DrakeUniversityDes Moines, IA

Majors: Magazine Journalism, International RelationsMinor: EntrepreneurshipExpected Graduation: May 2013

DrakeMagazineDes Moines, IA

Editor-in-Chief, May 2011-presentManage editors, writers, designers, photographers, and webmaster; successfully delegate tasks to staff; revived magazine!s social media outlets; led a complete redesign of the website; maintain magazine!s budget

Section Editor, August 2010-May 2011Aided with macro and micro editing; worked with multiple writers to ensure successful story progression; brainstormed story ideas for print magazine and website

Webmaster, August 2010-May 2011Maintained DrakeMagazine.com using Dreamweaver; updated content on site; edited video, pictures, and audio clips

Assistant Editor, August 2009-May 2010Wrote blogs and articles; interviewed people locally and nationally; fact-checked all stories for the web-site; created video and audio supplements for articles

LocusicDes Moines, IA

A Pandora-like website for local music.

Band Recruiter, Event Organizer, October 2011-presentInvite bands to add music to the site, write weekly blog posts, organize recruitment events and music concerts

WritingExperienceDIY, freelance writer (Spring 2012 issue)Urban Plains, freelance writer (Fall 2010, Fall 2011)The Lift, staff writer and editor (Dec. 2010-July 2011)

MeredithCorporationDes Moines, IA

Copy Editing Intern, June 2011-August 2011Copy edited over 30 magazines from the Home Design, Garden, Food, and Decorating groups; proofread iPad publications through Zinio.com; edited slideshows and newsletters.

Copy Flow Coordinator, June 2010-present!"#$%&'()*+",%(-%.'""+&#*"%"$)(-',/%'-0("%1+",%2&*3%(-%magazine editors; edit reprint magazines; communi-cate with in-house editors on a daily basis.

RelevantSkills4.1*)"#(%)#5 Photoshop, InDesign, CSS and HTML coding, Wordpress, Dreamweaver, Word, Excel, Audacity, social media management

HOME4215 Grand AvenueApartment 301Des Moines, IA 50312

EMAILerika.owen@drake.edu

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1 Do It Yourself Spring 2012

salvage style

TV show host Michele Beschen builds an outdoor entertainment zone from leftover materials, turning cinder blocks into weather-proof and storage-friendly furniture.

words ERIKA RAE OWEN photographs CAMERON SADEGHPOUR projects MICHELE BESCHEN

concrete junglesalvage style

1

Michele Beschen, opposite, is the host and creator of how-to television programs with an eco-friendly focus, including her newest series, B. Organic, currently airing on public broadcasting stations, and her previous series, B. Original, on DIY Network and HGTV. Check local listings or go to borganic.net.

2Do It Yourself Spring 2012

1. Great outdoors Creating an outdoor haven has never been so

easy—or inexpensive. By building a couch from cinder blocks and adding rustic art made from found materials, Michele Beschen fashioned a place to work on crafts, read, or bring family time outdoors. DIY tip: To keep your creation kid-friendly, use construction adhesive to secure the backrest pieces.

2. Pillow party Burlap sacks never looked so good. Turn a few with

fun fonts into pillows. This quick, easy-sew project softens the angles. Find sacks in di!erent colors and make a variety of pillow sizes for a textural and colorful twist.

3. Stitch in time Embroider a design on a cast-o! screen. Follow

Michele’s initiative and make your wall art functional—spell out your house number or your family’s name.

4. Found object Incorporate old finds from around the house into

your new outdoor setting. A vintage watering can holds cut flowers to adorn a side table.

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5. Screen scene Create wall art using found materials to form a

backdrop for your DIY couch. Michele painted a variety of designs on old window screens. Match the colors to your plants or mix up a lively palette.

6. Perfect planter Take a practical path and insert citronella plants in

your cinder block. They add an earthy tone to the couch, plus they’ll keep the mosquitoes away.

7. Super storage Keep fave reads, crafting materials, blankets, and

other entertaining must-haves within easy reach tucked into the hollows of outward-facing blocks.

8. On the table Furnish the great outdoors. Create an entire

concrete furniture set for less than $50. With four blocks, you can make a side table, perfect for serving lemonade or iced tea on warm days. Build another couch for a large entertaining area.

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3 Do It Yourself Spring 2012

salvage style

8

Take it to the next levelIf you love this project, but the look of concrete isn’t your thing, it’s your lucky day. This versatile project can meld into any outdoor scene. These variations on the tradition-al concrete look will get your crafty mind reeling.

1. Paint it. Choose a color and go wild! Because this furniture will be showcased outside, the weathering will look natural in its environment—and add vintage inspiration to the scene.

2. Stain it. For an earthy look, go with stain. Wear gloves to protect your hands from long-lasting color, and give your project plenty of time (and the promise of good weather) to dry.

3. Stencil it. Grab a purchased stencil or make your own! Keep it simple and leave the natural concrete look in the background, or take it up a notch and paint the couch. After it dries, stencil another color.

4Do It Yourself Spring 2012

If you’re expecting drunken parties, an excessive amount of free time, and junk food galore, you won’t last three days at Deep Springs College in Big Pine, Calif. When you walk onto the desert landscape of Deep Springs, 26 students (all with full-ride scholarships), a cattle ranch, an alfalfa !eld, and three full-time professors will greet you. About those 26 students—they’re all boys. What about that cattle ranch and alfalfa !eld? Introducing: your homework. Oh, and don’t worry—there are three visiting professors throughout the school year, too. Students are generally all awake by the !rst signs of dawn completing chores depending on which labor position they’re assigned, which range from preparing breakfast or baling hay to milking cows or feeding the campus livestock. Deep Springs College President, David Neidorf, believes that the labor positions add a whole new, necessary element to education. “Ideally the labor program develops in students a sense of self-con!dence and know-how and problem-solving ability that is useful in all sorts of situations,” he says. “The short feedback loops of manual labor make it a much more effective way of learning that kind of thing because you don’t have to wait two or three years to see what your result is. Your results are right there in front of you and it’s very clear that they’re yours.” Students only attend two midmorning classes a day, Monday through Friday, that each last approximately 90 minutes. Besides this, the only other traditional education taught is a Tuesday night speech class. Being a two-year campus, students are required to take composition and public speaking, but the rest of their class time is up to them. There is more work done outside than in the classroom. Students are assigned to a labor position for each seven-week academic term.

These positions include jobs such as butchering the campus’s cows for meals, maintaining the dining hall’s cleanliness and preparing meals as part of the Boardinghouse Crew, and monitoring pregnant livestock as Student Cowboys. Students take their jobs seriously. When they do have downtime (which is admittedly not often) they indulge in “boogies”—student body dances, where the musical choice is up for grabs.

It isn’t uncommon to see professors and students stargazing or discussing off-school topics in the Main Circle—an area where professors are required to live and encouraged to invite students to visit. And the full-ride scholarships? “We have loyal alumni. Income from endowment and agricultural operations provides about half of our annual operating costs.” Neidorf says. “The rest is raised yearly from donors.” Ladies: You’re in luck. There’s talk of adding co-education into the curriculum. At least something will make those “boogies” a little more interesting.

DEEP SPRINGS COLLEGEWORDS ERIKA OWEN

38 DRAKEMAGAZINE [FALL 2011]

local farms. Only vegetarian options are served, but students can opt to eat meat off campus. Campus buildings connect with TM through Vedic architecture. They create a positive atmosphere that helps students !nd peace and serenity. The laws of nature affect a person’s thinking and behavior, preventing chaos and con"ict. The human brain responds positively to the sun, so most buildings face east. MUM is far from your typical college—both academically and socially. “Everyone gets drunk at normal universities, but here we !nd ourselves and become aware of who we are and what we want to be,” Hardt says.

In small-town Fair!eld, Iowa, you’d never expect to !nd a univer-sity established to promote peace and prosperity for the world. But Maharishi University of Management was founded for just that. “At MUM, we focus on conscious-based learning as one of our core values rather than information-based learning,” says Dr. Fred Travis, a professor of Maharishi Vedic Science. MUM concen-trates on what students can bring to the classroom rather than what professors can offer the students. Students practice conscious-based learning through transcendental meditation, or TM. TM is a stress-reducing meditation that helps develop a person’s “inner self.” During TM, students sit comfortably with their eyes closed and allow their attention to transcend from the “thinking level,” to a deeper level, the “source of thought,” while thinking of their mantra. A mantra is a word that has no real meaning, but it’s used as the “vehicle” of meditation during TM. “TM can be mastered by anyone in a few days to a few weeks,” Travis says. Block scheduling is another way to help MUM students !nd peace—and avoid stress. Students only take one class at a time for one month and receive four credits. They’re in the classroom for four hours a day and six days a week, except on Saturdays when they’re only in class for two hours. Professors incorporate 20-minute TM sessions into the beginning of the day and at end of each class. “Only having one class at a time really allows me to dig deep into a subject and incorporate it into my life,” says sophomore Soangela Hardt, 19. The !rst class is the same for all students. They learn how TM is related to consciousness and helps bring individuals to their full potential. The class concludes with a hands-on, outdoor leadership excursion with students and faculty. It’s not your average lesson plan: They focus on outdoor skills, cooperation, and having fun. MUM also takes nutrition seriously—a factor many school cafete-rias can’t relate with. They believe that what you eat has a direct effect on your body and mind. In its dining hall, MUM only serves 100 percent organic foods, and the majority of the food comes from

MAHARISHI SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENTWORDS ASHLEY THOMPSON

Everyone gets drunk at normal universities, but here we !nd ourselves and become aware of who we are and what we want to be.

DRAKEMAGAZINE [FALL 2011] 39

Ideally the labor program develops in students a sense of self-con!dence and know-how and problem-solving ability that is useful in all sorts of situations.

- David Neidorf - Soangela Hardt

Q&AActor and writer Molly Erdman, 37, is badass—there’s no denying that. Creator of the blog catalogliving.net and comedian/improviser, she’s bringing humor to all plat-forms. Check her out at mollyerdman.com. ERIKA OWEN: How did you ever come up with such an imaginative—and completely absurd—world within the pages of catalogs?

MOLLY ERDMAN: One night I was !ipping through a West Elm catalog and saw a picture of an outdoor lounge area with a plate of "gs under a table. I realized that not only was this picture ridiculously impractical, but so were the majority of images in many home furnishing catalogs. So the next morning I started a Tumblr blog, scanned some pictures, and wrote some captions. The idea behind the captions is to justify why those absurd details exist.

Q: Were you shocked at the positive attention your blog has received in the viral world?

A: De"nitely! I was shocked that it received any attention at all beyond my friends and family, to be honest. I’ve been an actor for my entire adult life and have tried many things to get attention, but this was something I did purely for enjoyment, and it’s the thing I’ve gotten attention for. There’s a lesson to be learned there, I suppose. I’m always thrilled to get comments and e-mails from readers saying that I provide a much-needed laugh for them every day.

Q: What’s the most ridiculous catalog page you’ve ever seen?

A: Some of the European catalogs are pretty amazing. There’s one that features furniture with various wildlife surrounding it: a lounge

chair with lions pawing at it, and another womb-like chair with ostriches prancing around it.

Q: How do you "nd your catalog selections? Do people send you ideas, or do you take over the selection process yourself?

A: For the most part, I "nd everything myself. I usually look online, but when I get catalogs in the mail I go through those, too, because sometimes they offer pictures that I can’t "nd on the web. People do send me pictures sometimes, which I like, but I only use them if I see something in them. I try not to force anything. Sometimes there are wacky pictures but no joke comes to me, so I just save them and hope that the inspiration will hit me.

Q: You’re an actor and an improviser—what does an improviser do?

A: Great question. It’s not exactly a career. I started taking improv classes in Chicago about 15 years ago and performed with some groups there. Eventually that led to me performing at The Second City, which isn’t an improv show, but their shows are written through improv. As opposed to writing scripts for each sketch, we throw out an idea (“A mom substitutes her son’s sex ed. class”) and improvise that idea, eventually forming the "nal product. Now that I’m in Los Angeles, I still perform in improv shows roughly once a week. My background in improv has been invaluable in just about everything I do—it boosts creativity and keeps me from second-guessing myself all the time.

Q: What are some of your favorite blogs?

A: I have to admit, I spend so much time working on mine that I’m pretty much blogged out by the time a free moment comes along. I discovered Unhappy Hipsters after I started Catalog Living (which is fortunate, because if I’d seen it before I would have questioned whether mine was too similar). They provide captions for photos from Dwell magazine, and they’re hilarious. DM

WITHMOLLY ERDMAN

This comedian dishes on her

snarky blog, catalogliving.net

52 DRAKEMAGAZINE [FALL 2011]

EXTRAS

REPORTED BY ERIKA OWENPHOTO MOLLY ERDMAN

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