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Shanteal Alleyne ’26 has always been a go-getter. While an undergraduate in Guyana, a friend told her about a new radio station in town and urged her to try out, saying she had a beautiful voice.

Despite lacking on-air experience, Alleyne made contact, wrote a proposal, and set up a meeting.��

“They loved the idea. And I guess the rest is history,” Alleyne said. She landed the gig and hosted a morning show while immersed in her studies.����

A changed person but a goal remained

After time as an undergrad in Guyana, life happened. Alleyne ended up moving to Europe, getting married, and having children.��

“Somewhere along the way, the dream of pursuing my master’s degree gradually faded into the background,” as student speaker representing University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) stateside graduates at spring commencement. “Not because I didn't want it anymore, but because it didn't feel possible."

Though the light may have dimmed, it didn’t go out, and about a decade after graduation the opportunity to return to school presented itself.��

Alleyne’s husband helped her choose. While stationed with the U.S. military in South Korea, he took several courses with UMGC, and assured her his experience was a good one.

“You are not the only one”

From her first conversations with UMGC, Alleyne found it comforting that there was always a helping hand available, but as classes got underway, she began to have doubts. New worries swirled. Was it too much? Did she wait too long to start over? Thoughts that were enough to give Alleyne a migraine.��

The experience led her to call her success coach to tell him she had made a mistake in returning to school. UMGC success coaches are there for precisely such moments, acting as guides throughout the student’s time with the university.��

“You are not the only one, I promise you,” she recalled him saying. “And he said—one of the things that really stood out to me—‘You do not have to do everything at once.’”

A final project with real-world impact

While earning her master’s degree, Alleyne also worked for Chapter One, a nonprofit focused on fostering literacy among young children. As a tutor at an elementary school, she witnessed the organization’s positive impact firsthand and felt she could offer more.����

For her strategic communications capstone project, a final assignment designed to apply learned skills and concepts to a real-world endeavor, Alleyne reached out to the chief executive officer of Chapter One.��

“We were able to set up a meeting where I went into details. She was so interested. She wanted to know so much about it,” Alleyne said.��

Alleyne talked about how, in collaboration with leadership, she analyzed and reported on the organization’s strategic strengths and challenges. “I was able to provide plans and solutions out of ideas from class that led up to that moment,” Alleyne said. “It was so amazing to me.”