STEM-focused master’s program in business administration offers opportunities in new sectors

FREDERICK, Md., June 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Hood College has rolled out a new graduate-level degree in STEM business administration. Building off Hood’s popular business programs, the STEM MBA combines coursework in data analytics, finance, operations and information management to offer a cross-disciplinary business education with a focus on building analytical skills.

The program is currently open for enrollment, with courses officially starting in the fall 2026 semester.

Accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP), the STEM MBA is a flexible online program. Students with a business background may even complete the degree in as few as 36 credits.

Students in the program will hone their analytical, managerial and organizational skills to bridge the business sector with evolving technology, such as artificial intelligence. Although courses are offered online (both synchronously and asynchronously), students can also opt to complete up to six credits of internships with regional businesses.

“The STEM MBA at Hood College develops forward-thinking leaders who combine technical expertise with strategic vision to solve real-world business challenge,” said David Gurzick, Ph.D., professor of management and STEM MBA program director.

The STEM MBA will be offered under The George B. Delaplaine Jr. School of Business, which already offers a traditional MBA at the graduate level and degrees in business administration, economics, finance and more at the undergraduate level.

About Hood College
Hood College is an independent, liberal arts college, offering 30 bachelor’s degrees, four pre-professional programs, 20 master’s degree programs, four doctorates and 11 post-baccalaureate certificates. Located in historic Frederick, near Washington, D.C., Baltimore and the I-270 technology corridor, Hood gives students access to countless internships and research opportunities.

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SOURCE Hood College

Popular “Must See” Experience Offers New Yorkers and Tourists Special Sunday Tours Through Labor Day Weekend

Tour includes puppetry and puppet-building demonstrations, exclusive merch, and especially patriotic highlights from the Company’s Archive!

QUEENS, N.Y., June 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — With multiple summer dates selling out, Jim Henson’s Creature Shop in Queens, NY, has added several Sunday dates for more opportunities to enjoy its popular weekly tour this summer (tickets on sale now at www.JimHensonExperiences.com). In response to overwhelming demand, the shop is adding Sundays to its schedule through Labor Day weekend, September 6th. And special for the summer in honor of the America’s 250, the 80-minute tour will include specially selected items from The Jim Henson Company’s archives that reflect some patriotic moments and characters from the Company’s 70-year history. The tour also includes a walk-through of the award-winning Creature Shop, special photo opportunities of beloved and iconic characters, a puppetry demonstration from an actual Henson puppeteer, a meet and greet with one of the Creature Shop’s master puppet builders, and other special surprises.

Jim Henson’s Creature Shop is where award-winning artists and makers create hundreds of the world’s most famous puppet characters including stars from Fraggle Rock, The Muppet Show, Sesame Street, Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas, and many more. New York City is the original and longest home to the workshop and specializes in the renowned Henson style of puppets and walkaround characters.

Tickets to visit Jim Henson’s Creature Shop in New York are $150 (plus tax and fees). All available dates are on sale now at www.JimHensonExperiences.com, a new initiative from The Jim Henson Company that features a variety of in-person experiences and live theater productions. Join the newsletter to receive updates on all the Company’s events, stage shows, and experiences.

About Jim Henson’s Creature Shop
Jim Henson’s Creature Shop™ provides animatronic creatures, digital puppetry, and soft puppets to the international film, television, theater, live event and advertising industries. Recent credits include Jim Henson’s Monster Dance for Amazon Kids+, the wildly popular music video “A Boggart Ballad” for Magic: the Gathering, Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock (Apple TV), for which it won an Emmy, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (Netflix), the Blumhouse horror franchise Five Nights at Freddy’s, and an upcoming all-puppet episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. The Shop is renowned for designing and building some of the world’s best-known characters including the Sesame Street puppets, the classic Muppets, and characters from Dinosaurs, Farscape, The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, and more. Additional credits in film and television include The Naked Gun, Nine Perfect Strangers Season 2, Lost Ollie, Come Play, Julie’s Greenroom, and Where the Wild Things Are. The shop is also known for its performance work for theatrical productions including My Neighbour Totoro, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Jim Henson’s inspired Silliness, and Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas, as well as for its partnerships with commercial clients like Snuggle, Topgolf, and General Mills, and with artists like Coldplay, The Avett Brothers, Cee Lo Green, Ben Rector, Lady Gaga and Deadmau5.

A recipient of multiple Emmy Awards for its outstanding work building puppets for Sesame Street, the Shop also received an Academy Award for its visual effects work on the film Babe. Other awards include a Scientific and Engineering Academy Award for the Henson Performance Control System, a powerful custom-based interface for puppeteers, and an Emmy Award for its work in developing the Henson Digital Puppetry Studio, a patented control system technology that enables puppeteers to perform a computer generated (CG) character in real time.

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SOURCE The Jim Henson Company

The new model combines virtual assistant support, zero-cost customized CRM (Customer Relationship Management) application, zero-cost website, and operational workflows for entrepreneurs building serious businesses before they can hire full internal teams.

LOS ANGELES, June 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Affordable Virtual Assistant, owned by Maandukya Corporation, today introduced its Solopreneur Operating System, a business support model designed for mompreneurs, influencerpreneurs, gradpreneurs, and solo founders who need more than task delegation. The model brings together trained virtual assistant support, CRM organization, website presence, lead follow-up, and operational workflows to help solo entrepreneurs operate with the structure of a growing company.

Affordable Virtual Assistant ecosystem for startups, mompreneurs, entrepreneurs, gradpreneurs and influencerpreneurs.

The announcement comes as entrepreneurship continues to shift toward a more personal, digital, creator-led and solo-driven economy. Across the country, founders are building businesses from home offices, kitchen tables, college campuses, content platforms, and side hustles. Yet many of these entrepreneurs are still running their businesses through inboxes, spreadsheets, direct messages, and memory.

Affordable Virtual Assistant is addressing that gap by giving solo founders an affordable operating layer before they are ready to build an internal team. The company’s model is designed to help entrepreneurs organize customer records, follow up with leads, manage administrative tasks, improve scheduling, support website needs and create repeatable workflows.

     “Solo founders are not short on ambition,” said Varun Khanna, Founder of Affordable Virtual Assistant. “They are short on operational capacity. The market has plenty of virtual assistant providers selling      hours. We built Affordable Virtual Assistant to give entrepreneurs their first operating layer — the people, custom and affordable technology systems, and follow-up automations that they need to run like a      real company before they can afford to hire a full team.”

The need for this type of support is growing as new founder segments reshape small business ownership. Women-owned businesses now represent a major share of the U.S. business landscape and generate trillions in annual revenue. Younger founders are also entering entrepreneurship at high rates, while creator-led and solo businesses continue to turn personal brands, services, content and digital products into real companies.

Affordable Virtual Assistant’s Solopreneur Operating System is built for this new founder class:

Mompreneurs who are balancing family, business growth, customer communication, scheduling, marketing, operations, and daily administrative demands.Influencerpreneurs who are turning content, audience attention, brand partnerships, affiliate income, digital products and services into businesses that require systems behind the scenes.Gradpreneurs who are launching ventures earlier and need affordable support with research, organization, outreach, follow-up and digital presence.Solopreneurs who are managing sales, service delivery, admin, CRM updates, customer communication and online visibility without a team.

Unlike traditional virtual assistant companies that focus primarily on completing hourly tasks, Affordable Virtual Assistant positions its service as a business support ecosystem. The company’s approach combines people, process and practical technology tools so founders can move from scattered daily activity to a more consistent operating rhythm.

     “Entrepreneurs are constantly told to start, scale and build their brands, but many are still operating without the basic technology and AI infrastructure that larger companies take for granted,” added Varun      Khanna. “The next evolution of virtual assistance is not just performing tasks. It is helping founders create operating consistency using affordable customized technology and AI to scale.”

Affordable Virtual Assistant’s model includes virtual assistant support, CRM assistance, lead follow-up, administrative help and website support, with transparent monthly plans designed to make structured business support accessible before founders are ready to hire internally.

For mompreneurs, that can mean support with inboxes, scheduling, customer records and follow-up while protecting time for family and growth. For influencerpreneurs, it can mean organizing brand inquiries, content administration, CRM updates and business opportunities. For gradpreneurs and young founders, it can mean having a first support system before they are ready to make a first hire. For solopreneurs, it can mean moving from hustle to a more organized and scalable business foundation.

The company’s message to the market is clear: virtual assistance should not be limited to busywork. For today’s solo founder, the right support system can become the bridge between ambition and operational growth.

Affordable Virtual Assistant serves early-stage business owners, coaches, consultants, creators, local service providers, online sellers, startup founders and professionals who need reliable support without the cost of building a full internal team.

For more information, visit AffordableVirtualAssistant.com.

About Affordable Virtual Assistant
Affordable Virtual Assistant helps solopreneurs and small business owners move from idea to income with virtual assistant support, CRM assistance, lead follow-up, administrative support, website help and operational workflows. Built for founders who need affordable business infrastructure before they are ready to hire a full internal team, Affordable Virtual Assistant provides practical support for the new generation of solo business owners.

Media Contact

Varun Khanna
Affordable Virtual Assistant
Email: info@affordablevirtualassistant.com
Telephone: (424) 502-1324
Website: AffordableVirtualAssistant.com

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SOURCE Maandukya Corporation