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is proud of our 20-year history as a platform for startups as well as small businesses everywhere to be noticed and achieve success. Marcy Lab School Marcy Lab School is an organization that is non-profit and that is located within Brooklyn, New York, with the aim of providing students with an outstanding post-secondary experiences to help teens into lucrative and meaningful jobs in the tech industry.

We contributed $100,000 to Marcy Lab School as a component of our 2020 pledge to assist organizations working toward eradicating racial disparities.

The conversation we had with Marcy Lab School's Executive Director, Reuben Ogbonna II, on how the school is creating possibilities for students to reach their maximum potential, and to pursue jobs in the area of technology with no four-year college degree.

: Marcy Lab is a relatively young company. So the reason you chose to create this nonprofit?

Reuben Ogbonna II: After spending 14 years serving students of color--along with my co-founder Maya Bhattacharjee-Marcantonio--in the charter and public school systems, we repeatedly watched as our former students with limitless potential slipped through the cracks of higher education. One of the stories which are not told about college on the other hand in America is that each year, hundreds of hard-working talented students get accepted into the school that they've always dreamed of however they don't have enough money to attend or persist to the point of graduation. We were amazed at the widespread failure of "college promise" which left the families of our students struggling financially and other impossible obstacles.

So in 2019, we established and operate Marcy Lab out of the conviction that young people who are of color, as well as everyone young adults, should have a better, more equal access to the rights and opportunities that were only accessible to those who graduated from a 4-year institution. Marcy Lab School Marcy Lab School is a new post-secondary option founded on our original goal of ensuring that it is possible to have options and flexibility available to young people who are interested in career opportunities that are changing the lives of people in tech.

SQSP: The program is called an alternative to the four-year college degree for students who are not in the same class. What's the main reason why it's crucial to you that the Marcy Lab offers this path to employment?

ROThe issues I observed my students face first-hand are a few of the most pervasive hurdles for young learners who are from a minority. In reality, our post-secondary system failed to fulfill the college promises that young people are looking for: community, encouragement of their goals in school, as well as aligning with their career goals, not just an occupation but also an attainable the future. It's the conscious combination of these elements which form the basis for Marcy Lab and are some essential elements that allow young people with the confidence to pursue a career alternative to the conventional.

As a way to keep our promise to you, we guarantee that our Fellows are ready to start their careers after the 12-month program. They're equipped for the job by acquiring the ability to place them into fast-paced teams and add value right starting from the beginning. The Fellows acquire technical expertise through an industry-aligned educated curriculum that adapts and responds to the ever-changing demands of the tech industry. In addition to gaining a robust technical skill set the Fellows also participate with our Leadership & Development curriculum, focused on the formation of racial identities, gender equity and career readiness, as well as financial literacy. We have famous authors such as James Baldwin, Michelle Alexander, Safiya Umoja Noble, and the late Dr. Beverly Tatum.

We're extremely proud to announce our Marcy Lab School graduates are in the race to secure high-paying jobs typically only available to graduates of top four-year universities. This is a double-win. It's not just that our students as well as their families thrust to positions that offer secure financial stability It also demonstrates the ways that companies are changing their hiring policies to accept as well as retain people who do not belong in traditional workforces.

SQSP: Can you provide more details about your experience with the impact that you've seen the Marcy Lab School have on the students who attend the program?

RO:Even after five years of doing this work and seeing the results it's clear to me that it's awe inspiring to watch our young people step into roles that pay an average of between 19-20 in many of the top highly competitive businesses in the world without loans. They're contributing to teams of companies like The New York Times, JPMorgan, Cockroach Labs, Spotify as well as many others, and increasing their income at an average of nearly $75,000 within a single year. They also have the opportunity to contribute to their communities through the purchase of houses, helping their families' firms, and assisting their families.

But, before our Fellows break into the workforce and into in the workforce, we see how they develop, change, and grow as individuals, working further than ever before to achieve their goals and building the confidence that they add value to each area they step into. Each day they grow interested and eager to be a part of a revolution that goes beyond the walls of Marcy and ultimately their work environments. By working with their teachers and each other, they ensure that they remain grounded in the fact that their talents as well as talents enable individuals to break down the systems that have been a source of inequality for centuries and eventually, they'll use their experiences and their education to create tools that promote justice for all and changes in society.

SQSP: What part does technology plays in the overall success of Marcy Lab? Marcy Lab program and its co-participants as both participants as well as in the operation of the program?

ROOur technology-based curriculum's performance hinges upon our close relationship with our employer partners so that we can ensure a constant feedback loop about our Fellows skilled and ready for work. Any areas of improvement that are relevant go straight to our teaching team to make sure that our content can evolve and adapt to the needs of hiring and on the job.

The alignment between curriculum and student performance is resulting in the development of contract agreements for hiring with businesses who realize that these close connections can lead to equal or even better results in hiring. The highlights include:

Working directly with established companies for the purpose of reducing the requirement for degrees required to hire software engineers. These include The New York Times and . They've also hired Fellows from our program as well as other talent that isn't traditional.

We are developing a brand new Capstone course in partnership with J.P. Morgan Chase Asset and Wealth Management and Asset and Wealth Management, which is a specialist in backend data engineering curriculum for our capstone period in order to fulfill their needs as well as train our Fellows to take advantage of the industry's ever-growing expansion in analytics based on data.

SQSP: What are your hopes regarding the future of Marcy Lab School?

RO:What keeps me hopeful about Marcy Lab's future and the potential of the environments which we operate in are the changes occurring within the business community in the way that companies are moving away from the necessity of degrees and toward skills-based hiring which is unlocking the possibility for businesses like Marcy Lab to even exist.

I am seeing major employers throughout the country, from IBM and Barclays to partners like this, who have a substantial number of early careers, mid-level, as well as top executives who came from the Marcy Lab School, similar to the Stanford University pipeline that connects companies within and around the San Francisco Bay Area. And after gaining knowledge and working experience in these top firms I'm seeing our students eventually starting their own businesses and starting their own business and transferring profits by hiring teams that have similar experiences as the ones they did.

At the end of the day, I consider Marcy Lab as a part of a larger ecosystem of fair pathways designed specifically to propel thousands of high-achieving students of communities of color into jobs that break the cycle of poverty within a single generation.

SQSP: What can people interested in the Marcy Lab School's purpose be in?

ROIf your mission statement, vision and the work your do are a match for your interests and you're keen to be a part of our community We invite you to become a part of the community we are ever-growing. We're hoping that we can assist others to get inspired when we take part in this movement! We frequently share three options for new folks to get involved:

Go to our Brooklyn campus located in Industry City and meet first-hand the talented young people who are dedicated to achieving their goals and the amazing team who pushes everything forward.

Donate the time you have and share your experience to our Fellows who are navigating the difficulties of our one-year course to help them prepare for job searches, and beyond. The community of volunteers serves as tutors, curriculum advisers and visiting lecturers and recruitment members. They're an integral part of the program. They help keep our curriculum industry-oriented as well as ensuring the satisfaction of all of our Fellows.

In addition, donating to our cause will ensure that this program is tuition-free for our fellows.

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