Our Instructors >> Brett Beach-Kimball
Brett Beach-Kimball
Brett was raised outside of Washington, D.C. and earned his Bachelors in Spanish Literature from Wesleyan University. Eternally stricken with the travel bug, he spent his junior spring in Havana, Cuba, learning about Spanish literature, music, beaches, and communism.
After graduation, Brett joined Teach For America and moved to a small town four hours south of San Antonio — no, that’s not in Mexico. Determined to put his Spanish degree to use, Brett took to the chalkboard – yes they still have chalkboards – to impart fourth grade science wisdom to his students. On day one, he cut seven potatoes to look like candles, stuck almond slivers atop, lit them on fire, and ate them to convince his students that things in science weren’t always what they seem. They were hooked – just as Brett wondered what it would be like to teach writing.
While teaching, Brett took to the local culture, spending his evenings dancing salsa and cooking Mexican food. Although his culinary abilities have fallen by the wayside, he has become an avid salsa dancer. He has performed at numerous events and, more importantly, earned the approval of his dance partner Gabby, who eventually followed him right down the aisle.
After four years in south Texas, Brett took his wife, his wits, and his 770 GMAT score to the Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona. A year or two later, he turned around and took his wife, his MBA, his new son, and a permanent sunburn back to Texas. He now works as the Executive Director for the American Heart Association in San Antonio and teaches GMAT just because this test is so darn fun!
Feedback From Brett’s Recent Students
“Brett is a great instructor. He knows the content well and brings some of his real life experience and thoughts when teaching the course. Additionally, he adds great insight and his own examples to problems that helped me to understand difficult problems better.”
“Brett's ability to communicate complicated material, simply, is one of his strongest attributes. He will often stop and re-explain concepts to ensure the class as well as individual students' understand before proceeding. He did this whether the topic seemed easy to most or difficult to some.”
