The Fall 2024 IET Career and Leadership Institute (CLRI), led by M. Andy Chaves and Sedrick Settle, concluded on October 24, 2024, with an Executive Mentoring and Networking event at the Woodbridge campus.
This season, 14 students completed the CLRI program, finishing a five-week journey that began in September. Participants completed six workshops covering critical topics such as leadership, effective communication, building your personal brand, how to write a technical resume, and trends in IT careers.
The Fall 2024 CLRI cohort also participated in site tours and a mock interviewing event coordinated with AWS. Through these robust and enriching experiences, students gained interpersonal skills, practiced networking—many through LinkedIn connections—and built confidence.
The program concluded with an executive networking event featuring 11 leaders from top companies, including Amazon Web Services (AWS), CoreSite, Digital Realty, Google, Iron Mountain, Meerkat Cyber, Red Hat, Suffolk Construction, and U.S. Transactions Corp.
To cap off the event, mentors and students received recognition, and participants stayed an extra hour to connect with industry professionals.
Student Feedback on CLRI
CLRI students shared their excitement for the program:
- “The CLRI is an amazing experience. It opened my eyes to many new ideas and opportunities.”
—Ilham Data Center Operations - “CLRI is a great foundation for students—it gives clear direction, teaches new skills, introduces people from diverse backgrounds, and offers unique experiences. I highly recommend it.” —Anchinalush, Cybersecurity and Health Science
- “The program is very exciting. I’m glad I joined after Andy and Sedrick introduced it to our class. It was my first time experiencing data centers.”
—Jack, Data Center Operations - “CLRI was fantastic. I’ll graduate in December, ready to apply everything I’ve learned. Andy and Sedrick bring together amazing people to support us.”
—Mary, Cybersecurity - “This experience has been invaluable for my first semester at NOVA, providing me with valuable connections.”
—James, Data Center Operations
Insights from Industry Professionals
CLRI also granted students valuable perspectives from experienced leaders:
- Steve Jolly, Data Center Cluster Manager, Amazon Web Services:
“A great attitude is everything. Technical skills can be taught, but attitude and behavior are much harder to change. Curiosity, self-improvement, and a bias for action truly make a difference.” - Chris Haigh, CEO & Certified CMMC Assessor, Meerkat Cyber, LLC:
“Find something that fascinates you, pursue certifications, and engage with it daily. Always keep learning.” - John Limbacher, Market Technical Manager, Digital Realty:
“Building gigawatt campuses and working with high-tech solutions for companies like Nvidia—there’s a lot of excitement in the data center industry.” - Miguel Ramos, Sr. Data Center Manager, CoreSite:
“At CoreSite, we train interns in security, telecom, and facilities—critical components of our operations.” - Todd Byington, Critical Facilities Manager, Iron Mountain:
“Data centers offer roles in everything from facilities operations and project management to sales and security, providing a wide range of opportunities.” - Wade Tetsuka, President of U.S. Transactions Corp:
“Our software company collaborates with Microsoft partners. For those considering entrepreneurship in IT or software, it’s a rewarding path.”
Congratulations to the students and thank you to the executives who contributed to the success of the program. We hope to see more students in the Spring ’25 CLRI program.