Kieran Pierre
This month’s installment of our community spotlight features Kieran Pierre, former Beam Camper and Staff Assistant. Kieran is currently a sophomore at Tufts University studying biochemistry and studio art. In addition to his studies, Kieran has two part time jobs - one of which is at the university’s theatre, where he designs and creates set pieces for the student shows. He also works as a safety monitor in the welding shop at Tufts’ School of the Museum of Fine Arts. Kieran says he loves to read comics, paint and play dungeons and dragons.
Kieran first attended Beam Camp in 2015 as a camper and returned in 2022 as a Staff Assistant in our wood shop. As a camper, Kieran says Beam Camp staff empowered him to trust in himself and his capabilities. He adds that it was empowering for him to see that adults at Beam Camp were there to support campers with the things they create instead of telling them what to do. He says, “It was just an incredibly supportive and loving environment that I’ve never really experienced before. And becoming staff, I got to see that from the other side. It’s our job to trust campers and make sure that they have an environment in which anything they might need to create is available to them, whether that’s materials or an experienced mentor in the shop with them.”
Speaking about why he decided to work at Beam Camp, Kieran says “After leaving, I wanted to work at Beam to support other kids in having the amazing experiences that I did. Of all the summer jobs teaching kids that I’ve had, working at Beam was one of the most impactful months of my life and I can’t wait to do it again next year.” He continued to say, “My first summer working at Beam was so impactful because of all the people I met. Every person on the staff wanted to be there and help make it a positive experience for the campers, and we were all so supportive of each other; it was just a wonderful environment.”
Despite the years between his time as a camper and his return as staff, Kieran says that even though many of the people in the community had changed, Beam Camp still felt the same to him. He says, “It was still the same place, still the same mission and energy that I love. The mission to trust in kids and their abilities was still as strong as ever, and I knew I wanted to be there to help foster that.”
Beam Center is so grateful that Kieran joined the Beam community back in 2015 and for the experience and talent he brings to Beam Camp. Thank you for being part of Beam, Kieran!
