.U.M.) graduate and recipient of the Class of 2008 Golden Student Award.

Ms Sheasgreen, who graduated Sunday, 28 June 2008 from M.U.M., in Fairfield, Iowa, USA, with a Bachelor's Degree in Art, has throughout her life desired both to complete her higher education and to contribute to the making of world peace. She began her academic career at the University of Minnesota in 1940, where she pursued a degree in interior design. However, when World War II broke out, a strong sense of duty and commitment to peace impelled her to enlist in the Navy, interrupting her higher education. After many young men from her hometown in Fairmont, Minnesota, were killed in bombings during the war, she decided that 'there must be a better way to attain peace'.

With Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation Technique, and at M.U.M., Ms Sheasgreen believes she has found this ultimate source of peace. Before discovering the TM Technique, she served both as a flight attendant and interior designer, married to a successful businessman in California. 'After learning TM in 1975,' said M.U.M. Art Professor Dale Divoky, presenter of the Golden Student Award, 'Betty has contributed consistently and in a real way to the creation of world peace.' In addition to attending regular group Yogic Flying sessions on the M.U.M. campus, Ms Sheasgreen has attended multiple World Peace Assemblies of Yogic Flyers, including ones in 1983 and 1993. Before deciding to complete her art degree at the university, she also participated full-time in the Invincible America Assembly.

Said Professor Divoky, 'Betty's dedication to higher learning has contributed to her vitality as an artist. She's not afraid to take risks and try new things; whatever she creates is fresh, unique and full of light.' He added that one of her pieces, a sculptural relief, was accepted and will soon be shown in a national art exhibit.

When asked what it is about Consciousness-Based Education that helps her create her art, Ms Sheasgreen attributed her success to the blessing of the knowledge of Maharishi's Vedic Science, the accepting M.U.M. environment, and the brilliance of her fellow students. 'Where else in the world can an 88-year-old go to a university and be so accepted by students and faculty? Where else in the world can I receive a degree, while at the same time serve my country by establishing peace, harmony, and invincibility? Where else in the world can I wake up the infinite creative potential of my brain, and begin to see the golden light of God within myself, thereby advancing so rapidly along the path to enlightenment?'

Ms Sheasgreen, who, according to her daughter, 'becomes more vibrant and lively each year', plans either to continue her education with the pursuit of a master's degree, or to begin teaching art to others.

In the final words of her award acceptance speech, Betty Sheasgreen said, 'thank you all for this golden award and this golden opportunity that has made my life golden.'

© Copyright 2008 Global Good News^®

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For information about Maharishi's seven-point programme to create a healthy, happy, prosperous society, and a peaceful world, please visit: Global Financial Capital of New York.

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