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We are proud of our 20-year tradition of providing a platform for entrepreneurs and small businesses everywhere to stand out and succeed. Marcy Lab School Marcy Lab School is a nonprofit organization located within Brooklyn, New York, that aims to provide students with an outstanding post-secondary experience to propel underestimated teens into lucrative and purpose-driven career paths in the technology sector.

That's why gave $100,000 to the Marcy Lab School as a part of our 2020 pledge to help organizations that work towards reducing racial inequities.

We talked to The Marcy Lab School's executive director Reuben Ogbonna II, about the ways in which the school is able to provide opportunities for Fellows to discover their talents and land careers in tech and other fields, with or without a education.

: Marcy Lab is a fairly new organization, why did you decide to start this 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 doesn't hear about the college experience in this country is that, every year, a ton of highly talented, hard-working students are accepted into the college they've always wanted to attend but will not be able to for it or even make it to graduation. We were shocked by the abysmal failure rate of "college promises" which has left our students and their families in the grip of life-changing debt, as well as other insurmountable obstacles.

So in 2019, we came together to build and now lead Marcy Lab out of the belief that our young people of color, and frankly every youngsters, need the opportunity to have a more fair, equitable access to the opportunities and opportunities once only afforded to those who graduated from a 4-year institution. The Marcy Lab School offers a reimagined post-secondary option rooted in our founding mission of creating lifelong economic mobility and choice for young adults interested in pursuing life-changing careers in tech.

SQSP: The program is described as an alternative to a four-year college education for the students. It is important to you that The Marcy Lab offers this route to a job?

RO:The challenges I witnessed my students face firsthand were among the most prevalent barriers for children who are of colour. We realized that our post-secondary system did not live up to the college promise that most young people seek in terms of community, encouragement, academic relevance, and the ability to align with not just an occupation but also a future. It's the conscious mixture of these components that form the foundation of Marcy Lab and are some of the defining factors that provide young people with confidence in choosing an alternative path.

To fulfill a fresh promise, we guarantee that the Fellows are undeniably ready to work after our 12-month program, prepared with the skills to embed them into teams that are fast-paced and contribute value from the very first day. They acquire the technical knowledge from an industry-aligned and informed program that is flexible and adaptable to ever-changing demands of the tech industry. And alongside building a strong technical skill set, our Fellows take part in our Leadership & Development curriculum, which focuses on the development of racial identities and gender equality, as well as professional preparedness, as well as the importance of financial literacy. This is done through readings by esteemed writers like James Baldwin, Michelle Alexander, Safiya Umoja Noble, and Dr. Beverly Tatum.

We're extremely proud to announce that The Marcy Lab School graduates are competing for and securing lucrative jobs that are typically only available to college graduates who have attended competitive four-year universities. The impact here is twofold It's not just that our Fellows and their families propelled into positions of financial security, but it signals the ways that companies are altering their hiring methods to attract, encourage, and keep non-traditional talent.

SQSP: Can you tell us a bit more about the impact you've witnessed Marcy Lab School's impact Marcy Lab School have on its fellows during and after the course?

ROEven even after 5 years of doing this work and observing the results, it's not lost on me just how revolutionary it is watching our young people step into roles which pay an average of $108,000 per year in pay at 19 and 20 at some of the most successful companies around the globe without credit card debt. They are contributing to teams in companies such as The New York Times, JPMorgan, Cockroach Labs, Spotify and many more, increasing their earning potential on average by nearly $75,000 over the course of a year and enabling them to invest back into the local community by purchasing homes, aiding their family businesses, and supporting their families.

Even prior to when our Fellows enter the workforce, we watch as they learn, transform, and develop as individuals pushing themselves more than they have ever been to reach their dreams and gaining confidence that they add value in every space they step into. Each day, they are more enthused and determined to bring change outside the boundaries of Marcy and eventually their own workplaces. They work alongside their instructors as well as with their fellow classmates that they remain grounded in the reality that their skills, talents and abilities will enable them to dismantle old systems of injustice, ultimately using these experiences and training to develop instruments for social justice and to bring about the social transformation.

SQSP: What role does tech play in the successful operation of the Marcy Lab program and its co-participants, both as subjects and also in directing the program?

RO:Our technology-based curriculum's performance depends on our close relationship with our employer partners for establishing a continuous feedback loop around our Fellows' technical and professional skills. Relevant areas for improvement go right back to our instruction teams so that our materials are able to evolve and adapt in response to hiring needs and performance on the job.

The alignment of the curriculum and performance of students has resulted in more hiring agreements with companies which recognize the fact that close connections can result in the same or better hiring results. A few highlights are:

We work directly with established businesses to eliminate degree requirements for software engineers, including the New York Times and . They have also hired our Fellows as well as other talent that isn't traditional.

We are developing a new Capstone project curriculum in conjunction with J.P. Morgan Chase Asset and Wealth Management who is a specialist in backend data engineering curriculum for our capstone period to satisfy their needs as well as prepare our Fellows for the industry's ever-growing expansion in the field of data analytics.

SQSP How do you see your goals for Marcy Lab School's future?

RO:What makes me optimistic about the future of Marcy Lab as well as the future of the spaces that we work in is the changes occurring within the business community with companies shifting away from the requirement of degrees and toward skills-based hiring, which has unlocked the potential of organizations such as Marcy Lab to even exist.

I am seeing major employers all over the nation, from IBM and Barclays and even partners like , having a large contingent of early career, mid-level and senior executives who came from 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 businesses, I am seeing our graduates eventually branching off to create their own companies and paying it forward through hiring teams that have similar background as those they worked with.

In the end, I consider Marcy Lab as a part in a broader network of pathways for equitable development designed specifically to help propel hundreds of students who excel in school who are of colour into jobs that will break cycles of poverty in a single generation.

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

ROIf this mission and activities resonate with your, we encourage that you become part of our expanding community. We hope we will help others be inspired as they join in with us in this cause! We frequently share three options for new folks to get involved:

Go to our Brooklyn campus in Industry City and meet first-hand the talented young people who are working tirelessly towards their goals and the amazing team who pushes the entire process up.

Volunteer your time and share your knowledge with our Fellows who are navigating the challenges of our one-year program and prepare for their job search as well as beyond. The community of volunteers serves as mentors, curriculum advisors as well as guest lecturers and recruiters and are crucial to the program. It helps keep our curriculum industry-oriented and helping to ensure the achievement of every one member of our fellows.

Finally, donating to our work means we are able to continue this program free of tuition for our fellows.