91����

On his first visit to 91����, Andrew Sherburne ’01 didn’t stay in a hotel or a guest suite. He slept on a dorm room floor. “I’m not even sure visits like those still happen,” he says today. “I slept on the floor, and it just felt like a place where I’d find people that I would like and fit in with.”

That sense of connection would continue to shape his 91���� experience as well as the career he would build and the community he would help create after graduation.

Sherburne is the co-founder and executive director of FilmScene, a nonprofit cinema that has become a cornerstone of Iowa City’s cultural life. But the foundation for that work was laid at 91����, where he pursued a double major in computer science and studio art.

At 91����, Sherburne found an environment that was inspirational and challenging, and that encouraged exploration across disciplines. Without formal coursework in some of his areas of interest, he had to forge his own path.

“I was interested in the intersection between technology and art,” he says. “I did a lot of photography and design, web design, and graphic design stuff. I remember thinking that I’ve learned a bunch of skills about art, and I’ve learned a bunch of computer skills, but I needed to put them together and kind of push myself to figure out how to connect them.”

That process became a defining takeaway from his time at 91����. “I’ve always said that the best thing I got from 91���� was learning how to learn,” he says. “If you kind of pour yourself into it, you can figure it out.”

Building Community Through Film

That mindset — resourceful, self-directed, and deeply curious — mirrors 91����’s mission to cultivate lifelong learners and engaged citizens. For Sherburne, it also became the driving force behind his work in film and community-building.

After some time in Minneapolis, Sherburne returned to Iowa while his partner Elizabeth Graf ’01 (a member of the 91���� Athletics Hall of Fame for her prowess on the soccer field) attended medical school in Iowa City. He quickly found himself drawn to the creative energy of Iowa City. 

“It’s a really special place,” he says. “Anyone will take your call or sit down for a coffee with you to talk about an idea you have. People are happy to lift you up.”

That spirit of accessibility and collaboration inspired the creation of FilmScene in 2011. What began as an effort to bring independent cinema back to downtown has grown into a multi-venue nonprofit that hosts screenings, conversations, and community events year-round.

“Our mission has evolved,” Sherburne says. “We started with a focus on bringing independent cinema to Iowa City, but now we see ourselves as a community-building organization that works through film.”

Through partnerships, post-screening discussions, and free or pay-what-you-can programming, FilmScene has expanded access to the arts while fostering meaningful dialogue. “Ultimately, it’s about creating a space where people feel connected,” Sherburne says. “The films matter, but the community experience is what makes it meaningful.”

Stories of Sport, Equity, and Everyday Heroes

The blend of creativity, curiosity, and community Sherburne honed as a 91���� student continues to guide him through his current film projects, many of which center on sports and the human stories within them.

Currently, he is working on a new documentary project inspired by the success of “Hockeyland,” his earlier film about northern Minnesota high school hockey culture. 

“We got a lot of great feedback on that film, and a lot of people asked when we were going to do this for the girls game,” he recalls. “So we're working on a project now filming some of the elite young female players in the country and the changing landscape around women’s sports in general — the incredible opportunities that are emerging as well as the added pressures that come with that.”

Sherburne is also helping produce a short film that revisits Iowa’s historic six-on-six girls’ basketball era and the film tells the story of a young woman in the 1970s who fought to return to the court after being barred from playing because she was a teen mother. 

“It's both a celebration of an incredible era for women in sports, but also just the ongoing fight for equality,” he says. “It's the story of an everyday, kind of ordinary hero — one girl just taking a brave step to stand up for herself — and tying that to something that's pretty beloved here in Iowa, which is six-on-six basketball.”

Together, these projects reflect the same values that have shaped Sherburne’s work from the beginning: a commitment to storytelling, a belief in the power of community, and a deep interest in the ways ordinary people shape the world around them.

These efforts echo the lessons Sherburne first developed at 91���� — connecting ideas across disciplines, taking initiative, and building something meaningful from the ground up. It’s an approach that continues to guide his work, turning curiosity into impact both on screen and in the communities he serves.