In January, Tanasia Gordon accomplished a BEAM first by becoming the first BEAM alumnus to join our full-time staff; she is BEAM’s new Enrichment Coordinator. A recent graduate of University of Rochester, Tanasia will be advising 8th-12th graders on high school admissions, applications to other summer STEM programs, and more.
In 2013, Tanasia joined the other students at Bryant Park to travel to Bard College to attend BEAM Summer Away. “It was my first time away from home,” she remembered, “and I was learning how to be an adult.” She spent the next three weeks immersed in challenging math problems and making new friends who also loved math. At the end of the summer, we asked her, “How have you changed this summer?” She wrote “I learned a lot more math than I ever thought I would.”
BEAM Summer Away, formerly called Summer Program in Mathematical Problem Solving (SPMPS), 2013.
Tanasia is seated in the front row (left center) wearing a green t-shirt.
Since that summer, Tanasia has worn many different hats at BEAM. “BEAM has aimed to employ staff who come from backgrounds similar to our students, but it was a real game changer when we finally had roles, like math team coaches and summer counselors, that allowed us to employ our older students as near peer mentors for current BEAM middle schoolers,” said Lynn Cartwright-Punnett, BEAM’s Chief Programs Officer. In 2017, Tanasia returned to BEAM to help prepare middle school students for the AMC 8 and other math competitions as a math coach. Since then, Tanasia has worked as a counselor and teaching assistant almost every summer at BEAM Discovery including in 2020 as programs moved online, and again last summer as we returned in person.
Tanasia (far right) with her fellow coach, Andy (far left), and her math team students.
Last summer was a big one for Tanasia, when she was BEAM’s first-ever student to become a faculty member at one of our summer programs. Tanasia stepped in to teach “Exponents: Superpower Numbers” at BEAM Discovery in New York City, after having served as the teaching assistant for the class. (Due to unexpected circumstances, the teacher had to step down mid-program.) She was excited about the opportunity. “I’ve always wanted to teach and have my own classroom,” she said, reflecting on the summer. “But as soon as I got home, the responsibility set in. Can I handle being responsible for [18] students’ learning?”
Tanasia working with her students in “Exponents: Superpower Numbers” at BEAM Discovery.
On her first day, she was nervous, but quickly grew comfortable leading the class. “It really lifted my spirits post-pandemic and woke me up again,” she said, remembering the energy of the classroom. In her class, students explored exponents and modular arithmetic – a system integral for computer science and cryptography. Since this is often BEAM students’ first encounter with modular arithmetic, the curriculum leans into the feeling of the unknown by introducing students to a far away planet called Z11, where there are only 11 numbers from 0 to 10. Students got the opportunity to work in small groups to explore the properties of the planet, and learn how those rules may apply to other planets, like Z13.
Students loved the activity so much, they asked for more problems to do! It was like they were in a candy store, said Tanasia, thinking about her students’ eagerness for more problems. The students spent a whole week of Open Math Time (where students get to do math of their choosing) solving the additional problems, even pulling in their friends from other classes to teach them about Z Planets!
What is Tanasia looking forward to in her new role at BEAM? The constant connection with the students. After a summer of math and mentorship, she wasn’t sure she’d get to work with her students again. “I’m excited to show students that they’re capable of so much and to not let their surroundings limit them.”
As NYC Programs’ Enrichment Coordinator, Tanasia is working with students year round to help connect them to opportunities that match their goals. This means helping BEAM high schoolers apply to Summer STEM programs, and guiding 8th graders through New York City’s high school admissions process. With the growth of BEAM’s programs, current Pathway students have access to programs that didn’t exist when Tanasia was younger, such as Summer STEM stipends. Students no longer have to choose between attending a summer enrichment program like PROMYS or Canada/USA Mathcamp or holding down a job. Students can receive direct aid from BEAM, made possible by our corporate partners, Jane Street and Hudson River Trading, to attend competitive STEM programs.
This summer, Tanasia will be part of the leadership team at BEAM Summer Away in upstate New York, serving as the Associate Site Director. “It’s amazing to know my career has grown so much in a year,” said Tanasia.
About Tanasia coming into her new role, Lynn Cartwright-Punnett said, “Kids just listen differently when the mentor in front of them can say, quite literally, I have been in your shoes and I know you can handle this challenging math problem or this application to a summer camp. Having Tanasia on our staff year-round? It's absolutely a dream come true!”
