Alumni

“In short, my leadership and civic engagement training at Montana State University during my MEPI Young Leaders program was the fertilizer that made my activism and leadership blossom. I always refer to my life as before and after my MSU MEPI experience. When I left MSU after that summer of 2008, I had the itch for more, so as soon as I finished my undergraduate degree, I applied to come back for graduate school at MSU. Now five years after my MEPI program, I have earned a Master's degree in electrical engineering from MSU and am going for another Master's in international peace studies at Notre Dame. It is at MSU that I became what I would like to call a Peace Engineer.”

“I came to Bozeman for the MEPI program when I was twenty-two, still a college student cherishing the dream of not only becoming a university teacher of literature, but also acquiring the hallmarks of a good leader, strongly believing in the saying that “education makes people easy to leave but difficult to drive, easy to govern, but impossible to enslave.” Today I feel quite accomplished since I realized that single dream, but the continued journey towards reaching my goals, personally, academically and professionally, is what I truly revel in. Today, and thanks to my first experience in the U.S., I am a PhD Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Indiana University, Bloomington, trying to be a better researcher, a better teacher, and most importantly a better person.”

“In the MEPI program, we had different classes and workshops related to leadership, conflict resolution, human rights, etc. The faculty members who instructed the classes as well as the MSU staff who coordinated and organized the program, showed a high level of professionalism, openness to criticism and opinion sharing, and respected the participants’ different backgrounds, cultures, and more importantly, they created a family environment where we as participants felt so appreciated and valued. Coming back to Montana State University for my Masters with the Fulbright scholarship is the best proof of how much I appreciate the place and its people.”