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More than a Degree

from Mount Magazine fall 2021

by Mount St. Mary's University

from Mount Magazine fall 2021, page 37

Mount Magazine fall 2021

More Than a Degree

Michael Tomlin’s Purposeful Education

By Nicole Patterson

MICHAEL TOMLIN, C’20, earned a bachelor’s degree in business from the Mount’s accelerated undergraduate program. The 43-year-old Navy veteran says the experience and what he learned help him focus on his work, pursue his passions and connect to his life’s greater purpose.

Tomlin began his collegiate journey in 2012, five years after being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) on October 11, 2007, just four days after turning 30 years old. MS is a chronic and progressive disease involving damage to the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms may include numbness, impairment of speech and muscular coordination, blurred vision and fatigue. Tomlin had cognitive symptoms.

Two years after leaving the Navy, he started work at Wells Fargo as a temporary employee. He was soon hired as a loan officer in 2004 and then made the switch to quality assurance in 2008. In his current role, he oversees three areas of specialty within capital markets loan operations. Much of his work is analytical and deals with compliance and government regulations—and he says the research and attention to detail required to further his education has helped improve his career.

**Michael Tomlin, C'20, with his wife Leann at Bike MS: City to Shore event in New Jersey, in late September. The event raised more than $3 million.**

“I received two promotions since 2016, and I believe the Mount helped me achieve these,” he says. “Since beginning at the Mount in 2016, I have become a subject matter expert and furthering my education has helped me complete much more difficult assignments.”

Choosing to continue his education was a step toward becoming a lifelong learner; it also helped him counteract the cognitive symptoms he faced with MS. Tomlin is also proud to become the first person in his family to earn a bachelor’s degree.

“I highly recommend the Mount. The flexibility, cost and class size were excellent. I was able to complete my degree at my own pace,” he adds.

Tomlin says his connections with the Mount spurred his volunteer efforts with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. “I am a patient advocate for those living and thriving with MS. I have used furthering my education in everything I do with the Society—whether cycling, fundraising or advocacy.”