Throwin’ It Back to 2017: Holberton School’s Year In Review

The past year has been notable for Holberton School in a variety of ways. We’ve welcomed growth within our student body, forged new relationships with a tech heavy hitters, and even received rave reviews from industry titans. In addition to these newfound relationships, our students are succeeding in all of the way we had hoped. Holberton students are landing jobs and internships at great places including but not limited to Tesla, LinkedIn, Apple, and IBM! We’ve narrowed our list to 5 memorable moments, check out the highlights below:

5. Home is where the students are…

We are excited to be settled into our new home in San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood! Our new spot boasts plenty of comfy nooks for studying, meetings, and even relaxing. Our spacious digs provide us with plenty of room to grow and welcome more students into the Holberton School family. We feel right at home in our new space, located on Mission and 5th/6th. With neighbors like Slack, Eventbrite, Yahoo, and Y Combinator, the networking possibilities are endless!

Soft seating and iMacs abound in Holberton School’s new space!

Located at Mission and 5th/6th in the SOMA district of San Francisco, the new location is close to tech companies including Slack, Eventbrite, Yahoo, Y Combinator and more. Location is critical because students are required to intern for as much as half of the school’s 2-year program. The 28,500 sqft is in a six story building (61,000 sqft), with an option to take over the entire building.

4. If you’ve got it to give, give it away…

It has been with tremendous gratitude that we have partnered with Google, Scality, Accenture, and CloudNOW to present Holberton students with scholarships to alleviate the cost-of-living associated with the San Francisco Bay Area.  These scholarships were presented to students at Google’s annual #TopWomenInCloud event by Vint Cerf, father of the Internet and inventor of the TCP/IP technology.

(L to R) Sylvain Kalache, Vint Cerf, Kristen Loyd (student)

3. Talkin’ the talk while & walkin’ the walk…

Holberton School students are tenacious by nature. Student, Elaine Yeung, caught the attention of Linus Torvalds, the inventor of the Linux Kernel system, with her rap all about bash. So, when Holberton School co-founder, Julien Barbier, challenged Elaine to take a selfie with Linus in a Holberton t-shirt it was game on. Torvalds graciously obliged Elaine with a selfie and conversation. She walked away from the meeting elated to have been able to meet an innovation legend.

2. “We’re a movement by ourselves, but we’re a force when we’re together…”

NEYO joined Holberton School’s Board of Trustees. “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.” With his support and guidance we are proud to have a diverse student body. In addition to growing our Board of Trustees, we welcomed the support of LinkedIn CEO, Jeff Weiner, as an investing advisor. We are thrilled at the opportunity to be under the tutelage of Jeff and look forward to working together with him towards fulfilling our mission to provide quality education to the most!

(L to R) Sylvain Kalache, Jeff Weiner, Julien Barbier pose for a #selfie
(L to R) Sylvain Kalache, NEYO, Julien Barbier

1. They like us, they really like us…

We were sincerely honored by Business Insider’s decision to include Holberton School on it’s list of the 19 hottest San Francisco startups to watch in 2018. Recognizing us as an organization that “flips education on its head” is something the Holberton team is profoundly proud of. We are currently hiring, check out our open positions!

Holberton School staff pose for Business Insider’s list of 19 Hottest SF Startups!

Thank you to everyone who played a role in the school’s success this past year, we truly appreciate each and every one of you! We look forward to an even more exciting 2018!