Maharishi School plans graduation events

FAIRFIELD - Maharishi School is planning a series of events this week to honor its graduating seniors, culminating in a Graduation Ceremony at 7 p.m. Saturday, June 6, at the school.

The first event of the week is a Farewell Ceremony at 7 p.m., Thursday, June 4, where the seniors will share their reflections and gratitude. The following night at 7 p.m. will be the Appreciation Ceremony, where faculty members will give a tribute to each senior.

The public should know that the graduation ceremony and the two events that precede it are private, by invitation only. Guests will be limited to family, faculty and students. No other community members will be allowed to attend. All events will take place outdoors and follow social distancing guidelines, with masks required.

In the event of inclement weather for any of the three events, it will be held online only. No events will be indoors.

Graduation speaker

This year's commencement speaker will be Jessica Hawthorne-Castro. A Fairfield native and proud Maharishi School graduate, Hawthorne-Castro is currently based in Los Angeles and the CEO and owner of Hawthorne Advertising, an award winning technology-based advertising agency specializing in analytics and accountable brand campaigns. Hawthorne Advertising was founded in Fairfield nearly 35 years ago by Tim Hawthorne, and now has offices in Fairfield, Los Angeles and employees in several other states across the country.

Hawthorne Advertising has a legacy of ad industry leadership by being a visionary in combining the art of right-brain creativity with the science of left-brain data analytics and neuroscience. Many of the company philosophies can be tied back to the curriculum she studied at Maharishi School. Jessica's role principally involves fostering long-standing client relationships with the company's expansive base of Fortune 500 brands to develop highly strategic and measurable advertising campaigns, designed to ignite immediate consumer response. From strategy, creative and production to media and analytics, Jessica is committed to premium quality and innovation throughout all agency disciplines.

As CEO of Hawthorne Advertising, Jessica has prioritized company culture and corporate social responsibility and is a Climate Change Reality Ambassador. Today, Hawthorne is a certified woman-owned business by the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), a Great Place to Work®, and on the Inc. 5000 list. She is a member of the Forbes Agency Council and Ad Age's Agency Collective, invitation-only organizations for senior-level executives in public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. She is the incoming Chair of the Board for the ANA ECHO Board of Governors, the elite group behind one of the most coveted prizes in marketing as well as a participant in TED International, TED Women communities and Vistage International. She is also a member of Young Presidents' Organization (YPO), the global organization empowering more than 28,000 members in more than 130 countries and is the Chapter Chair for YPO Los Angeles and on the YPO Pacific U.S. Regional Executive Board.

Before joining Hawthorne Advertising, Hawthorne-Castro was a successful TV literary agent with William Morris Endeavor (formerly Endeavor), one of Hollywood's top full-service talent agencies representing writers, directors and producers for television. As the agent for an impressive list of WME's top TV talent, she identified and negotiated opportunities for shows airing on all major broadcast and cable television networks. She also packaged key elements necessary to develop shows, working regularly with executives from ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, HBO, USA, Bravo and others.

Hawthorne-Castro graduated from Maharishi School, then moved to Los Angeles and received a Bachelor's degree from UCLA's School of Arts and Architecture and then several years later went back to obtain her MBA from Loyola Marymount University. When Jessica isn't busy with the company, culture, and board participation, she enjoys spending time with family, friends and traveling back to Fairfield and all over the world (over 50 countries so far and can thank Fairfield and its diverse roots for her love of travel). She resides in Los Angeles with her husband, 7-year-old son and newborn daughter.