Devon

Meet Devon, our May Community Spotlight feature! Devon is a member of Beam’s Project Production team and is helping to prototype for this summer’s Beam Project New Hampshire which will be built by youth at Beam Camp.

This spring marks the first time Devon has officially worked with Beam Center but not his first experience with us. His first two interactions with Beam came through his involvement with another non-profit, the Brooklyn Combine, that works with schools and community organizations to “help provide critical education, leadership, and social support programs to youth and young adults in low-income and underserved communities.” Devon got involved with the Combine at age 11 through a program they ran at his middle school called “I Matter;” and 8 years later he has become a mentor to younger Combine participants. As a continued community partner, the Brooklyn Combine worked with Beam Center on projects where Devon was both a participant and a mentor. When one of the leaders of the Combine and Devon’s own mentor, Phillip, shared news about an opportunity with Beam Center’s Project Production team, Devon decided to get involved.

In this role, Devon works with one of our Project Directors, Mitchell, and a team of other young adults to prototype for this summer’s project at Beam Camp, As Above, So Below. Different tasks have included creating topographic representations of the stalagmites featured in the project, building sample stalagmites out of paper clay, assembling a scale model of the base for the piece’s floating cave, and more.

Outside of his time working at Beam, Devon is a sophomore at the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) studying electrical engineering. When asked about his career interests, Devon states that he has more of an interest in hardware than software. “I enjoy taking things apart and putting them back together, learning how they work.” When he’s not in class, Devon also maintains his photography hobby. First encouraged to explore photography by his Brooklyn Combine mentor and professional photographer, Phillip, Devon has participated in some of the Combine’s photography programs and was inspired to purchase his first personal camera. Check out some of his work below.

Thanks for joining the Beam community, Devon!