Category Archives: CLRI

Business Engagement, Career & Leadership Readiness Institute, Career Skills, CLRI, Data Center Operations, Engineering Technology, IET Events, Industry Partnerships, Industry Tours, Information Technology, Internships, Interpersonal Skills, Mentoring, Networking, NOVA Foundation, Student to Workforce

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 in action to make industry connections at a final networking session, the culminating event for students before they receive their certificates of completion. This was particularly notable this semester as it was the first in-person CLRI at NOVA since it was established in 2020.

Through an extracurricular 5-week course, CLRI students were trained 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 there were opportunities to network with the 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. 2-3 students from the fall CLRI cohort have been offered winter-break internships at Digital Realty and 3 CLRI students have already been extended an offer of employment from various industry partners.

Feedback from CLRI graduates included the following:

“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 Data Center Operations, Coresite
Rob Morgan, Director of Project Management, CompuDynamics
Sal Amado, Director of Learning & Development, Simple Technology Solutions

Spring CLRI Opportunities:

If you are a NOVA student and want to get ahead in your career, CLRI will continue in Spring 2023, with a kick-off event on Feb 16 and workshops beginning the following week on Feb 21. You can sign up for our Spring 2023 Interest Form at https://www.nvcc.edu/career-services/clri.html 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 at http://newsletter.novastem.us

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.

CLRI, Community Partnerships, STEM Careers

NOVA Students Recognized for CLRI Success

The Career & Leadership Readiness Institute (CLRI) at Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) celebrated the completion of its inaugural year with a virtual celebration for 35 NOVA students and alumni who received certificates of completion and an address from NOVA President, Dr. Anne Kress!

Requirements to obtain the certificate included completing a variety of workshops including topics such as Resume Preparation, Interviewing, Networking, Diversity & Equity Inclusion in the workplace, communication and conflict resolution and other sessions highlighting how to professionally stand out from the crowd. Students delivered a final project to complete their CLRI certification.

Over 500 individuals attended activities throughout the semester and late last-year.  Orientation sessions were offered from November-January and 21 workshops, panels and information sessions led by 29 various community partners were offered during 8 weeks of the Spring 2021 semester.   Captioning services were provided for every session and as well as an opportunity for NOVA ASL interpreting students to practice their interpreting skills.

CLRI’s first goal is to provide opportunities for students to engage in career and leadership readiness training and networking activities with the NOVA community and employers to increase career connections.  The second goal is to prepare NOVA students with the knowledge, skills, and awareness to navigate a diverse workplace. It is an optional program for NOVA students and does not have any academic credits or grades tied to it.

Participants at the Virtual Recognition Celebration received a NOVA Polo, an embossed padfolio, and an engraved NOVA pen along with their certificate of completion. Community partners received a special NOVA engraved pen.

The CLRI is a 2020-21 InNOVAtion Grant sponsored by the NOVA Foundation. This grant sponsored initiative was submitted and implemented by Brittany Hollis, IET Career Coach and Tiffanie Rosier, SySTEMic STEM Education Coordinator.

A couple of responses from students who completed the course:

“I appreciate very much all the enthusiasm and dedication you have transmitted to us through your excellent work. The knowledge and skills acquired are and will be very valuable for our professional development. Thank you for your time and continuous monitoring so that we can complete each required step. I would absolutely recommend you for future activities!”
Kelly S.

“Thank you to all the Employers/Partners that came to the CLRI workshops. You were wonderful, helpful, kind and insightful. You were an amazing group of men and women who work in the fields of interest and were able to answer our questions and give us amazing feedback and connections for the future.”
Marijane D.