Heinrich Weber

From Geneva, Switzerland, Heinrich Weber received his MBA in 2002 and his PhD in 2003. He is a partner and risk manager of DeTraCo, an active Eurex member firm. He develops risk models and financial forecasting applications with AleaSoft, the European leader in the use of neural networks for the prediction of energy prices. With Professor Kermit Zieg, he co-authored The Complete Guide to Point and Figure Charting, which covers technical analysis of European stocks and trading methodology. A second book has been commissioned, The Ultimate Guide to Non-Directional Trading Strategies.

Heinrich states: "After my MBA I started the PhD, which eventually led to the highly valuable authorship of a book and to the contract of writing a second one. My excellent experience at Rushmore has shown me that Rushmore is not a conventional university, but that it is much more. I would like to emphasize two aspects: First, one-to-one Professor-student interaction elevates studying at Rushmore to a synthesis of learning and coaching. Second, the flexible Internet-based structure of Rushmore is the ideal choice for attending a university for busy and globally operative professionals."

The Stock Market Mercenary

Dan James

Dan is a 2002 MBA graduate. He was raised in Oregon and Brazil and he has worked as a touring musician, a radio comedian and an IT programmer and analyst. He was CEO of Larkin Industries, which he and others formed in 1985, with Dan as the Senior Systems Analyst and President. After the downturn in the IT industry, Dan says that "Despite my title, skills and experience, without a post-graduate degree, I was no longer marketable." After some research, Dan found Rushmore University, where he earned a MBA with primary emphasis on Information Technology Management.

Dan goes on to say: “I have published a book based upon one of my Rushmore MBA papers. The book is titled: The Stock Market Mercenary: Beating the Insiders at Their Own Game. The first person mentioned in the acknowledgements section is Professor Lee Hargrave at Rushmore. Thanks again for the excellent education!”

Greg Royal

Greg Royal received his MBA from Rushmore in 1999. Greg is a New Zealander who now lives in Canada. He is the co-founder, Executive Vice President and Chief Technical Officer of Cistera Networks, a Dallas-based company that provides systems for the Internet telephony market.  He has over 20 years of IT sales, marketing and management experience in New Zealand, Australia and the United States.

Greg is the inventor of the XSwitch™ technology. He has held senior sales and marketing positions at Sycom Office Equipment, Eagle Technology, Network General and Network Associates. He has system certification with Compaq, IBM, Novell and Hewlett Packard. He also has significant experience in designing and deploying large scale IT systems. Greg is an accomplished speaker and writer and has been published in Australia, New Zealand and North America.

Clive Ong

Clive Ong earned a MS in Decision Sciences in 2003. His employer is Independent Commodity Information Services, London Oil Reports, in Singapore. He states: “I joined the Rushmore University academic program because I believe in the model of learning proposed by the University. The self-directed learning model, guided by highly qualified Professors, mirrors closely the workings of the real business world, where success is achieved by self-directed efforts. This model places learning in the hands of students who then determine how and what to learn to meet their goals. Each student can learn as much as he or she possibly wants. The requirements for earning credits through writing papers have improved my reading, research, writing and thinking skills. The high standards required by my Professors have made my studies a very rigorous process, which has, in turn, increased my professional competence.”

"I became a student of Rushmore University in 2002. I studied for a MS in Decision Sciences and graduated. Through the Rushmore program, I increased my knowledge of the business world by reading many books and articles and by surfing the web. At the same time I gained quantitative reasoning skills as my Advisors guided me through my concentration courses. I got a promotion in the middle of this year when my line manager proposed it to the regional manager. My writing skills have improved. With the added knowledge from my Rushmore program, I have contributed more effectively to several group projects. When my line manager recommended my promotion, my regional manager said that he strongly supported the proposal since my improved performance was visible and significant."

 Warren Seetahal

Warren Seetahal is a Rushmore MBA graduate. He was born in the twin islands of Trinidad and Tobago and currently resides in St. Kitts and Nevis, where he met and married his Kittitian wife, Kerry Laws-Seetahal. He is an Information Technology manager. Warren enjoys a quiet family life with his wife and four children.

He states: "I graduated from Rushmore in 2003 and my learning experience has only been superseded by the quality of training that the Professors provided me. My greatest feeling about my entire program stems from the fact that I have been taught from books by Professors who actually wrote those books. Now that's something! I have had many positive experiences with Rushmore and will continue to pursue my education through their innovative and cost-effective means. I intend to specialize in operations and information management. I hope that I can author and publish a book. I believe that my book will be my 'ultimate business card' and my recognition in the business community will intensify exponentially.”

“In 2002, my company was asked to embark on an e-commerce project. I decided to embark on a practical project management course at Rushmore and tie it into my project at work. By 2003, I had obtained five texts and a Rushmore Advisor. After four months we were the first company in the Caribbean to launch such a website and we were also the first within the group to get our site completed. I thank Rushmore."

“All things considered, if I had to do it all over again, I would not change a thing. My experience at Rushmore University was positive, enlightening, stimulating and mentally challenging."

Katarzyna Berezka

Katarzyna was educated in Poland and Kuwait and has an interest in Internet marketing. She chose Rushmore because: “I believed that Rushmore University was the right place to learn something useful, not just theoretical facts that were not of primary importance to me.” She completed her MBA in 2005.

Oliver Haggenmuller

Oliver Haggenmuller was born in Geneva, Switzerland and completed his secondary qualifications in England. He speaks German, French and English as first languages. He expects to develop his career within the family’s extensive export trading company. Oliver chose Rushmore for its flexibility, the quality of its Professors and its competitive pricing. He completed his MBA in 2005.

Steven Worrall

Steven Worrall was born in one of England’s most beautiful medieval and historic towns, Shrewsbury, located in the rural English-Welsh border county of Shropshire. He is a qualified engineer and is a senior fire officer in the Shropshire Fire Service. In 1999 he completed a three-year management program at the University of Wolverhampton with a MBA. He had not attended any full-time education program for 20 years. He received his PhD from Rushmore in 2005.

He writes: “It is my strong desire to make a valid and distinct contribution to the management of fire and rescue services. It was not my intention to produce 80,000 to l00,000 words of ‘academic twaddle’ that added little practical value, other than to the author’s ego. The Rushmore program offered me the opportunity to research and produce a discrete number of pieces of work suitable for industry journal publication in a changing, real-time environment. The program enabled me to identify and address critical issues as they emerged and to contribute to the development of management strategies within fire and rescue services. Rushmore provided me, and moreover my employer, with not just a personal development opportunity but also made a compelling contribution to the organization’s development.”

Roy Rissanen

Roy Rissanen is a 2005 MBA graduate. He has worked as a missionary pilot since 1993 through an agreement with the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission. He speaks Finnish, Swedish, German, English, Swahili and Mongolian. He chose Rushmore after careful analysis: “I did some research and comparisons before making a decision to study at Rushmore. I noticed that Rushmore managed to present itself as the first on the list on both of my two favorite search engines: Yahoo and Alta Vista. I was willing to try out new, unconventional methods. Rushmore provided the selection of courses and materials that were in line with what I was looking for and the price was affordable. I ran a problem-solving tool with a weighted analysis and Rushmore came up with the best score.”

Steven Liew

Steven Liew is a 2005 PhD graduate, having specialized in International Finance. He states: “This doctorate program was just a beginning to life. At age 46, I began to sense the excitement of what was coming, knowing that the challenges of public speaking engagements were increasing and that I was taking on a higher value-added job. Such challenges would truly give me financial and emotional satisfaction. Whatever challenges come, let God be my final helper and comfort.”

Chris Gibson

Chris Gibson is a 2005 MBA graduate of Rushmore University. Near the close of his studies, he wrote: “Of all the course papers that I have written over the last nine months, this is the most difficult. This chapter in my life, earning the MBA, is about to close. The question that friends and colleagues have asked me during my program is: Why Rushmore? My answer has not been a quick, one-sentence response. The UK executive job market relies heavily on qualifications. Candidates are screened by agencies and those that are not graduate-caliber are passed over regularly. I was one of those under-qualified candidates with only an Associate degree status, having graduated from the ‘University of Life’. My decision to pursue a career in banking instead of attending a university was a decision that, 20 years later, excluded me from the majority of MBA courses at so-called ‘reputable’ business schools. A Bachelor’s degree was a prerequisite. My objective was to gain knowledge and earn  qualification. However, I needed a program that would enable me to study at my own pace, fit my study schedule around my business commitments, and apply my newly acquired skills to real situations. I believed that this was the best way to learn. Rushmore met all of these requirements. The assistance and guidance from everyone has been invaluable, and in addition to the theory of each of the course papers, I have learned a very important lesson about myself: I have a thirst for knowledge.”

Fambisai Chikore

Fambisai Chikore is a 2005 MBA graduate and is currently working toward his PhD at Rushmore. He is quoted in his final MBA paper as follows: “This paper was an analysis of all that I learned, gained and achieved in the hard 12 months of intensified reading, researching and gathering of relevant data regarding my MBA in Marketing and Sales Management. The expertise that I have now is enormous and the degree of confidence that I have gained can take me to higher levels in any given challenges in my working environment. “

“Now I can feel and see the value of the Master’s degree, the course that I thought I would never be able to achieve. I thank my Advisors and my editor at Rushmore for their faith in me; it really paid off. I will progress with Rushmore toward my PhD.”

Wendy Bucci

Wendy Bucci was born and raised in New York. She graduated with a BS in Elementary Education, concentrating in Creative Dramatics, from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. She received her ME from Rushmore in 2005. Her Master’s curriculum specialized in Creative Arts in Learning. She says: “Because I wanted to be able to utilize in the classroom what I learned during this program, I tailored my program to cover topics that could be incorporated into my curriculum, such as poetry and fairy tales. I also explored music, storytelling, art and drama. I planned to write about what I learned as well as to develop unit plans for use in my classroom. I searched for a long time for just the ‘right program.’  Rushmore’s flexibility in allowing me to create my own program, tailored to my interests and professional goals, sold me. It was daunting trying to get up the nerve to begin a Master’s degree program at the age of 45.”

Tawafactza Makoni

Tawafactza Makoni was born in Zimbabwe. He studied dentistry in Greece and earned a MBA in Zimbabwe. He is the founder of a dental practice, which he is planning to franchise, Chairman of the Practice Management Committee of the Dental Association, Operational Director of a dental supply company and a part-time lecturer. He earned his DBA from Rushmore in 2005. He writes: “Rushmore appealed to me because of the flexibility of the programs and the use of current texts rather than outmoded ones. I also liked the work-based assignments, which resulted in better skill and competence development.”

Roberto Bianchi

Roberto Bianchi is a 2003 MBA graduate. He is a development chemist at Rahn AG in Switzerland. He states: "Since I finished my MBA at Rushmore University, I understand the importance of a regularly planned life. You can do wonders if you are disciplined and you don’t forget your target."

Sascha Larger

Sascha D. Larger, a Ph.D. graduate in Economics (2003), is Director Group Purchasing of the UniCredit Group - the first truly European Bank, in Munich, Germany.

He studied Computer Science (B.Sc., M.Sc.) in St. Gallen and Zurich (both Switzerland) and finished his M.A. in International Business and Management at the University of Westminster (United Kingdom).

He says: I chose Rushmore University to complete my Ph.D. after investigating a number of different programs all over the world. Most universities insist strongly on full-time, classroom based programs with mainstream content. Rushmore, however, is different. What really inspired me is the fact that Rushmore professors work on a one-on-one basis with their students and design a tailor-made program curriculum which fits the students´ needs, and not vice versa.

Throughout my Ph.D. program I developed my analytical, strategic and time management skills to establish a group wide structure for the selling and purchasing of hardware and software. This great success allowed me to earn promotion and find a new promising opportunity.

In Europe the Rushmore Ph.D. will definitely add the credibility to my experience that is needed to reach my professional and personal goals.

Rushmore, thank you!

Christian Jönsson

Christian Jönsson is a 2004 MBA graduate. He is IT Director for Oriflame International in Belgium. He states: "My work situation and career development had been so fast-moving and interesting that I had not had any opportunity to pursue any higher education. Once I got going, I did not find it appealing to leave my working life for several years, and I also had a family to take care of. This had not been a major obstacle during my career so far, but I realized the value that a degree and a higher education could give me in future growth and personal development. I looked for ways to accomplish this for awhile and, not until I found Rushmore University, did I find a solution in sight.”

“The first time I visited the Rushmore website, I was convinced that they had a solution for me for several reasons. First was flexibility; you can create your own program and focus on subjects that will add value to your own situation. The studies can be done at your own pace, anywhere and any time. The faculty consists of recognized business people with substantial experience and knowledge from the real world.”

“For me, Rushmore gives people like me a chance to capitalize on work experience and informal education and to earn a MBA. I also find the way to study (by applying and writing about your findings) is a highly effective way to learn and understand. After some initial hesitation, I chose to major in Leadership, Management and Strategy."

Eric Osei Bonsu

Eric Bonsu is a 2003 MBA graduate. He lives in Stockholm, Sweden. Eric says: “I chose Rushmore because it is flexible and allowed me, as a student, to combine work with my studies at my own pace. My Rushmore education has given me the self-confidence to be on my own. I am currently working on starting my own company. Thanks to Rushmore for paving the way into the future with education."

Mark Adamson

Mark Adamson is a MBA graduate and an Information Technology Service Level Manager for Discovery Holdings, Johannesburg, South Africa. According to Mark, "The Rushmore programs are not ‘spoon-fed’ courses. They are practical and require self-discipline and dedication. They are not only great real-life, real-business courses, but also terrific networking tools."

Andrew Arnold

Andrew Arnold is a 2003 MBA graduate. He is a consultant and the author of Excellence Unlimited: Ten Keys to Building and Sustaining Peak Performance in Any Business or Government Organization. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

Barbara Bidwell Gray Coombs

Barbara Coombs is a 2003 MBA graduate. Her employer is the Academy of Court Reporting in Columbus, Ohio.  She states: "I am so glad and thankful that I have this degree. I have a great deal of fulfillment from my accomplishment.”

Barry Plotkin

Barry Plotkin is a 2003 MBA graduate. He is Head of International Business Development for Market Active Ventures in Haifa, Israel.

Christopher Henriques

Christopher Henriques was awarded a MBA in Finance in 2001. His employer is The Beacon Insurance Company of Grenada, West Indies. His wife, Elizabeth, also completed her MBA from Rushmore. They are one of the first couples to both complete degrees from Rushmore.

Elizabeth Henriques

Elizabeth Henriques is a 2003 MBA graduate in Management. Her employer was Concepts Marketing of Grenada, West Indies.  She states: "Since completing my MBA in 2003, I was able to obtain a job as the Business Development Coordinator for a new magazine.”

Kyoung-Youl Baek

Kyoung-Youl Baek is a MBA graduate from South Korea. His employer is Cash and Carry of Alexandria, Virginia. He says that "Rushmore's class schedule is so flexible and their tuition is also so affordable.  I expect many more people will have the opportunity to turn their desire to study into reality."

John Morton

John Morton is a MBA graduate. He is the Regional Manager, South East Asia, for Cementaid (SEA) Ltd. in Singapore.

Júlio Furtado

Julio Furtado is a 2003 MBA graduate. He is an independent consultant and a trainer. He also is an advisor to the Board of Directors of the Airport Authority and Air Navigation System of Angola. He says:

“I chose Rushmore University because of its innovative learning methodology, its open programs and the flexibility it provided me to pursue graduate education. I wanted to prepare myself to be an outstanding business leader or a consultant so I could open my own consulting business and I could not find a program that matched my aspirations in other universities."

“Getting an excellent graduate education today is not an easy endeavor. I had to be smart enough not to select a university that would just offer me the traditional boring curriculum that is based on the principle that ‘professors teach and students study to take exams.’ That kind of program was not for me because it would neither stimulate my creativity nor unleash my potential. I wanted something more enlightening, compelling and true-to-life. Rushmore University’s MBA program was the answer! With it I found a flexible and unprecedented ‘cutting-edge,’ content-driven curriculum that could change my life and career.”

“Besides that, Rushmore University programs are cost-effective. Further, the University has dedicated top-flight Faculty Advisors who are committed to helping students succeed in their endeavors. In this regard, I am very pleased and happy because my three Advisors have been very supportive. They have helped me to be what I am today. Rushmore University’s degree programs are not for everybody. They are only suited for those individuals who have the courage and the guts to challenge their life. I believe this is the right strategy that a university can offer its students while earning their degrees."

Mounzer Sleiman

Mounzer is a 2004 PhD graduate from Maryland. He states: “Finishing this project is the crowning achievement of a delayed dream of obtaining my PhD. The work was laborious and the seemingly evasive end was a collectively sweet celebration for my aging parents, my wife and two sons. The challenges of my life have been momentous: leaving a wounded Lebanon shattered by civil war, separating from my family and moving to the United States, learning English and attempting to maintain a delicate balance between family obligations (earning a living) and continuing my education. The adjustments to a dual culture meant having the confusion and enrichment of a dual brain and language.”

”Discovering Rushmore University was a divine gift and catalyst in the fulfillment of my educational goals at the tender age of fifty. Although my specific area of interest, US national security studies, was not offered by Rushmore, my Advisor was able to devise a course of study and select the best Advisors available from the diverse talents offered by the many Professors at Rushmore. I was fortunate to be guided by the Founder, Dr. Michael Cox and my first Advisor, Dr. Saul Gellerman, who encouraged me to consult and benefit from the structure and programs already established at two other universities (the University of Maryland and George Washington University). The flexibility and creativity at Rushmore were instrumental in enabling me to draw the road map for my studies.”

“The challenges seemed insurmountable, from the very sad and sudden passing of my first Advisor, Dr. Gellerman, which left me disheartened, to the unusual workload of frequent trips abroad and the demands of my immediate and extended family. It took me a while to adjust to the loss of Dr. Gellerman and to overcome my state of confusion as to where I would go from there to find an Advisor who could restart where I had left off. Again, with the assistance of Dr. Cox, I was able to select my current Advisor, Dr. William Brody. Finding this outstanding Professor was another testimony to the diverse talents and expertise Rushmore has at its disposal. This project would not be a reality without Dr. Brody’s guidance, encouragement, constructive criticism, patience, generous spirit and unmatched communication skills.”

“The Director of Editing Services at Rushmore was phenomenal. She endured my many imperfections and messy drafts. Her editorial skills, sharp common sense and logic made my papers look neater and made my final product better. Finally, after an immense amount of reading and research on US national security, I discovered how little had been written about this important subject in comparison to other less critical issues. I hope that my work, when it is published after careful review and updating, will help to stimulate a needed debate on how to reform the US national security apparatus. I am also contemplating the idea of producing a documentary on the subject. In doing this project I wish to return some of the goodwill afforded to me by my newly adopted country, the United States.”

John Williams

Dr. John Williams is a 2003 MBA graduate. He is Head of Biochemistry, Sligo General Hospital, Northwestern Health Board, Sligo, Ireland. Dr. Williams says: “Rushmore suited my requirements and needs at both work and home with its broad and varied curricula."

Amitabh Mathur

Amitabh Mathur is a 2003 MBA graduate. He is a Senior Software Engineer for Scientific Atlanta in California. He observes: "With only the skills and experience that I currently had, the potential for meeting my goals was limited. Obtaining my MBA added the credibility to my experience that was needed, opening the doors of opportunity and allowing me to reach my goals. Rushmore University has an exceptionally unique feature wherein people are allowed to design their own curricula and study any book they desire. I chose Rushmore because I was looking for an option that would allow me maximum control of my own time and maximum flexibility to study when I got the chance."

Ad de Kok

Ad is a PhD graduate in Technology Management. He is the Research and Development Director at Polymers R&D and a Chemical Engineer, Dow Benelux BV, Terneuzen, the Netherlands.

Thomas Bart

Thomas started working with the Swiss Red Cross in October 2006 and has been a member of the board of the Swiss Foundation Blood Stem Cells (SBSC), an affiliated NPO formerly known as the Bone Marrow Exchange, since July 2007.
 
He is head of the medical coordination department, where the search for blood stem cell / bone marrow donors and treatment of international patients with illnesses such as leukemia is performed.
 
He is also head of the National Cord Blood Program; he helped to establish a nationwide system of hospitals capable of harvesting cord blood for its stem cells, as well as a logistics system for transporting the named blood to the two Swiss Cord Blood banks in Basel and Geneva. His current work is analyzing, evaluating, and transforming business processes to improve productivity and prepare for the inevitable challenges in international BSC exchange.

Haileab Netsereab

Haileab Netsereab is a MBA graduate. He is a Department Manager with Ethiopian Airlines in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

William Riesle Kempen

William Kempen is a MBA graduate from Johannesburg, South Africa. He states: “During my career I have studied at two training colleges and one university. I have also lectured at two of the local business schools as part of my consulting and training function for my company. While lecturing and training, it became apparent to me that two of the major problems faced by students were the deadlines applied to them for the submission of assignments and their compulsory attendance at classes. Most of the students were business people, so work commitments often clashed with lecture days or the submission of assignments. I identified strongly with the pressure experienced by these adults, who sometimes submitted work which they felt was not of the quality they would like it to be, but which was submitted in order to meet a deadline, despite the constraints placed upon their time by pressures at work.”

“The four years I spent studying through UNISA many years ago gave me much pleasure and satisfaction, but there were many nights that I burned the midnight oil in order to submit assignments on time. Unfortunately, the courses were not always ‘user friendly,’ nor were they flexible with regard to module content. While toying for some years with the idea of registering for a MBA, the fact that most of the courses I looked at were neither ‘user friendly’ nor flexible deterred me. I also had to make restrictive choices and deadlines, making the combination of such work and studies unappealing. These facts, along with a fair amount of ill health over the last three years, made getting a conventional degree impractical."

Jaya Bhatia

Jay Bhatia received his Master's in Human Resources in 2003. He lives in the United Arab Emirates. He states: "The biggest advantage with Rushmore University is that you can design the courses to your needs. What primarily attracted me to Rushmore University was the convenience; it was difficult for me to take time away from work. Another attraction of Rushmore University was my ability to select a course of study that best suited my needs, further allowing me the flexibility of choice to enhance my knowledge and skills. Moreover, by earning a degree from Rushmore, not only would I gain further knowledge and managerial skills, but I would also be competent to write books and articles, which I had always wanted to do. I would recommend Rushmore to anyone who has the dedication and desire to ‘go the extra mile.’ The self-paced and remote learning system does require discipline to complete the course, so only those with a true desire to work should apply.”

“In choosing a MBA course, I needed to find one that could be completed over the Internet. I also wanted a course that would allow me to focus on specific topics of interest and relevance to my work. The format of the Rushmore approach fit these requirements perfectly and the concept of writing papers, as if I were a consultant to my own company, made it extremely rewarding immediately as I picked up skills that I then took to work. Very few colleges seemed to offer this and I was extremely reluctant to get bogged down learning a set curriculum with large elements that were of no practical use to me. The course helped me focus on many important areas in my field with in-depth and deliberate study of so many subjects I had encountered over the years.”

“I felt well satisfied with my studies and interaction with Rushmore as I believed I did more than just study. I had ‘ownership’ of the course rather than just doing enough to pass. I would highly recommend others to discuss their needs with Rushmore, tailoring their courses to their specific needs and meeting their challenges of tomorrow in this competitive world. I chose Rushmore University since I could complete my entire Master’s course over the Internet; it was the most flexible program, one that could be completed within my own time constraints. I always wanted a course that would allow me to focus on specific topics of interest that were relevant to my work. I was sure that, with the help of its knowledgeable and professional staff, I would have the opportunity to customize my studies according to my needs and concerns in line with my professional career goals, something that I had always wanted."

Deirdre Ackermann

Deirdre Ackerman graduated with an MBA in 2002. She was born in Johannesburg and loved the physical beauty of South Africa. She was a competitive swimmer as a child and spent many hours roaming the hills with other children. Early in her career she started to work in the computer area and became a MCSE (Microsoft Certified System Engineer), a MCSD (Microsoft Certified Solution Developer) and a certified DBA (Database Administrator). She also acquired business skills with a Diploma in Business Management.

As the company she worked for expanded into E-Commerce, Deirdre became Managing Director of the new business unit that offered E-Commerce solutions. Her long-term goal is to own a game farm with tourist accommodations, thus integrating her passion for the wildlife of South Africa into a business venture. Deirdre's choice to study with Rushmore was based on the flexibility of Rushmore's program and the opportunity to pursue her specific area of interest, E-Commerce analysis.

Giles Letheren

Giles Letheren is a 2002 MBA graduate. He was born and educated in England and had an early interest in theatre production. After leaving school he went on an exchange program that placed him in a small theatre in Boston. This experience offered the best of all worlds: formal training, the opportunity to travel and a small income. While working in Boston, he ended up as Production Manager for a revival production of Hair. Returning to England, he found a full-time job as Assistant General Manager of a mid-size, multi-purpose civic venue and later became the youngest technical manager of a first-class receiving theatre in the UK. Today he lives in Washington DC and is Head of Corporate Information for the 600 personnel of the British Defense Staff located throughout the US.

Olaf Beyer

Olaf Beyer received his MBA from Rushmore University in 2002. He was born in West Berlin and spent all his life in the city that is now the capital of Germany. During his studies for a degree in communications, he briefly worked for IBM. After completing his degree, he joined Alcatel as a telecommunications software engineer, a position he has held now for several years. Olaf wanted to qualify himself for higher management positions. He chose Rushmore because its flexibility enabled him to continue working while studying. He also liked the possibility of publishing articles that might be developed into books, while simultaneously allowing him to improve his written English skills.

Jukka Reinholm

Jukka Reinholm graduated from Rushmore in 2001. He is of Swedish and Finnish descent and grew up in a small town in Finland. Before beginning his engineering studies at Kotka Institute of Technology, he was required to complete at least 18 months of proper skilled work experience. Therefore, he spent three years in Kotka Harbor, repairing and maintaining harbor cranes. This work experience made him familiar with hard work and a tough working environment and heightened his interest in team dynamics. His objectives in the future are to move up into the senior management level at a large international company.

Dennis Gundersen

Dennis Gundersen received his MBA from Rushmore University in 2002. He was born and grew up in Oslo, Norway, spending a year as an exchange student in the United States during high school.  After a variety of unskilled jobs in Norway and Sweden, Dennis was drafted into the army. Here, he acquired the focus to start building a career and started attending night school while working in his father's company as a marketing secretary. Following the completion of his high school diploma, he continued his studies at the Norwegian School of Business, completing his BS in Economics. To meet the cost of his education, Dennis started his own business in IT and computing. He also spent some time learning Spanish in Mexico.

After graduation he moved into the field of Internet consulting and eventually established Mind Norway. To pursue more international experience, he moved to Sweden and accepted a job as Product Development Director at Intentia. Dennis later focused on gaining the managerial expertise and administrative skills that would enable him to build a secure and lasting business of his own. He chose Rushmore because it offered the best selection of courses he needed to achieve his goals.

Enrico Dargel

Enrico Dargel received his MBA from Rushmore University in 2000. He was born in Germany and completed a degree in Germany. He later studied in New Orleans. Currently, he is living in Chicago, where he is co-owner of a venture capital firm. He says: "My main goal is to obtain a CEO job in a medium-sized company or to start my own business.”

Srinivas Surubhotla

Srinivas Surubhotla majored in Electronics and Communications and graduated with a first-class degree from GPR Engineering College, Kurnool, India. His primary areas of specialization were electronic integrated circuit design, analog circuits, communications theory and systems, and digital electronics. He became a systems analyst and lead designer for his company. He also attended many technical and management conferences, developing managerial, leadership and professional skills. Srinivas started practicing the art of project management by gaining knowledge of tools, such as scheduling, budgeting, team management, reporting and client presentations. He graduated from Rushmore with his MBA in 2000.

Tajul Islam Ghani

Tajul Ghani earned his MBA from Rushmore in 2001. He grew up in a small town in Bangladesh. He spent several years in the army and retired in 1995 as a Colonel. After leaving the army, he developed his own real estate development and construction business. Today he is working for an international non-governmental organization, the Center for Health and Population Research, as a Logistics and Security Consultant in Bangladesh.

Steven Grey

Steven Grey grew up living in various countries with his family: England, Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand. A career in hospitality offered him the opportunity to continue working all over the world. Today he is employed by Disney Studios at Euro-Disney, Paris. Steven completed his MBA in 2001.

Matt Walsh

Matt grew up in Indiana, the youngest of six children. He was educated at West Point, where he was editor-in-chief of the 100th anniversary issue of West Point's yearbook, The Howitzer. The school instilled values in him which he feels he will always carry. "A cadet will not lie, cheat or steal, nor tolerate those who do." He feels these values, along with honor, are the minimal standards of a leader. Upon graduating from West Point, Matt joined the Signal Corps, immersing himself in technology. He has been deployed in various countries using these skills. He became a platoon leader and moved into logistical maintenance and training functions of his company. Matt left the military service in 2001 and completed his Rushmore MBA in the same year.

Ratikant Mandrekar

Ratikant Mandrekar earned his MBA in 2001. He is from Goa, a state on the western side of India. He developed his interest in owning and running his own business by helping his father run a small stall, selling household consumables and accessories. In 1975 he started his own business in office stationery, which he eventually left to his younger brother when he departed to take a position in the Gulf. He lives in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and has been working for a French company since 1989 as the Chief Accountant and Financial Controller. He found out about Rushmore while researching education possibilities for his eldest son and decided to enroll in the MBA program himself. His goals were to learn the finer points of business in order to become more professional in negotiating and to become more qualified in business.

Patricia Sullivan

Patricia Sullivan earned her MBA from Rushmore in 2001. She was born in Canada in the 1950s and graduated in Chemical Engineering from the University of Toronto in 1978, a time when there were few women in the program. She began her career with a major oil company in research and development, working on new technologies and product applications. Next she moved into corporate strategic planning to work on international investment and development. During her long career, she has learned a tremendous amount about business, style, approach, culture and people. She recognized that after 22 years she had outgrown the corporate regime. Her goal now is to create and grow her own consulting business for organizations that desire and appreciate change, providing an environment that allows for creativity and innovation and delivers satisfaction, both on the merit of the product or service offering and the related customer satisfaction.

Urs Hagnauer

Urs Hagnauer was born in Switzerland. When he was five years old, his family immigrated to Costa Rica. As a teenager he was sent back to Switzerland to learn German and complete his schooling. After school he trained as an agricultural machinery mechanic and returned to Costa Rica. For the last 21 years he has worked as a technical advisor and lived like a gypsy, moving from one country to another, always interacting with new cultures and being confronted with different languages. He is currently living in Lesotho as an adviser to the Training Unit at the Department of Rural Water Supply, which supports management in the field of Human Resource Development and the implementation of newly developed strategies. He graduated in 2002 with a MBA.

Chi Kern

Chi Kern grew up in Vietnam. She graduated from Danang Polytechnic University with a BS in Finance and Accounting and from Danang Foreign Language University with a BA in English. Her first job was in accounting in a small bookstore in Saigon, where she began training other employees, organizing and simplifying financial aspects so that they could do the accounting work themselves, eliminating the need for an accountant. After holding several other positions, she started working for the East Meets West Foundation, working as Budget Analyst, Chief Accountant and Administrator and Translator.

Chi then moved to Florida. Encountering difficulties in finding a position at her level of education and experience, she completed her MBA at Rushmore University in 2001. Her objectives were to be more knowledgeable about investments, to equip herself to establish her own online business and to learn about information management.

Wesley Young

Wesley was born and raised in Ohio. At five years of age, Wesley's father enrolled him in T-ball. Through his playing experience, he discovered, if he was willing to work hard and dedicate enough effort and time, he could become successful. Wesley played baseball all through college and graduated from the University of Rio Grande (Ohio) with a BS in Mathematics. Following graduation, he worked for Odell Lumber and managed one of its stores, where he doubled sales in three years. He then decided to pursue further education with the intention of establishing his own Internet-based business. He chose Rushmore because its leaders were people who had been in the real world of business. He graduated in 2002 with a MBA.

Veeraraghavan Padmanabhan

Veeraraghavan Padmanabhan was born and educated in Andhra Pradesh in southern India. Always a keen scholar and an enthusiastic sportsman, he graduated in science in 1973 and began his career as a quality analyst, winning a prize for innovation in this field in 1980. Following further study in business and industrial management and systems analysis and design, he changed his specialty and is now the head of Corporate Support for an Information Technology company. He is married and has two daughters.

Recognizing that knowledge is power, he chose a MBA to prepare for the private consultancy practice that he aims to establish. He selected Rushmore because he believed in self-responsibility and wished to structure his courses to meet his individual needs, since his previous training and experience had given him much of the knowledge taught in traditional MBA programs. Rushmore encouraged creativity and self-reliance, qualities which he valued. Veeraraghavan graduated with his MBA in 2002.

Richard Hilt

Richard Hilt lives in Sassenheim, a small town in the Netherlands famous for flower bulbs. He is employed by the National Agency of Correctional Institutions in Den Haag (The Hague) as their Financial Account Manager. He embarked on his MBA program after recognizing that, in his words:  “Education is a continuing process and vital for the fun, the money and the change in any job.” He wanted to improve his theoretical and technical knowledge in the areas of General Management, Human Resource Management and Finance.  Richard completed his MBA in 2001.

Don Taylor

Don Taylor has practiced law in a small law firm in Nova Scotia, Canada since 1973. Early in his career he realized that he could only make more money with less effort if he worked more efficiently. His practice was one of the first firms in eastern Canada to use computers in the practice of law. He founded Legal Associates, a marketing association that grew to over 50 firms in just two years, with nearly 200 lawyers in four of the ten Canadian provinces. As a group they pool their marketing dollars, enabling them to compete with large corporations.

Don wants to build a consulting practice, working with professionals who want to market their businesses by networking with other professionals. Working towards his Rushmore MBA allowed him to deepen his knowledge in the areas of management and marketing. He completed his MBA in 2001.

Mike Harris

Mike started life in a small town in England called Kidderminster. His busy childhood included sports, broadcasting and veterinary nursing services. After graduating from Southampton University, he taught for three years before deciding on a different career track. He moved into sales with Hydrovane Compressor Company and learned quickly and abruptly that in this sector “profit is everything.” He worked for two other businesses in the sales sector, gaining skills as he worked.

Mike is now the Director and General Manager of BOGE Kompressoren, manufacturers of air compressors, with two distribution sites in the UK. The company started on a small scale in the UK and Mike had the chance to learn all aspects of the company's business. Attracted to the Rushmore program, because of its flexibility and its availability for publishing coursework on its website, Mike extended his business knowledge and skills as he worked through his MBA, which he completed in 2002.

Harry Saloor

Harry Saloor is a product designer and futurologist. He has designed a number of products, including electronic gadgets and toys, and owns several patents in the US and Europe. He studied Electronics Engineering at King’s College of London University and worked in the field of personal computers in various capacities, including sales, engineering design and development, and consultancy for several European and American corporations for nearly two decades. His long-term goal is to develop a global communications and free education network, bringing all people together and allowing them to learn new skills in cyberspace. He believes that such a network will encourage free communication and assistance in upholding fair trade between the nations, ensuring global peace and harmony. Harry completed his MBA in 2000.

Gustavo Varela

Gustavo Varela was born in Chile and studied Civil Engineering at the Universidad de Chile. He worked for several years in construction before joining the Chilean Shipping company, Compañia Sudamericana de Vapores. He entered the financial division and was assigned control of the crude oil futures. He was later promoted to treasurer of the company and head of the finance division with responsibilities for the treasury, accounts receivables (with sales of $1 billion), budgeting and working with banks and foreign currency exchanges. Gustavo is currently Vice President of Finance for the American Transportation Group. He graduated with his MBA in 2002.

Migara Kaluwila

Migara Kaluwila was born in Sri Lanka, where he enjoyed school and sports. His love of sports softened the difficulties of immigrating to New Zealand, where he continued to be involved in various sports, representing his college in cricket, soccer and other athletics. He won several awards, most notably the Scholastic Achievement Award in his last year of college. He received his BBS (Finance) from Massey University in 1997. Migara is currently working as a Financial Controller at Telnet in Auckland and is responsible for all the accounts, operations, salaries, credit control, debt management, statutory reporting, cash flow and general business functions, giving him the chance to gain invaluable market exposure and opportunities to build networks that will enable him to reach his high goals. Migara finished his MBA in 2001.

Karl Fiederle

Karl Fiederle was born in England to a Welsh mother and a German father. Traveling and working from the age of 16 not only gave Karl the travel bug but provided him with life experiences. He worked in Germany before returning to England to become a qualified patissier. At 21 he gained a scholarship to study food technology in Cardiff, South Wales, and graduated as Student of the Year. He continued to travel, frequently returning to England, where he was recruited to work for Pritchitt Foods. Here he progressed quickly, traveling globally to support sales and research and development. He left Pritchitt to travel and work in the Middle East, where he married and raised two children. Personal reasons brought him back to England. Karl is currently freelancing for Pritchitt Foods and supporting two families. He graduated with a MBA degree in 2002.

Eskinder Wondimu

Eskinder Wondimu is from Ethiopia, where he graduated with a BA in Accounting from the university and worked for the Ministry of Finance. After 1991, when the military regime was replaced with a civic federal structure, he was deployed to work for the Regional Finance Bureau in charge of budgets and capital investments. His responsibilities included a staff of 15 people, managing the zonal finance offices and overseeing community-based projects.

In 1995 Eskinder decided on a major career change and decided to work for the Medicins sans Frontieres (MSF), a humanitarian aid organization, as a Project Administrator and Finance Manager. Having gained valuable experience in this role, he became the Financial Controller in the coordination office of MSF-Holland, based in Addis Ababa. He is currently the Financial Controller and Administrator for MSF-Holland in the Somalia Mission, based in Nairobi, and aims to become a Country Coordinator, using the knowledge he gained during his studies. Eskinder completed his MBA in 2001. This degree, combined with his wide experience, should enable him to reach his goal.

Jorge Enderica

Jorge Enderica was born in Kingston, North Carolina, but grew up in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Graduating in 1987 with an accounting degree from Florida State University, he gained experience in banking and exportation companies, implementing credit analysis, cost control systems and operations management. Moving into the family business, he progressed to Marketing and Sales Manager, repositioning and developing the company's most profitable premium product line. He was elected as a Board Member for the Chamber for Small Industry in Guayaquil, providing exposure to the political and financial environment. He also gained his license as securities broker in Ecuador and was hired by three financial institutions to develop and manage their brokerage firms and mutual funds.

In 1995 Ecuador and Peru were in conflict. This devastated the economy and capital markets and the financial system collapsed completely over the next few years. Jorge joined an insurance company and gained experience with direct marketing methods. He has developed and implemented a marketing plan targeting the Hispanic market in the United States, piloting television, direct mail, telemarketing and Internet strategies. Jorge aims to become financially independent and to live where he wants while enjoying his family and the great outdoors. He and his wife are currently working hard to obtain these goals. He has developed an Internet portal for small entrepreneurs and professionals who want to start and develop their businesses on the Internet. He graduated with his MBA from Rushmore in 2002.