Ne-Yo has been M.I.A lately. Perhaps it’s due to a new house, new baby (it’s a boy!), new album and upcoming tour.
Whew!! I’m winded from just writing that sentence.
Luckily, what hasn’t changed is his gentlemanly ways.
Hence, the Miss Independent crooner’s announcement of investing $2.3 million dollars into a San Francisco-based technical school, Holberton, so underprivileged kids can learn to code.
“Everybody knows that tech and all these things are the wave of the future,” Ne-Yo told Tech Crunch. “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.”
Another dope thing is Holberton doesn’t charge tuition until after the student gets a job. You read that right. If and when they do, the school takes 17 percent of a salary.
Plus, the odds of getting selected are def in minorities favor—Holberton’s current class is made up of 40% female and 53% of color, according to Tech Crunch.
No wonder Ne-Yo is also a member of the Holberton’s board of trustees.
“I’m definitely going to be hands on,” he said. “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,” he joked. “So there’s that but i’m definitely going to be hands on.”
Ne-Yo is definitely swapping the gentleman for philanthropist.