When Holberton School student Mohameth Seck wanted to pursue a career in technology, he found many colleges cost-prohibitive.
He heard the California-based Holberton was opening a campus in New Haven, within 10 minutes from home, and he took it as a sign.
“Other schools were too expensive. My experience here has been rigorous and intense, but fun,” Seck said. “The staff has been supportive. I always wanted to be an inventor, and before Holberton, I didn’t feel I was getting any closer.”
Seck is among the new school’s first students, as it welcomed its first class in late January.
Classes have been in session for about five months already at Holberton’s campus at District New Haven, 470 James St. The school welcomed 28 students in January and 22 more enrolled this month. Applications are due by Aug. 5 for students who hope to start in September.
On Monday, Gov. Ned Lamont and Mayor Toni Harp joined with school officials, students and other state and local officials to officially celebrate the opening of the software engineering school’s campus.
Even the “ribbon cutting” had a technology theme, with a virtual ribbon on a screen being “cut” once the crowd made enough noise.
The non-profit college alternative school has a unique twist. Students don’t have to pay until they find a job, as there is no upfront tuition. Instead, students contribute a portion of their salary to the school for the first three and a half years of employment.
Lamont said many fields have jobs that require a computer-science background.
“Software weaves its way into everything we do,” Lamont said. “By taking the best ideas from the Silicon Valley and applying them here in Connecticut, that’s how we get the state’s economy moving.”
Harp said the local school’s graduates will be in demand — here in New Haven and around the state.
“All of Connecticut will benefit from the knowledge these graduates will have,” Harp said.
David Salinas, co-founder and CEO of District New Haven, heard about Holberton and wanted to bring it here.
“Technology is a thread through all industry,” Salinas said. “There are so many ways technology is changing our lives, and we have to get more people into software — that is the job of today and the future.”
The local school is already attracting students from around Connecticut and neighboring states, according to Salinas.
Based in San Francisco, Holberton aims to train the best software engineers. Its graduates have landed jobs at companies like Apple, Tesla, Pinterest and LinkedIn.
According to school officials, there is already high demand for software developers and operations engineers because of ongoing technological advancements. This trend is expected to continue.
Marty Guay, vice president of business development with Stanley Black & Decker, who spoke at the ceremony, said finding diverse and qualified tech candidates has posed a growing challenge.
“We welcome the arrival of a new approach to education which promises to double the number of highly qualified full-stack software engineers in the near future,” he said.
For more information on the school or to apply, visit www.holbertonschool.com.
Contact Michelle Tuccitto Sullo at msullo@newhavenbiz.com