Announcing Edlyft’s Partnership with Dropbox

Edlyft has partnered with Dropbox to help more students get their start in computer science — providing mentorship opportunities and workshops aimed to help even the playing field for students from underrepresented groups looking to enter the tech workforce. 

In January of 2022, Dropbox and Edlyft extended mentorship opportunities to five women from schools across the United States. These students were each paired with a Dropbox engineer to serve as a career mentor. Over the course of two quarters, the students met monthly with their mentors, receiving academic support, industry insider tips, resume feedback, and interview prep and practice.

Computer science roles are vastly white and male. According to a Pew Research study, only 25% of jobs in computing are held by women. Black workers, who comprise 11% of the total workforce across all occupations, make up only 7% of workers in tech. And although Hispanic workers are 17% of the workforce, they comprise only 8% of computer jobs. Edlyft’s partnership with Dropbox aims to address these disparities.

The technical interview, a key component to landing any computer science job, is one of the largest obstacles for those from underrepresented groups, mainly due to a lack of resources and training for this highly specialized interview. The Edlyft/Dropbox partnership specifically targets this barrier, building in practice sessions and mock interviews between students and their mentors to help students nail their interviews.

In addition to the mentorship program, Edlyft and Dropbox have co-hosted workshops for larger groups of students. Over 60 students attended a recent workshop on navigating the tech recruitment process. Edlyft students are also given the opportunity to apply for Dropbox early talent roles.

“Working with Edlyft has been a dream,” says Lucy Tobias, the Head of Emerging Talent at Dropbox. “They are innovative, thoughtful, and engaged. Dropbox is looking to build a more diverse intern class and Edlyft is key in creating frameworks that support their students and our engineers in closing the gap.”

 Having a support system and connections can make all the difference for someone looking to enter the tech industry. Dropbox mentors help Edlyft students understand what it’s like to work in industry and how to get there. “I left my first mentorship meeting feeling more affirmed about my place in the industry and my career plans,” said Rose Anim of UNC Chapel Hill.

Mentees also enjoy the opportunity to candidly discuss the unique challenges that come with being underrepresented in the tech world, and how to overcome these challenges. “I love how transparent Ajahne is about the difficulties and barriers that exist for POC folks from under-resourced backgrounds,” said Isabel Michel, a student at Stanford. “He spoke very honestly about his past struggles in college and in the industry, which was inspiring to hear. I am currently working on building a growth mindset for myself.” 

“I enjoy sharing my knowledge with Ce'Niyah,” said Amanda Crawford, an engineer at DBX. “It gives me joy to encourage and support people who are underrepresented in tech to continue their career pursuits.”

‍About Edlyft

‍Edlyft helps college students crush their computer science coursework and start seeing themselves in the field. A Black-women-led startup backed by Y-Combinator, Kleiner Perkins, and Kapor Capital, Edlyft provides students across the country with resources, workshops, interview prep, and mentorship opportunities to help close the gap for students looking to enter the tech field.

Looking to grow your tech pipeline of highly-qualified, underrepresented talent? Partner with Edlyft.