CLRI Celebrates Fall Graduates at Networking Event

The fall Career and Leadership Readiness Institute (CLRI) concluded on November 17 at the Woodbridge Campus (at the site of the future NOVA Data Center Training Facility). NOVA IET students put their newly enhanced career skills into action to make industry connections at a final networking session, the culminating event for students before they receive their certificates of completion. Particularly notable this semester was the first in-person CLRI held at NOVA since it was established in 2020.

Through an extracurricular five-week course, CLRI students were trained in how to interview, create a resume that stands out, manage interpersonal skills in a diverse workplace and more. Students were also treated to two tours of an IET partner, STACK Infrastructure Data Center.

The final networking event kicked-off with remarks from VP of IET and College Computing, Dr. Chad Knights, before students and IET professionals gathered for a round-table discussion and Q & A on relevant experiences and pressing needs in the tech workforce. After the discussion, Executive Director of the NOVA Foundation Kelly Persons addressed graduates and presented them with completion certificates and a leather CLRI portfolio. Graduates also receive a digital CLRI badge that they can add to their LinkedIn profiles.

Following the certificate presentation, CLRI students put their skills to the test during a catered meal where they had opportunities to network with industry partners from the roundtable discussions. One of the major draws of CLRI and especially the final networking event is that graduates obtain immediate internship opportunities and receive priority consideration for our paid summer internships. Several students from the fall CLRI cohort have been offered winter-break internships at Digital Realty and three CLRI students have already been extended an offer of employment from various industry partners.

Here is some feedback from CLRI graduates on their experiences:
“CLRI helped me to get professional skills, to meet people, to make connections, to build my network. I really learned how to rebrand my resumé to attract hiring managers.” – Kanyin, NOVA IT Major

“I want to get better, I want to be better, I want to do better, and I want an opportunity to come my way. This gave me the opportunity. It was a lot of fun and definitely built my confidence” – Elizabeth, NOVA IT Major

“The nicest thing about CLRI is that you get to know a lot of people who are like-minded, and industry professionals who give you really good advice. It’s definitely worth joining.” – Hamid, IST Major

“I would 100% recommend CLRI. The networking aspect was what I got the most from. Tom (Tom Gerencer, CLRI’s technical resume instructor), who I was able to contact via LinkedIn, turned my resume from OK to fantastic.” – Tim, ET Major

“Once [NOVA students] come into the program, they will feel how impactful CLRI is on their career journey.” – Tahiba, IT Major

For the fall 2022 cohort, 34 NOVA students are scheduled to complete CLRI (make-up sessions are due Dec. 15) and 52 students attended at least one workshop. Overall, since it’s implementation, CLRI has surpassed 100 completers.

Special recognition goes to M. Andy Chaves, NOVA SySTEMic CTE coordinator, and Sedrick Settle, IET career advisor, for their exemplary work in running CLRI with excellence and enthusiasm from beginning to end this semester.

You can reach M. Andy at machaves@nvcc.edu and Sedrick at ssettle@nvcc.edu.

Industry Partners who attended the CLRI Networking Event:

Keron Taylor, data center operations manager, Google
Troy Hill, director of data center operations, Iron Mountain Data Centers
Jay Mitchell, operations manager, Iron Mountain Data Centers
Scott LaCasse, supervisor of workstation support, PWCS
Darlene Armenta, director of talent acquisition, Red River
Koren Flint, senior director of customer experience, Red River
Christopher Lettiere, director of dtat center operations, Coresite
Rob Morgan, director of project management, CompuDynamics
Sal Amado, director of learning & development, Simple Technology Solutions

Spring CLRI Opportunities:
If you know a NOVA student who wants to get ahead in their career, CLRI will continue in spring 2023 with a kick-off event on Feb. 16 and workshops beginning the following week on Feb. 21. Have them sign up for our Spring 2023 Interest Form to be notified when applications are available. We will also keep you up to date through our monthly Newsletter, which you can sign up for here. 

Another good resource to keep up with IET and future CLRI sessions and feedback is the NOVA Engage App, which you can find on Apple and Google Play. Some CLRI students who received internships applied directly through the App.

Submitted by:
Bryce Lenon, IET-PR & Marketing, BLenon@nvcc.edu