Singer Ne-Yo recently showed that he doesn’t just have love for the ladies, but the crooner loves the kids too. VIBE reports the “She Knows” singer recently invested $2.3 million into a coding facility named Holberton School.
The school will provide an opportunity for youth from underprivileged communities to pursue a career in coding, promising a tuition-free education until students lands careers in their prospective fields. Holberton School doesn’t request payment until after that student is employed, and at that point will require 17 percent of said student’s salary during their first three years of employment.
It shouldn’t be too hard for Holberton students to land gigs after graduation. Holberton is an IRL school that offers a two-year program, instead of a multi-week bootcamp, as well as mentors from companies like Google, LinkedIn, Uber and Instagram. The school also aims to be as diverse as possible in its selection process already boasting a class that is 43% female and 53% people of color.
Ne-Yo, who is a father to three, is all for the program and putting the money up to prove it. He recently spoke to Tech Crunch to talk about his investment:
“Everybody knows that tech and all these things are the wave of the future.”
“I just love the fact of what they’re doing with the school — that they’re making it easier for underrepresented people in the world of tech. They’re giving them a platform and access to this knowledge that they probably wouldn’t get otherwise. I think that’s one of the coolest things about this whole situation.”
Ne-Yo also expressed that he plans to do more than write a check:
“I’m definitely going to be hands on. I don’t know if i’m going to do every day because there’s this little music career thing that i’ve got going on, so there’s that but i’m definitely going to be hands on.”
“This is not, ‘oh, let me attach my name to something.’ This is something that I’m genuinely passionate about.”
“You know, diversifying the tech world. Tech is changing the world by the second so it makes sense to get the people that live in the world to be part of this thing that’s changing it, as opposed to just this one group of people.”
We’re sure Ne-Yo and Holberton will make an awesome duet and a difference in the lives of some promising youth.