Roberto Elee Torres — The Art of Daily Ritu

Roberto Elee Torres — The Art of Daily Ritu

by | Mar 14, 2022 | Achievements, Excluded from search, MIU News

March 14, 2022 • ISSUE 614

Roberto Elee Torres

The Art of Daily Ritual

Roberto Elee Torres is a student in MIU’s low-residency MFA program and works as the administrator for the art department. Fairfield residents have seen Elee showcase his designs at the EcoJam fashion shows, perform with some of the local dance and theater groups, and sell his pastries at the farmers market.
 
Elee grew up in Mexico and was living in the Midwest when he heard about MIU from a student friend. Elee was impressed with his friend’s increased sense of fulfillment and positive attitude and decided to apply to MIU. Although Elee always enjoyed making art, he didn’t know how to become an artist. So when he enrolled at MIU in 2007, he took courses in Maharishi AyurVeda℠ and sustainable living.

Wearing his costume design at the 2017 EcoJam fashion show

“I kept getting feedback from everyone around me that my way of expression was artistic, and that made me curious,” he said. “I took some classes at the art department and never left; I found myself there.” Outside school he thrived in the local performing and art scenes.
 
Elee has also benefited from his practice of the Transcendental Meditation® technique and found it helpful in reducing his anxiety. “TM offers me a chance to reset myself during the day and come out more refreshed,” he said.

Sculpture by Elee

Sculpture by Elee

Last fall he joined the new low-residency MFA program which allows him to focus on making artwork while still working for the department. “It’s helpful to be in the MFA program because I can bounce things off other artists, and the environment is very conducive to creativity and artistic refinement,” said Elee.
 
Elee loves working with recycled materials and is focusing on creating mixed media sculptures. He is interested in exploring the domestic environment and how everyday activities and rituals can create happiness and fulfillment.

Ayako Huang Publishes Chapter on Sustainability Education

Ayako Huang Publishes Chapter on Sustainability Education

by | Mar 7, 2022 | Achievements, MIU News

March 7, 2022 • ISSUE 613

Ayako Huang Publishes

Chapter on Sustainability Education

Faculty member Ayako Huang contributed a chapter to a new textbook titled Revolutionizing Sustainability Education: Stories and Tools for Mindset Transformation published by Routledge Press. The book features 17 educators from across five continents who share their insights on how they cultivate a sustainability mindset.
 
There is a growing awareness among management scholars that understanding the environmental problems of the world is not enough, and a change in mindset is necessary to create a lasting impact on behavior. Sustainability mindset is a way of thinking and being that results from a broad understanding of the ecosystem’s manifestations, and an introspective focus on the personal values and the higher self.
Ayako Huang is an associate professor and director of the MBA in Sustainable Business Program at MIU. She has been participating in the Sustainable Mindset Group offered by the Principles of Responsible Management Education platform, a United Nations-supported initiative that aims to raise the profile of sustainability in schools around the world.
 
She has shared her experience of Consciousness-Based℠ education at MIU and was invited to write a chapter for the book after she completed the sustainability mindset certification the platform provided.

The cover of “Revolutionizing Sustainability Education”

In her chapter Professor Huang describes sustainability management education as a human-centered and multidimensional task with a systematic approach. She highlights the importance of cultivating the heart value in the classroom, in addition to intellectual understanding and hands-on experience, in order to achieve a more holistic educational outcome.
 
Through such a systematic and holistic curriculum design, students can understand their place in the global ecosystem and the impact of their behavior on climate change and other environmental factors.

Taylor Placity—Telling Timeless Stories

Taylor Placity—Telling Timeless Stories

by | Mar 2, 2022 | Achievements, MIU News

March 2, 2022 • ISSUE 612

Taylor Placity

Telling Timeless Stories

Taylor Placity is an actor, musician, and filmmaker who is currently enrolled in MIU’s online Cinematic Arts and New Media Program.
 
Taylor grew up in Arizona, acting in community plays and playing in bands as a child. At age 17 Taylor began performing professionally at Old Tucson Studios, singing, dancing, and doing stunts in the Wild West theme park. Taylor then moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting and had a variety of roles in films and TV productions.

The Wild West days at Old Tucson Studios

In 2016 Taylor joined the indie rock band Hey, King! with partner Natalie London, and they released their first album in 2020. Taylor and Natalie have been making all of their own music videos as well and collaborated on writing and producing films.

Performing with Hey, King!

At the start of the pandemic, Taylor decided to take a step back from acting and focus on songwriting and filmmaking. At around the same time, their band manager gifted the duo scholarships to learn the Transcendental Meditation® technique. Taylor heard about MIU and its online film program and decided to enroll.
 
Studying filmmaking, which requires a team, can be challenging online. But it also gave Taylor the opportunity to step into new roles, including producer, cinematographer, and editor.

Acting in and directing a music video

“MIU has done a great job,” Taylor said. “The professors are always just an e-mail away. I never felt like I was being left behind or lost.” The TM® technique has also been a helpful addition to Taylor’s routine. “I am able to process uncertainties more easily without experiencing a negative emotion right away.”
 
For a documentary class assignment, Taylor made a short film about an 84-year-old man named Al who rode his bicycle around his neighborhood with the goal of covering the circumference of the globe—24,901 miles. When he reached his goal, Taylor and Natalie surprised him with a neighborhood party to celebrate his achievement.
 
 “I want to tell stories that are timeless,” said Taylor, who now wants to focus on directing films and acting in them.

A scene from the documentary “Around the World in My Neighborhood”

Jennifer Moore—Laying the Foundation for a Creative Life

Jennifer Moore—Laying the Foundation for a Creative Life

by | Feb 24, 2022 | Achievements, MIU News

February 22, 2022 • ISSUE 611

Jennifer Moore

Laying the Foundation for a Creative Life

Jennifer Moore recently completed her second campus visit in MIU’s low-residency MFA in Visual Art Program, which allows artists all over the country to pursue their degrees remotely with a two-week stay on campus each semester.
 
Jennifer lives outside Austin, Texas, and has toured with the indie pop duo Deep Time in the US, Australia, Europe, and Mexico. After being on the road for a decade, she decided to settle down and attend Texas State University to study opera. However, when she took a class in video art she found a new calling and completed her bachelor’s degree in visual art in 2018.

Playing with Deep Time in Austin, Texas

One of her professors, Joey Fauerso, introduced Jennifer to the work of the MIU art faculty. When the new low-residency program opened last August, Jennifer applied. She was drawn to the program’s creative approach combined with MIU’s focus on student well-being.
 
The MFA program has helped her maintain a regular creative routine even when she returns home. She has discovered that she prefers the quiet of the art studio over the hectic touring schedule of a musician.

Art work Jennifer made during her latest residency at MIU

“I love the MFA program because it is setting you up for a creative life,” she said. “Now I have a working routine and the TM technique is really helpful with that. I am also getting creative ideas when I meditate.”
 
Through the program, Jennifer receives regular feedback from MIU faculty and an artist mentor, and enjoys the community of fellow art students. In her small studio she makes sculptures from found objects.

Jennifer’s studio space at MIU

Jennifer is interested in becoming a teacher or an art therapist, combining art with the Transcendental Meditation technique in her work. Her current goal is to continue solidifying her studio practice so that she can help others achieve the same.

Jay Banerjee—Businessman With a Purpose

Jay Banerjee—Businessman With a Purpose

by | Feb 14, 2022 | Achievements, MIU News

February 14, 2022 • ISSUE 610

Jay Banerjee

Businessman With a Purpose

Jay Banerjee is chief operating officer of Immersive Touch, a Chicago-based company offering virtual reality medical devices that convert 2D patient images into 3D simulations for surgical planning and training. Jay is also a full-time student at MIU.
 
Jay has a bachelor of science degree in systems engineering, economics, and finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and had always wanted to start a business with the higher purpose of improving healthcare. 
 
In 2014, he and his father founded Immersive Touch to make surgeries safer and more affordable for patients. The company’s technology is used by surgeons in over 100 hospitals, including the Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins.

At last year’s company holiday party, with his father on the very left

While at the University of Illinois, Jay became interested in studying Vedic knowledge. In 2021 he was looking for a program to help him cope with family loss and work pressure, and his father recommended MIU. When he saw the MA in Consciousness and Human Potential Program, he knew he found what he had been seeking for a decade.

“The way the knowledge is delivered here is fantastic,” he said. “It’s very easy to understand, and you experience what you are learning intellectually. I had never found this anywhere else.”

With fellow Maharishi Vedic Science students during a Diwali celebration

Jay’s company has been thriving since he began studying Maharishi Vedic Science℠. He attributes this success to his practice of the Transcendental Meditation® technique, which has helped him become more relaxed and allowed him to take a more creative and efficient approach to managing the day-to-day activities of the company.

“There are so many decisions you need to make every day in business,” he said. “I tend to do the right thing more spontaneously without having too much needless turbulence.”

At his TM-Sidhi graduation with TM-Sidhi Administrator Doug Birx

In December Jay completed the TM-Sidhi® program and is now planning to offer the TM® technique to his employees. He feels inspired by the history of the Transcendental Meditation organization and the university, and hopes to contribute to their expansion nationally and globally.