Prep Partnership with Kura Labs Prepares Alums for IT Careers
Our partnership with Kura Labs, a no-cost academy founded by Sheldon Gilbert (IX), offers a six-month training program and job placement support for Prep alumni interested in computing roles.
Since July 2020, Kura Labs has provided training in cloud infrastructure computing, cybersecurity, AI infrastructure computing, dev ops and data engineering, and job placement for students from underserved communities.
The mission of the academy, founded by Sheldon Gilbert (IX/Horace Mann ’93, Yale ’97), is to provide training to those with limited experience in these areas and improve the economic mobility of its graduates. “Their average starting salary is about $100,000 dollars and they are typically coming from households of $20,000 to $30,000,” says Sheldon. “Within a short period of time they are able to significantly change the economic trajectory for themselves as well as their families.”
Over the course of six months, students participate in live on-line classes in cloud infrastructure computing and have the option of taking additional Saturday courses in AI infrastructure computing, cybersecurity, and data ops. In addition to gaining more than 500 hours of hands-on experience, students receive extensive job training including resume, LinkedIn profile, and GitHub repository development and extensive mock technical interview experience. All of this is provided at no cost to the students.
Kura Labs is currently training its fifth cohort; 100 students have graduated since the academy’s inception. The organization has made a commitment to enroll Prep for Prep alumni who want to transition into the field. There are information sessions specifically for Prep alums and this year Kura Labs introduced a fellowship named after Paula Campbell Roberts (X), a Prep alum and 2024 Lilac Ball honoree. The Paula Campbell Roberts AI Infrastructure Computing Fellowship grants $2,500 stipends to eligible Prep alums.
Sheldon’s Prep experience has been very influential in the creation of Kura Labs. “Kura, in many ways, is modeled after Prep in terms of its rigorous focus on multidisciplinary thinking and functional application of theory into practice in the real world environment,” says Sheldon. “As such, Kura has the opportunity to bring to the market some of the most talented future AI and infrastructure computing engineers.”
The influence is apparent to Prep alumni participating in the training. “The mission statement is the same and the way they are going about accomplishing that, penetrating that barrier of accessibility, is the same,” says Triston Ortiz (XXXI/RCDS ’15, Wesleyan ’19), a member of the current cohort. “It’s so important that we create these entries into these fields that we are historically locked out of.”
Dayna Joseph, Prep for Prep’s Director of Alumni Affairs, says the partnership gives alumni who have yet to find their way a second chance. “Since they were in middle school, they have been told that they are being set up to be leaders and successful in their fields,” says Dayna. “Having a program that is dedicated to investing in people who might not have reached that success and that leadership position on their own at this point in their life, giving them a second shot at it, is extremely valuable.”
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The mission of the academy, founded by Sheldon Gilbert (IX/Horace Mann ’93, Yale ’97), is to provide training to those with limited experience in these areas and improve the economic mobility of its graduates. “Their average starting salary is about $100,000 dollars and they are typically coming from households of $20,000 to $30,000,” says Sheldon. “Within a short period of time they are able to significantly change the economic trajectory for themselves as well as their families.”
Over the course of six months, students participate in live on-line classes in cloud infrastructure computing and have the option of taking additional Saturday courses in AI infrastructure computing, cybersecurity, and data ops. In addition to gaining more than 500 hours of hands-on experience, students receive extensive job training including resume, LinkedIn profile, and GitHub repository development and extensive mock technical interview experience. All of this is provided at no cost to the students.
Kura Labs is currently training its fifth cohort; 100 students have graduated since the academy’s inception. The organization has made a commitment to enroll Prep for Prep alumni who want to transition into the field. There are information sessions specifically for Prep alums and this year Kura Labs introduced a fellowship named after Paula Campbell Roberts (X), a Prep alum and 2024 Lilac Ball honoree. The Paula Campbell Roberts AI Infrastructure Computing Fellowship grants $2,500 stipends to eligible Prep alums.
Sheldon’s Prep experience has been very influential in the creation of Kura Labs. “Kura, in many ways, is modeled after Prep in terms of its rigorous focus on multidisciplinary thinking and functional application of theory into practice in the real world environment,” says Sheldon. “As such, Kura has the opportunity to bring to the market some of the most talented future AI and infrastructure computing engineers.”
The influence is apparent to Prep alumni participating in the training. “The mission statement is the same and the way they are going about accomplishing that, penetrating that barrier of accessibility, is the same,” says Triston Ortiz (XXXI/RCDS ’15, Wesleyan ’19), a member of the current cohort. “It’s so important that we create these entries into these fields that we are historically locked out of.”
Dayna Joseph, Prep for Prep’s Director of Alumni Affairs, says the partnership gives alumni who have yet to find their way a second chance. “Since they were in middle school, they have been told that they are being set up to be leaders and successful in their fields,” says Dayna. “Having a program that is dedicated to investing in people who might not have reached that success and that leadership position on their own at this point in their life, giving them a second shot at it, is extremely valuable.”
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Nalani Daniels (P9 XXII/MILTON ’13, NORTHWESTERN ’17)
Associate Site Reliability Engineer, DraftKings Inc.
In 2022, Nalani Daniels was working as an operations manager at a restaurant in Brooklyn — not exactly what she anticipated doing after attending Milton Academy and earning a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in integrated marketing communications from Northwestern University.
“I had trouble getting a job after grad school,” says Nalani. “I didn’t know if Corporate America was going to be something that I would be able to join.” Searching her email inbox one day, she came across a message from Prep for Prep about a Kura Labs information session. As a technology consumer, she had experienced website crashes and wondered why they happened and what could be done to prevent them. Not only did she get her questions answered at the information session, she discovered that she wanted to be in the room where people were building these sites and tending to their upkeep. She applied for the 2023 program. “I kind of looked at Kura as a second chance.”
Over six months, Nalani gained a wealth of technical experience and was selected to participate in an early placement program that gives students the opportunity to interview with Kura Lab partner companies. Before the program had ended, she had secured a position as an Associate Site Reliability Manager at DraftKings. “I am challenged every day,” says Nalani about her new position. “I’ve embarked on this everlasting learning journey because technology is always changing.”
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Prep for Prep's mission is to develop future leaders by creating access for young people of color to first-rate educational, leadership development and professional opportunities.
Prep for Prep's mission is to develop future leaders by creating access for young people of color to first-rate educational, leadership development and professional opportunities.
