Leadership lived: Recent business administration graduate comes up with “Good News Now” app to spread positivity

Miranda Mogle was already a successful small business owner when she decided, at age 30, that she wanted to complete her bachelor’s degree in business administration at the University of Illinois Springfield.

“I decided since I owned a business that I should know something about it, which eventually brought me to UIS,” she said. “I’ve been attending UIS, while running a business full-time and working part-time per diem traveling, so I’ve been able to schedule my classes around my life and work on getting my degree without putting my life on hold.”

While attending UIS, she came up with the concept for a new computer application called “Good News Now”, a news content aggregator that screens out unpleasant news stories providing consumers with only positive news.

“I’m an optimistic person, a very positive person and it is hard when you’re scrolling through your feeds or you’re on the internet or whatever you’re doing you’re bombarded with negativity, so I thought why not having something that brings positivity to me on a daily basis,” she said.

Mogle is now looking for an application developer that can help make her idea a reality.

“I’ve made a lot of connections and I feel like the professors are great resources themselves and they’ve also introduced me to people in the business work who can help me further my goals,” she said.

Mogle recently presented her business model at the University of Illinois Undergraduate Research Day at the Illinois State Capitol. She was also honored in April 2018 with an “Innovator of the Year” award during the Illinois Capital Innovation Competition Awards.

“I had to really fully think out the idea, figure out how much it would cost, if it’s even viable,” she said. “Based on that, I ended up winning, so somebody liked my idea.”

Mogle officially graduated from UIS with her bachelor’s degree in business administration on May 12, 2018. She now plans to pursue her master’s degree in nursing. She previously worked in healthcare field and would like to become a healthcare administrator.

“What made UIS special to me is that it has helped me perpetuate the path that I was already going toward,” she said. “It has made me a better business person, a better manager, a better leader and probably a better person in general.”