As someone with a history working in high schools who witnessed students take on staggering student loan debt, Reuben Ogbonna, co-founder and executive director, created the Brooklyn-based Marcy Lab School.

WorkingNation sat down with Ogbonna at SXSW EDU in Austin.

Ogbonna explains that the Marcy Lab School is a one-year alternative to college. “We have a career focus in computer science and software engineering. We target students who would otherwise be attending four-year or two-year institutions that are less likely to lead them to the career of their dreams.”

He continues, “We partner with forward thinking companies to help our graduates land full-time job in the tech sector. Even though they don’t have four-year bachelor’s degrees, we’re proud to say that our graduates are earning an average of $106,000 a year to write software.”

Ogbonna also points out the program has a holistic approach in that it takes into consideration students’ life experiences, in addition to teaching tech skills.

Learn more about Marcy Lab School.