Savannah Boothe came to MUM from Virginia two years ago, drawn by the Regenerative Organic Agriculture Program. After seeing an ad on Instagram, she came to a Visitors Weekend and enrolled right away.

Two months after arriving on campus, Savannah signed up for Student Government as secretary. This year she joined again as vice president. She has also completed a work-study position with Student Activities, organizing events and workshops. “I like working with people,” she said. “I like being the glue of the community and working on a team.”

Savannah also became a residential advisor in the women’s dorm and now oversees four residential advisors as the residential director. She makes sure that students are comfortable and know where to turn with their questions. Through her work-study job, she also enjoys learning about customs of various countries represented by the diverse student body.

In addition to taking a variety of courses in sustainable living, Savannah also completed an internship with Fairfield’s Ideal Energy, doing hands-on work during the construction of the MEG’Array Solar Power Plant adjacent to the MUM campus.

Her experiences at MUM have helped increase Savannah’s awareness of her talents and true interests. “MUM really gives you a clean slate when you come here,” she said. “In a few months, you really get to know the people around you and yourself in the process; and practicing TM, eating healthier, and following a structured routine give you a sense of clarity. TM has helped me gain a certain understanding of life, and a clearer view of how things happen and how I make decisions.”

In her second year, Savannah is continuing to refine her mission and purpose. She is in the process of designing an individualized major focusing on communication, organization, and sustainability.

The many achievements of art professor Jim Shrosbree were recognized this April by the Guggenheim Foundation, which honored him with a 2019 Guggenheim Fellowship. This award is not only a highly prestigious honor, but also comes with a substantial grant that typically allows recipients to focus exclusively on their research or writing or art for six months to a year.

Mr. Shrosbree was one of 168 scholars, artists, and scientists selected from a group of nearly 3,000 applicants in the Foundation’s 95th competition. He was one of only 25 who received the award for their work in fine arts.

“I’m over the top!” Shrosbree said. “It’s hard to quantify the enormous rush of gratitude and appreciation. This award affords freedom to create, so it is a chance to explore materials and size as well as some travel related to my studio practice.”

He added that the award is also a benefit to the art department and the university. “The benefit naturally spills into the art department and to the university as a whole because it stimulates and underlines the value of what is termed ‘research’ in an academic setting. That value is that each achievement can open the door for more and greater things to happen both personally and for the community of scholars.”

Mr. Shrosbree has worked in a variety of media, but has focused on sculptures formed out of simple, yet idiosyncratic materials. Many of his pieces are meant to be mounted on a wall and often have drawn lines or colored shapes placed behind and/or around them. In addition, many have physical connections, like wire, uniting the form and the wall through suspension, tension, and/or balance.

His sculptures, paintings, and works on paper have been exhibited nationally and internationally, and are included in such collections as Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Detroit Institute of Art, Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum, Des Moines Art Center, Mint Museum, and the University of Iowa Museum of Art.

Professor Shrosbree has taught art at MUM since 1979. Visit his gallery here.

Lauren LeBritton has accomplished a feat few other undergraduate students have: she has written, directed, and co-edited a 30-minute film that was nominated for the Iowa Motion Picture Association’s 2019 awards.

Lauren created The Playhouse during a four-month module with a crew of four fellow film students and a cast of about 15 MUM and Maharishi School students and alumni. The light-hearted comedy is about a group of high school thespians fighting to keep their performance space from being sold to a villainous buyer.

Lauren came to MUM from New Hampshire with her best friend, Haley Spitzfaden. Haley’s two older sisters both attended MUM, so Lauren had known about the university growing up. She wanted a non-traditional education and was drawn to the health benefits of the Transcendental Meditation^® technique.

She had suffered from anxiety and insomnia, which both gradually improved after she learned the TM^® technique. “I didn’t even realize how bad it was until I came here,” she said. “TM has definitely helped my mental state.”

Lauren began songwriting as a child and sang in numerous choirs and a cappella groups. She has also been interested in photography, so she decided to major in media and communications. In addition to making a short film, she has taken classes in music production.

“Before I came here, I wanted to make music and also do film work,” said Lauren. “I didn’t realize that I would be graduating with all this knowledge to do it on my own. Everything is so accessible at MUM because it’s smaller, more centralized. You have time with the teachers and the equipment, unlike in other schools with huge programs.”

Lauren is currently working on recording her first album as part of her senior project as well as producing her first music video. She will be publishing her work via online streaming platforms such as Spotify and YouTube.