Logo

is proud of our 20-year experience in launching entrepreneurs and small-scale businesses around the world to leave a impact and succeed. Marcy Lab School Marcy Lab School is an independent, non-profit organization situated in Brooklyn, New York, with the goal of providing the most effective postsecondary learning experience to propel underestimated youngsters into rewarding and meaningful career paths in the technology sector.

A donation of $100,000 was made to The Marcy Lab School as a part of our 2020 pledge to aid organizations in decreasing racial disparities.

We talked to The Marcy Lab School's Executive Director, Reuben Ogbonna II, about how the school is able to give Fellows the opportunity to discover their talents and find careers in the field of technologies and in other areas, whether or not they have a diploma.

: Marcy Lab is a very new and exciting organization. Why have you decided to start a non-profit?

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. What isn't talked about in college in this country is that every year, a ton of hard-working, highly promising students are accepted into the university they've always wanted to attend, but don't have the money for it or even reach the point of graduation. We were shocked at the number of failed "college promises" that left our students, as well as their families with life-altering debt and other seemingly unsolvable challenges.

So in 2019, we established and manage Marcy Lab out of the conviction that young people who identify as black, and indeed all young adults, deserve an equal, better way to access the rights and possibilities that were once available only to students who graduated from a four-year university. Marcy Lab School Marcy Lab School is a new post-secondary education option founded on our mission of providing always flexibility and choices for the young adults who are interested in the exciting careers in tech.

SQSP can be described as a feasible alternative to a college education for the students. Why is it essential for you to be aware that The Marcy Lab offers this path to employment?

ROThe problems I witnessed my students face first-hand are among the most prevalent obstacles faced by young people who are from communities of color. It was clear that the postsecondary education system didn't live up to the promises that most young people are looking for including community, encouragement as well as academic relevancy and alignment with not just a job but a career. It's the deliberate combination of these elements which form the basis of Marcy Lab and are some of the factors that give students the courage to pursue an alternative direction.

So to deliver on a brand new promise, we make sure that our Fellows are equipped to working in our 12-month program. They're equipped with the essential skills required to bring their expertise into teams that add value on the very first day. The Fellows acquire technical expertise through an industry-aligned, well-informed curriculum that's fluid and adaptable to changing demands of the tech industry. In addition to gaining a technical background, our fellows participate in our Leadership & Development curriculum, which focuses on the development of racial identities gender equity preparation for careers and the significance for financial literacy. It is accomplished through the works of renowned authors like James Baldwin, Michelle Alexander, Safiya Umoja Noble, and Dr. Beverly Tatum.

We're very proud to report that Marcy Lab School graduates are finding and getting high-paying work usually reserved for college students who have attended competitive four-year colleges. It's a double win The one is having our classmates as well as their families are being pushed to job opportunities that guarantee financial stability, but it also demonstrates the way companies are altering their hiring methods to attract and keep those who aren't traditional workers.

SQSP: Can you tell us more about how that you've observed Marcy Lab School's effect Marcy Lab School have on the students and staff during and after the school?

ROEven even after 5 years in the process of developing this project, I have not lost on the awe-inspiringness it can be to watch the amazing young people of our project step into roles that average $108,000 in annual earnings between 19 and 20 in some of the top firms around the world, and without any obligation to repay. These young people have joined teams at organizations like The New York Times, JPMorgan, Cockroach Labs, Spotify and many more, increasing their earning potential at a rate of nearly $75,000 in just one year, and also allowing them to help the communities they live in by purchasing homes, funding their families' enterprises, and assisting their families.

However, even before our Fellows enter the workforce, we observe them develop, change, and grow as people who are more committed than they've before to realize their goals, and growing confident to realize that they're a valuable asset to each area they walk into. Every day, they are in their enthusiasm and determination to create change beyond the walls of Marcy and ultimately their work environments. They collaborate with their teachers as well as with their fellow students to ensure to stay with the belief that their talents, skills and abilities will enable them to dismantle systems of historic inequity by utilizing their experiences and education to design strategies for the benefit of society and make changes to society.

SQSP: What is the significance of technology in the overall effectiveness of the Marcy Lab program and its participants, both as participants and in the direction of the program?

RO:Our technical curriculum's success is dependent on the symbiotic partnership with our employers partners in establishing a continuous feedback loop that focuses on the Fellows' technical and professional skills. Any areas of improvement that are relevant go straight to our teaching team to ensure that our curriculums are able to change and evolve to meet the demands of employers as well as on-the-job performance.

The alignment between the curriculum and performance of students has led to the creation of partnerships to hire companies who understand that this close connection could lead to better or more equal hiring results. The highlights include:

We partner directly with established businesses in order to reduce the degree requirements of software engineers. This includes The New York Times and . They have also hired our Fellows and other experts which aren't typical.

We are currently developing a brand new Capstone program curriculum in collaboration together with J.P. Morgan Chase Asset and Wealth Management, which is a specialist in backend data engineering and the course we follow in our capstone class to meet their needs as well as to prepare our Fellows for the constantly growing development of analytics built on data.

SQSP What do you think are your future goals of Marcy Lab School?

ROWhat is making me feel optimistic about the future of Marcy Lab as well as the possibilities of the space that we are in is the changes taking place in the world of business in which companies are moving away from the requirement of degree programs in favor of hiring on the basis of qualifications, opening possibilities for organisations like Marcy Lab to even exist.

I've noticed significant employers all over the United States, including IBM and Barclays with major partners, including the one I work for which has a substantial amount of mid-career, early career and senior executives who are graduates of the Marcy Lab School, similar to Stanford's pipeline for firms in San Francisco's Bay Area. After gaining experience and expertise at these elite companies, I'm seeing our students eventually launching their own business to create their own businesses and paying the dividends by bringing on teams from the same backgrounds that they did.

Finally, I view Marcy Lab as a part of an expanded network of pathways that are equitable, designed specifically to help propel thousands of highly-performed students from communities of color into professions that can break the cycle of poverty only one generation.

SQSP: How do people who are interested in the Marcy Lab School's mission do to get involved?

ROIf The mission of the organization and the work you do resonate with you, we urge you to join us as part of our growing community. We're hoping that we'll continue inspiring other people by joining us in the movement! We often offer three choices for those who are new to getting involved in the movement:

Explore our Brooklyn campus in Industry City and meet first-hand the teens and children who are dedicating their lives to their goals and the incredibly talented professional team that moves through the whole process.

You can volunteer to give your time, and impart your expertise to our fellows while they manage the challenges in the program over a year to prepare them to find a job as they move onto other. The volunteers serve as curriculum advisors, mentors, guest lecturers, and recruiters. They're essential to the success of the program. It helps us maintain an industry-aligned curriculum and helping to make sure that we can achieve the goals each and every one of our faculty.

Additionally, donating to our cause allows us to continue the program with no tuition fees for the students we mentor.

Article was first seen on here