A short film by Gregor Kresal, a graduate of the David Lynch Graduate School of Cinematic Arts, won four awards in April at the Iowa Motion Picture Association’s annual awards ceremony, including the top award for cinematography and three Awards of Achievement for editing, soundtrack, and long-form live-action entertainment.

His film, titled 8 1/2 Circles, is a semi-autobiographical psychological drama about a professional mountain climber who becomes so obsessed with an expedition in Pakistan that he loses interest in day-to-day life. The film is loosely based on Gregor’s life as a professional mountain climber, and is about why he stopped climbing mountains after 25 years.

“The practice of Transcendental Meditation has been very helpful in discovering and reconnecting with my personal story,” Gregor said. “It uncovered many suppressed feelings I had not dealt with because of the trauma I experienced due to losing so many friends to mountaineering accidents.” He also said the David Lynch program played an important part in the success of 8 ½ Circles by connecting him with a great crew to work with.

The film was shot in Fairfield, Iowa, the mountains of Slovenia, and on the high-altitude glaciers around Europe’s highest mountain — Mt. Blanc, in France. The film uses actors from around Fairfield and from Slovenia, as well as Joey Maida from California in the lead male role.

Gregor has also collected numerous other awards, including the first prize at the Alpi Giulie Cinema in Trieste, Italy, the Seven Summits Award at the Mountain Films Awards, the Award of Excellence at the Headline International Film Festival, and Platinum Winner at the International Independent Film Awards. Gregor is currently in a pre-production phase of turning his 32-minute film into a full-length feature.

Are you interested in many different things? Are you pretty good at a lot of them? Do you sometimes have trouble deciding what direction to pursue?

Then you may want to take a look at a new free online course titled Crafting a Life of Meaning, Significance, and Service.

Taught by Steve Langerud, a nationally recognized workplace culture strategist and consultant, the course offers a simple framework for how to identify, articulate, and act on your purpose.

“The course is for anyone who likes too many things, is good at too many things, and really doesn’t want to be pinned down to just one option — which seems to be most of us,” Steve says. “The fact is that our work matters. Finding meaningful professional and personal purpose drives our connection to others and contribution to the world. Understanding that this purpose is not just within our careers but across our lives is key.”

During the past 25 years, Steve has worked with over 15,000 people to discover and develop their purpose, identify their capacities, and guide their personal, professional, and organization development strategy. He is a contributor to media, including MarketWatch, Fast Company, New York Times, NPR, MSNBC, and Time magazine on issues of workplace and professional and career development.

“Anyone seeking personal and dynamic attention for their own growth, or that of their organization, should seek Steve’s insight and advice,” said a CEO from Cedar Falls, Iowa.

“I cannot think of a person more readily willing to help students pursue career opportunities, whether it be internships or full-time positions, than Steve,” said a college senior from Indianapolis, Indiana. “Steve knows how to highlight people’s strengths and transform them from students to highly qualified professionals.”

The context for Steve’s work comes from experiences as an archaeologist, street performer, carpenter, and president of a bicycle company. Prior to coming to MUM, Steve worked at Grinnell College (where he was dean of experiential education), the University of Iowa Law School (where he was assistant dean), and DePauw University (where he was director of professional development). He currently works as dean of Admissions at MUM. Steve also offers free career coaching to MUM alumni, including career goal setting, skills assessment, and job search strategies.

“I have learned that we know a lot about ourselves and little about where we can have a life and career that matches our needs,” Steve says. “Unfortunately, the best advice most people get is to ‘follow your passion,’ which is simply too vague and unhelpful. First you have to identify those things that matter most to you, then discover where people get paid to do those things — often a big surprise — and, finally, make a plan to act on your needs. When you focus on purpose, you can focus your needs in more meaningful and actionable ways.”

Find out more and watch an introductory video of Steve’s course here.

Management doctoral student Han Wan, who recently passed the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) exam, received the Outstanding CMA Student award from the Des Moines Chapter of the Institute for Management Accountants.

Han received an undergraduate degree in education from Qiongzhou University, China, which has a collaboration with MUM. She learned the Transcendental Meditation® technique in Beijing in 2011 and decided to continue her studies at MUM.

Following her plan to become a middle school teacher, Han completed her MA in education. MUM’s peaceful atmosphere and supportive academic environment encouraged Han to broaden her horizons and increase her accomplishments. She enrolled in the MBA in Accounting Program and, after graduating in 2014, began her doctoral program in management.

“Coming here was a life-changing experience for me,” she said. “I fell in love with MUM. The environment is so supportive, and the professors are so dedicated to their students.” Han attributes many of the changes in her life to the practice of the TM® technique. “I am much happier than I was before, and I have built up my self-acceptance and confidence.”

Han is currently writing her dissertation and, as a senior graduate instructor, she teaches distance education courses on finance and accounting to the undergraduate students of the Maharishi Institute in Johannesburg, South Africa. In addition to completing her PhD, Han plans to further her education in accounting and pass the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam.

“Along with her studies as a PhD student, Han simultaneously mastered the CMA exam,” said Professor Dennis Heaton, Han’s PhD advisor. “Now she has designed an original research plan to examine the impact of sustainability reporting on a firm’s financial performance.”

In the future Han hopes to combine her interests in accounting and education and become an accounting professor or work as an accounting professional. “I always want to learn something new and challenge myself,” said Han. “I want to be more knowledgeable and experienced, so that I can do a better job helping people.”

On April 29, Maharishi Invincibility Institute in Johannesburg, South Africa, held graduation ceremonies for 58 students earning bachelor’s degrees in business from MUM, bringing the total number of MUM degrees awarded to MII students to 235.

The Maharishi Invincibility Institute is a nonprofit organization established in 2007. It offers students access to 86 credits of coursework and a work-study program to help fund their tuition and gain practical skills. Students then enroll at MUM for the final years of their degrees and receive online instruction from MUM faculty.

“On behalf of the graduating students and the country of South Africa, we are deeply grateful to the wonderful and dedicated faculty of MUM,” said Taddy Blecher, CEO of Maharishi Invincibility Institute. “They have given our students knowledge for a lifetime of success, through the profound system of Consciousness-Based education brought by our shared founder Maharishi. Most of the graduates are already placed in jobs.”

The ceremony last weekend also included 35 students who had received an MBA or a post-graduate diploma from MUM in the past four years. All the students at MII practice both the Transcendental Meditation® technique and TM-Sidhi® program.

“They really appreciate the education they are receiving from MUM faculty,” said Morad Malekghassemi, MUM’s director of the international business program. “Many of them have written to me to express their appreciation. Our faculty work hard to understand the students’ needs and to ensure that they are grasping the content of the lectures.”

According to Mr. Malekghassemi, enrollment continues to increase at MII, since it’s one of the few low-cost institutions of higher education in South Africa. Another 55 students are expected to graduate with MUM business degrees in December, and another 85 have registered with MUM in recent months and have begun taking MUM classes. The students at MII are from 17 countries across Africa.

MUM professor Gabriel Akura traveled to MII to preside over the recent graduation.