MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS

Linda Gunn and her team at Gunn/Jerkens Marketing and Communications continued their valuable engagement with our students from Value Schools. In April, Linda and her team led a session on "creating a brand" at their office in Long Beach, fostering both learning and inspiration.

Students were tasked with crafting a logo for a shoe. They began by analyzing their target audience, sketching rough drafts, then refining and finalizing their designs. 

From draft to design, Value Schools' students go through an entire marketing process with the Gunn/Jerkens team.

With their logos completed, students moved on to video production, incorporating music, creating a tagline for their brand, and understanding the crucial aspect of demographics in the branding process.

Linda emphasized the condensed timeline of the workshop, stating, "The students experience what our team does with clients over a six-month period, all in one day during Career Exploration."

At the conclusion of the day, students presented their "Brand" to other student teams and the entire Gunn/Jerkens staff.

“This experience meant a lot to me because it gave me an amazing opportunity to learn, work, and collaborate with other people.”

–Kimberly, tenth grade student

We extend our gratitude to Linda for her ongoing support. Since her initial tour of University Prep Value when it first opened in a downtown LA office building in 2015, she remains an enthusiastic advocate for our scholars. Linda and her team generously contributed to our We Climb capital campaign, creating the We Climb logo, producing videos, and designing a splash page for our website. Additionally, she and her executive team shared valuable insights during the Value Schools Student Leadership Conference at Boston Consulting Group in downtown Los Angeles.

“This experience taught me to become more collaborative and more involved in my community. It also showed me how to become a stronger leader.”

–Aura, eleventh grade student

Linda and her team played a pivotal role in helping Value Schools envision the purpose and structure of our Career Exploration programs. These interactive, full-day learning experiences offer our students access to and insights into the professional careers within every organization we visit.

We appreciate the entire team at Gunn Jerkens for the dedication they demonstrate and the inspiration they impart. Linda provides the time and expertise of her entire team to teach our students during Career Exploration. 

“This experience meant a lot to me because I realized that Value Schools thinks about every student.”

–Ricardo, eighth grade student

We collect surveys from our students after each Career Exploration Event. Here are the results from this event:

"I would recommend this Marketing and Communications Career Exploration to a classmate"

19 of 30 Strongly Agreed and 11 Agreed

"Career Exploration events like this inspire me to work harder at school"

13 of 30 Strongly Agreed and 16 Agreed and 1 was Unsure

"Value Schools Foundation should create more Career Exploration events like this"

26 of 30 Strongly Agreed and 4 Agreed

“I was able to receive a rare opportunity as a high school student to explore different career choices.”

–Iris, eleventh grade student

We are here to serve,

David Doyle

President

Value Schools Foundation

School Board

Vincent Gonzales, School Board Chair

Naya Bloom

Lee Chu

Kate Farrar

Jeffrey Garcia

Erika Martinez-Scott

Jose Ramos

Foundation Board

Grant Cambridge, Foundation Board Chair

Naya Bloom

James Bray

Juan Bustamante

Trevor Connon

Jody Foldesy

Vincent Gonzales

Peter Hildebrandt

Thomas Levee

Matthew O’Connor

Sarah H. Rothenberg

Amanda Sweeney

Annie Wu