We are a charitable non-profit organization that provides marketable life skills through media arts, STEM, and youth entrepreneurship.

To date, we‘ve touched the lives of more than 5,000 families across the U.S. and abroad.

1999. Our story began with a group of concerned parent volunteers in Burlington County, New Jersey who decided to tap into our networks to help schools provide early exposure to a college education. We started by hosting our very first community event inviting middle and high school youth to hear directly from a panel of college students. To our surprise, hundreds of families showed up and packed the school gymnasium!

We knew that we were onto something…

2003. We continued hosting educational events then integrated family college visits and campus tours. We incorporated as a 501(c)3 and officially formed Beyond Expectations as a charitable organization. Students from our programs were accepted to more than 25 different colleges across the country. As technology started to change, so did we — to ensure young people didn’t get left behind.

2007. We introduced a new Youth Media Program as we continued to grow. Through our popular hands-on media production and arts training workshops, students from across the state of New Jersey — including often overlooked refugees and older teens in the foster care system — worked together as a crew to produce their own short films. We rented out movie theatres, invited youth and families with complimentary popcorn and snacks to watch our original projects on the big screen. The young filmmakers hosted a panel following each screening to talk about their experience and answer questions from the audience.

2010. Following the success of our film program, we expanded into broadcast television through partnerships with Riverview Studios in Bordentown and Princeton Community Television - New Jersey’s largest public television station. Through our TV Speedcrewing Program, students created production schedules, operated camera equipment, and taped original shows that aired across Comcast, Verizon Fios, Apple, and Roku TV. The increased visibility sparked our Young Entrepreneurs Academy to enhance their business savvy, service leadership, and communication skills as new doors began to open.

2018. We continued to grow across the region securing viable public/private partnerships which provided access to STEM through drone technology, then ultimately Esports & Gaming as we had to rethink how to keep students engaged virtually during the isolation of the pandemic. Our focus wasn’t on how to ‘play’ the game but how to ‘run’ the game from a business perspective as Tournament Organizers.

2021. With the help of an entire team of professionals at Metafy who volunteered their time to provide fully immersive training into the Esports industry, we incorporated our first ever online BEyond the HYPE® charitable tournament with our annual Future Founders Business & Career Summit. We’ve since partnered with the NBA 2K League starting a wave of exciting collaborative projects — including multiple group visits to District E Studios in Washington, DC to tour, meet the staff, then watch the 2KL Playoffs & Finals LIVE!

2023. As we celebrate 20 years since incorporation, we’ve touched the lives of more than 5,000 families across the US & abroad. We’re virtual now — allowing us to expand our reach to even more young people eager to meet, connect, have fun, and learn something new together … right where they are.

[check Speakers then learn about our Media Interns who helped lead the production this year]