Donate to Expanding Your Horizons Skyline College honoring Bev Landess

 

Bev began what became an 18-year career teaching mathematics, at Cunha Intermediate School in Half Moon Bay, CA, where she was known as Mrs. Landess. Bev’s unique method of teaching students and her belief in the potential of her students led her to be remembered far beyond her teaching years as a beloved mentor.

Starting in the 1980s, Bev brought 50 young women from Cunha’s sixth, seventh, and eighth grades to the Expanding Your Horizons conference at Skyline College annually. This is a special Saturday in March for the young women to be on a college campus and attend classes put on by Bay Area women who use math and science in their work but are not necessarily mathematicians or scientists. The classes vary each year, evolving with the times. For example. Students participate in classes in which they prep for surgery, putting on hairnets and gowns, and then going into Skyline’s real operating room facility and using surgery tools with a mannequin. In other classes, they learn to tape up sports injuries and investigate water quality and the math of music to name a few. There are also classes for parents about how to fund a college education and more. 

To this day, Cunha brings 55 young women to the conference each year. Because the District can no longer supply a bus, significant funds are needed to pay for a safe bus for the girls. EYH has given Cunha and other schools grants for a bus for many years as well as supported scholarships for a diverse group of students to attend. Bev loved hearing about the Conference each year.

Thank you for helping Cunha and other schools carry on these meaningful activities for young women.