Lauren Turk, a graduate of our Master of Arts in European Union Studies (MAEUS) program, has been selected as the Winter 2025 Convocation speaker for the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She will address graduating students at the LAS Winter Convocation ceremony on Saturday, December 20, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts in Urbana.
Turk holds both a BA in French commercial studies and communication (’06) and an MA in Political Science/European Union Studies (’12) from Illinois, and her career beautifully reflects the interdisciplinary, globally engaged training at the heart of the MAEUS program.
Today, she is an impact entrepreneur and the founder of CompoSTARS, an initiative focused on reducing food waste, improving soil health, and advancing a circular economy. CompoSTARS brings together partners across the compost ecosystem and develops tools that address technological, data, and public engagement gaps, illustrating how a humanities and social science education can drive concrete environmental change.
Turk is also deeply committed to mentoring the next generation. She has guest lectured and advised students and young professionals at institutions including the University of Southern California, the ArtCenter College of Design, and the LA Cleantech Incubator, and her reflections on innovation have appeared in outlets such as Forbes and Fast Company.
We are proud to celebrate Lauren as one of our MAEUS alumni and to see her lead at the Winter Convocation ceremony. Her path from Illinois to global impact exemplifies the engaged, critical, and creative leadership we strive to cultivate in our program.
For more information about LAS Winter Convocation, visit the College of LAS graduation page.