Grant from NFL star to offset student living expenses for tuition-free software engineering school

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Holberton School, the two-year school for full-stack software engineers, today announced a $10,000 grant from New York Jets offensive tackle Kelvin Beachum to help its students offset living expenses.

“I’m committed to supporting STEM education, especially for students from disadvantaged backgrounds or who just need an alternative approach to help them get started,” said Beachum. “Holberton is filling the gap by offering an alternative to college, making cutting-edge software engineering training available to everyone with the desire to succeed. I’m proud to be part of it.”

Holberton offers project-based and peer learning to train world-class software engineers in only two years, without an upfront tuition. Students acquire practical skills and an understanding of theory through hands-on learning closely advised by mentors from Silicon Valley's leading tech companies. Students have already been employed at top-tier employers like Apple, LinkedIn, NASA, Dropbox and Tesla and more.

Beachum is a professional football player by occupation, but making a positive impact is his passion and purpose. On game day he battles in the trenches along the offensive line. Off the field, you can find him battling hunger and working to increase education and opportunity for young people, particularly in underrepresented, underserved communities.

Holberton charges no upfront tuition. Instead, graduates are asked to contribute a percentage of their salaries to the school for the first three years of their post-Holberton employment, giving back to the next generation of software engineers. To help with student living expenses in San Francisco, the school had previously raised more than $40,000 from Google, Accenture, Scality and CloudNOW. 

Holberton has attracted a remarkably diverse student body due in part to its automated admission process designed to reduce human bias. With women and people of color comprising 35 percent and 53 percent, respectively, of its student population, Holberton is committed to additional, ongoing improvement in diversity.

“Kelvin Beachum is an investor and philanthropist who is heavily invested in helping young people to engage in software engineering careers,” said Sylvain Kalache, co-founder of Holberton. “We are honored that he chose to support Holberton students, and we are excited about his ongoing partnership with us toward offering world-class software engineering education to anyone, irrespective of their ability to pay.”

To learn more about Holberton School enrollment and opportunities, visit www.holbertonschool.com.

About Holberton School
With campuses in San Francisco and New Haven, CT, Holberton trains software engineers using a revolutionary teaching method based on project-based and peer learning. The college alternative is free until students find a job. Graduates have been placed in high-impact engineering positions at companies like Apple, Tesla, Facebook and LinkedIn. Students are supported by mentors and investors who are leaders in technology, sports and entertainment, including: Grammy-Award winner NE-YO and New York Jets standout Kelvin Beachum; and technology visionaries Jeff Weiner (LinkedIn CEO), Yahoo! founder Jerry Yang, Docker founder Solomon Hykes and Upwork CEO Stephane Kasriel. Go to www.holbertonschool.com to learn more.

Editorial Contact
Joe Eckert for Holberton School
jeckertflak@gmail.com

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