BE Alum selected to cover Oprah's Weekend Tour in Washington DC

September 30 - One of Beyond Expectations very first students, Nicole Howard, was chosen from a competitive selection process to work as part of the official media team covering Oprah's "The Life You Want Weekend" DC Tour attended by nearly 20,000 people at the Verizon Center. A graduate of American University in Washington, DC, Nicole is a communications professional, social media manager, and mentor. She is also a published writer and blogger where she created an original blog series "My Quarter Life Crisis" exploring topics from student loans to mental health advocacy.

She is a longtime volunteer and has travelled to Jamaica, West Indies to work with deaf children at the Caribbean Christian Centre for the Deaf. She currently volunteers with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, National Capital Area Chapter.

Covering Oprah's tour -- an awesome opportunity for an awesome young woman!

---

Using media to bring families together...

September 17 - There are lots of community programs for youth and plenty of workshops for parents. Our Family Film Initiative brings them both together!! It's a great opportunity to work as a studio crew, bring your own props, and tell your own stories.

We're hosting our totally fun #Speedcrewing programs at several locations throughout Mercer and Burlington Counties. If you want to take the experience to the next level, make plans to attend the special session on Saturday, October 11 at a local television studio!

View fullsize

Space is very limited so let us know asap if you have an interest. Call 866-321-6777.

---

Helping TCNJ bring Trenton's music history to life

The College of New Jersey Bonner Center has once again partnered with Beyond Expectations on another community engaged learning project. Thanks to Center Director, Paula Figueroa-Vega, for forging yet another great collaboration. This time, we'll work collaboratively on an important archival research project with students from an Interactive Media class.

Under the direction of Dr. Kim Pearson, the "Trenton Makes Music" project will incorporate a historical look into the city's rich music scene, a team video and mapping project, personal artist interviews, and culminate with the creation of a dedicated website produced by the students. 

The exciting final project will be presented by the students at The Conservatory Mansion located in downtown Trenton on December 3, 2014.

_________________

>> More about the project: Fans and students of popular culture are familiar with many of the big music acts of the 1960s and 70s, such as Gladys Knight and the Pips, Labelle and Kool and the Gang. But what’s less known is that many of the artists, producers, backup musicians and engineers behind this iconic music came from Trenton and its surrounding communities. Students will do archival research, oral history interviews and secondary research to create a multimedia website telling the story of this region’s contribution to the music that set the whole world dancing.

Summer's winding down...

Thanks to our key sponsors for our 2014 Summer Film Screening:

Comcast / NBCUniversal

AMC Hamilton 24 Theatres

Society for Community Research & Action

Now, we're working on new media literacy programs to educate and keep youth engaged. If you would like to sponsor a student or an upcoming program, please drop us a line at 866-321-6777 or via email at beyondexp1@gmail.com.