Gunn BEAM
Gunn BEAM
The BEAM (Business, Entrepreneurship, and Math) Program strives to create a true public-private partnership by providing high school students the opportunity to connect with the innovation community of the city in which their school is located. In the program, students learn how mathematics applies in the real world through business application from customized curricula created by Ernst and Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Wharton alumni. Students give back to the community and obtain real-life examples and hands-on experience in fields such as entrepreneurship, finance, and quantitative marketing through their volunteer work for local small businesses and non-profit organizations. Students also receive mentorship from private sector firms, such as PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst and Young, and SAP, and alumni from Stanford, Wharton, and Santa Clara University. The program is run like an organization, where students have executive and non-executive roles. BEAM was first founded at Henry M. Gunn High School and has spread to Mountain View High School as well.
If you are interested in joining Gunn BEAM or would like to learn more about the program, please e-mail BEAM's executive team at gunnbeam@gmail.com or myself at ccismas@pausd.org.
You can also like us on Facebook (Gunn BEAM), find us on Twitter (@gunnBEAM), or visit our website (gunnbeam.weebly.com).
We look forward to hearing from you soon!
To read Gunn BEAM's press release for the San Jose Mercury News, please click here.
Gunn BEAM was published on Palo Alto Online on Saturday, May 23, 2015! To read the article, click here.
Quotes from our partners and community:
“We feel that it is an innovative education program that will provide a win-win-win for local students, businesses, and community. By making student resource available to local community, ultimately that’s community building, that’s economic development, and that’s something we want to support.”
- Thomas Fehrenbach, the Economic Development Manager for the City of Palo Alto
“Lots of SVTP’s pro bono partners have long-standing involvement in education and community building. Gunn BEAN is an excellent example of cross-sector partnership. We are excited about its long-term impact on students’ academic achievement and career potential.”
- Lea King, Executive Director of Silicon Valley Talent Partnership
“BEAM is an amazing program because it allows students to work as a team, side-by-side with faculty, business owners, and professionals at partner companies. In addition to teaching students practical applications of mathematics in real-life business situations, BEAM supports teen well-being, self-advocacy, self-confidence, self-esteem, and community engagement through the connections it offers. Given the opportunity to choose the area(s) of business math they would like to explore and the local non-profits they would like to help, students are learning with excitement and passion, while giving back to the community.”
- Cristina Florea, Mathematics Teacher and Gunn BEAM Advisor at Henry M. Gunn High School
"It's this real-world experience that we rarely get where adults take us seriously and treat us as equals."
- Jordana Siegel, coCEO of GunnBEAM and student at Henry M. Gunn High School
"The adults have taught us so much, but at the same time, it's becoming confident in myself and realizing that I have the capabilities as well. A nonprofit is literally learning from a group of high schoolers. That's really important."
- Hayley Krolik, coCEO of GunnBEAM and student at Henry M. Gunn High School
