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Our Mission

Our mission is to deliver students a unique, exceptional, and challenging educational experience in natural outdoor settings with a robust, specifically designed curriculum that leads students to think about themselves, for themselves, and by themselves.
Our programs teach students to work collaboratively with others to define their own values, purpose, and goals in order to create confident, discerning, and motivated lifelong learners.

Beyond Education is where students grow in character and life skills.
Our programs uniquely add to traditional learning experiences by encouraging students to consider aspects of their lives that are not always emphasized in normal educational context.

Our hope is that choices made through our educational experiences will lay the foundation for a lifetime of successful learning.
We use camps, classroom experiences, and education guidance to lead students toward an understanding that a stronger character, personal value identification, refined skills, and a growth mindset will bring them towards higher achievement and overall success in life.

Through the understanding that Purpose + Passion = Personal growth, Beyond Education aims to:

  • Build determination and confidence through goal setting.
  • Create strong convictions on moral values and standards.
  • Promote high achievement through self discovery and skills training.
  • Develop defined purpose through personal mission statements.

Our Philosophy

We believe that all individuals are unique creations with distinct gifts and abilities.
Each person is of worth and distinct value.
We help students develop life skills by tapping into their passion and understanding their core values.

As students examine their own values, purpose, and motivation, they learn to harness the creative energy and decision making skills necessary to increase their overall effectiveness.

Our expert staff members work hard to bring the latest research and best practices from both the world of business and of education.

At Beyond Education, we focus on these growth areas:

  1. Discover who they are and what they want to be.
  2. Define their own set of values so they can become convicted in their own beliefs.
  3. Develop critical thinking skills to identify, reason and solve problems.
  4. Contemplate their purpose and meaning in life.
  5. Respect others' views and values to better work collaboratively with others.
  6. Understand the impact humans have on nature and our responsibilities as stewards of the environment.

These goals are broad and difficult to measure.
However, we believe them to be imperative for an individual to develop their full potential in the quickest manner possible.
The sooner children know themselves, the easier it is for them to become effective communicators that can impact and influence the world around them.
Developed early in life, these habits can only be formed through an understanding of one’s self and personal value system.

Beyond Education gives your child the tools they need not just for tomorrow’s achievement, but for continued success 10 years from now.
By presenting the student with challenges physically and thought provoking questions intellectually, our professionals teach them problem solving skills that they can apply to every facet of their life.

Our students leave their learning experience with a conviction in values, purpose, and the ability to practice intention as they face the next school year and into the college years ahead.

Our Team

Our curriculum has been professionally developed by education specialists who are the best in their field.
First-rate teachers from Morrison Academy in Taiwan, Hood River Horizon Christian School in the U.S., and other scholars dedicated to international education have contributed in facilitating an educational experience that will serve our students for years to come.

Our team is not only composed of some of the best teachers to be found, but we also have the distinguished honor of having consulted, planned, and run numerous programs for some of the top schools in the United States.
Beyond Education is committed to excellence and continuous improvement.
We proudly create unique learning experiences that add value in the most impacting ways for each individual.
We can state with confidence that our approach applies the most cutting edge methodology and research available.

John Stephenson

John is a successful entrepreneur and avid outdoorsman who speaks Chinese and has been living and working in China for over 20 years.
Having grown up in Washington’s Columbia River Gorge, John developed a love for the outdoors at an early age.
Since then John has gone on to start several companies and become a pioneer in the burgeoning retail market in China.
He’s also dedicated himself to helping children develop through his involvement with various organizations.

Aside from establishing Camp Beyond, John was the founder of Boy Scouts troop 23, he’s acted as director at TYPA in Taiwan, and he founded the Sluggers Baseball Program while living in Shanghai.
John is also a father two fantastic children and husband to the Camp Mother, Mei Lien.

Mei Lien

Mei Lien is a native of Taiwan and has lived and worked in both the East and the West.
She is a caring mother of two great children and wife to the director of Camp Beyond.
She is soft spoken, yet strong, and she is always there when you need her.

Mei Lien is also an excellent cook, an empathetic listener, and a comfort to all who she spends time with.
She plays a vital role in our camps as a loving and patient listener when campers are in need of a motherly figure.
Mei Lien is an experienced camp counselor and will certainly be the one to make sure all campers and staff live up to their commitments.
Camp Beyond is fortunate to have has as our camp mother!

Ray Chow

Ray Chow was a partner at Ernst & Young Asia based in Taipei, Taiwan from 2006 - 2011.
He has worked for international Non Profit Organizations from 2011 until now.
Ray is a Canadian Chartered Accountant with extensive experience in human resources, organizational development and change leadership.
Ray has held international and regional roles in various countries including Taiwan, Greater China, Canada, Hong Kong and Australia.

Sandra Chow

Sandra Chow is our teacher of all teachers. Sandra’s professional resume reads like a whos who of teaching.
She has over 6 teaching certificates in various areas, dozens of awards, and continuous training to improve herself Sandra Chow is really an accomplished and qualified teacher.
Sandra works with Camp Beyond in developing our online mentoring and education platforms.
She is a certified google and smart-board educator, and uses her knowledge and know-how of electronics to enhance our programs.
Sandra is married to Ray Chow and also has a master in accounting.
She is a mother of three children and is currently still working as an elementary educator in Toronto, Canada.

Faith Kempf

Faith is an experienced, licensed American teacher entering her 23rd year of teaching Junior High and High School students.
She received her teaching and Biology degree from Washington State University.
She is currently Principal at a small but academically rigorous private school in Hood River, Oregon.

Faith has prior experience in working with Chinese students and in teaching English as a second language.
Faith lives on a 5 acre farm in Husum, Washington with her husband and 3 children.
They work the farm together to raising much of their own food in a healthy and sustainable way.

Khessed Yoder

Khessed is the newest member to the Camp Beyond team, joining us as our Activities Coordinator.
Through many years of camp experience as both a camper and camp counselor, she has fostered the ability to understand the needs and thinking processes of students.
Khessed is passionate about educating values and believes strongly in the vision of the company.
As Activities Coordinator, she works first hand with our educators to develop activities that coincide with the curriculum being taught.
Her love of learning and travel have led her to Taiwan, where she will continue her education and learn Chinese in order to become more aware of the feelings and thoughts of our students.
We are glad to have Khessed on board our team.

Donna Cheng

Donna Cheng is passionate about inspiring children. She was a counselor in training at Camp Wenonah in Canada in the summer of 2011 which inspired her to work as a camp counselor when she returned to Taiwan.
Donna’s experience as a camper and a camp counselor gives her a unique perspective for our business. She helped create fun activities that allow children to be closer to nature and inspire them to be kinder to others.
Her experience as a camper equipped her with the ability to understand campers and their needs.
She is devoted to create positive camp experience that goes on to impact children’s daily life.
Donna hails from Kaohsiung, Taiwan and is a graduate of Sun Yat-Sen University with a major in Political Economy.
During her studies she was active in extracurricular activities and did her internship with American Institute in Taiwan where she developed an interest in public affairs.
Donna has a strong sense of responsibility and pays close attention to details. Her work ethics ensure the safety of children and the success of our camps.
With her experience in camps and belief in the vision of our company, we believe she will be a great asset to our camps and are thrilled to have her on our team.

Jon McPeter

Jon McPeters is Co-Founder of the non-profit "The Father's Heart Global."
He has over 13 years experience in education, teaching and training students, teachers, and administrators all over the United States.
He has worked with testing and accountability, curriculum, response to intervention, Google apps, and instructional technology.
He currently resides in Murfreesboro, TN with his wife, Larisa, and three sons, Noah, Jonah, and Judah.
We are animated to welcome him as our chief ministry officer.

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