Category Archives: Data Centers

AFCOM, Business Engagement, Data Center Operations, Data Centers, Engineering Technology, Industry Partnerships, Industry Tours, Internships, Mentoring, Professional Development, Scholarships

AFCOM Interns Celebrate Completion

The AFCOM summer internship concluded on August 16 at Top Golf in Ashburn with job offers for NOVA Students!

Hard work paid off and career pathways were established after the completion of the 2023 AFCOM Internship. This year, $25,000 was donated to NOVA DCO students through the Wendy Darling Scholarship, established by Stuart Dyer, a board member of the Potomac Chapter of AFCOM, and managed by the NOVA Educational Foundation.

During the internship, students experienced working at 2 and sometimes 3 different companies, gaining a much broader understanding of how their role as a DCO technician impacts the business and keeps the critical infrastructure up and operational 100% of the time.

Out of the 20 AFCOM interns, 16 were from NOVA. Every NOVA intern was given a job offer, and while some declined in order to continue their education, many decided to take up the offer and pursue their careers with data center partners. Of those who accepted, 4 went to Iron Mountain, and 1 each went to Google, Aligned, Coresite, and Iconicx.

AFCOM is an association for career advancement of IT and data center professionals. The 10-week internship program lead by the AFCOM Potomac Chapter, connects students to industry partners and is centered around building the data center industry by partnering with NOVA’s IET Division and providing paid summer internships to students in the DCO programs.

For those of you who would like to take advantage of this opportunity for next summer, be on the lookout for applications in early 2024!

Data Center Operations, Data Centers, Engineering Technology, Industry Partnerships, NOVA IET, STEM Awards, Student Success, Student to Workforce

STACK Infrastructure Wins NOVA-Nominated “Creating Excellence” Award

NOVA IET nominated STACK Infrastructure for the Virginia Department of Education and Virginia’s Community College System State Postsecondary Business and Industry Partnership “Creating Excellence” Award and they won!

STACK is Northern Virginia Community College‘s strongest ally in expanding its Data Center Operations program, serving on advisory boards, assisting with developing and improving curricula, and hosting site visits and a summer bridge program for high school students.

Chad Knights, VP of IET and College Computing at NOVA, alongside Thomas (TJ) Ciccone, VP at STACK Infrastructure (and NOVA DCO Adjunct Professor) and Anthony Antonellis, Asst. Critical Operations Manager at STACK, were on hand to receive the award at the Four Points Sheraton, Richmond on June 8.

STACK has actively worked to expand the DCO program by including additional industry partners and stakeholders, providing guidance, securing funding, preparing and teaching DCO programs of study, and presenting alongside NOVA at industry conferences.

They have been a long-time supporter of the Northern Virginia educational community, from participating in the AFCOM Internship Program to contributing to NOVA IET and NOVA’s Student Success Fund.

Ciccone reflected “Being a part of this project from its inception and watching it grow into such an impactful and meaningful program has been rewarding beyond words. The bright individuals that I’ve had the pleasure of teaching through the NVCC Data Center Operations Management class are truly going to have a lasting positive impact on our industry. Being able to witness the success of former students, some of whom join us here at STACK, is an honor that I hope to continue for many years to come. I’m proud to be a part of a program that is ushering in the next wave of data center talent.”

Antonellis added ““As an NVCC Data Center Operations program graduate, I can confidently say that the deep institutional knowledge gained in this class has been instrumental in forging a clear career path. Now I work within one of STACK’s Northern Virginia data centers, and whenever I support or lead the onsite student tours, it is always a pleasure to watch their enthusiasm and interest grow as they learn about an industry career with exciting upward mobility and a wealth of options for growth.” 

Congratulations STACK, we’re proud to partner with you!

For more on DCO at NOVA click here.

#DataCenter #DCO #northernvirginia #InDemandTech #HighDemandHighWage #YoungTalent

Data Center Operations, Data Centers, Engineering Technology, Externships, Industry Partnerships, Industry Tours, Information Technology, NSF DCO Tech Grant

Educator Externship Participants’ Embark on Engineering Tech and Data Center Site Visits

The DCO Tech Secondary Externship Program for secondary educators and career counselors is grounded in the necessity to guide students into successful, in-demand tech careers.

A major component of the externship is visiting these state-of-the-art engineering technology and data center facilities to bring first-hand visuals of daily operations and knowledge gained on-site back to their classrooms.

Eighteen educators and counselors from Arlington Public Schools, Fairfax County, Loudoun County, and Prince William County Public Schools participated in industry tours in April and May to Data Centers such as CoreSite, Equinix, Iron Mountain, QTS, and STACK Infrastructure, as well as Lockheed Martin and Micron Technology. These companies are thoroughly invested in the formation of tech career pathways and provided informative tours of their facilities while fielding questions about careers in the industry.

The NSF-funded externship began in March with an introduction to NOVA’s Engineering Technology and Data Center Operations degree programs, and will conclude in July with a tour of the NOVA Fab Lab where educators will begin to work on their Plan of Action to take back what they have learned to their schools and their students.

Action Plans submitted from last year’s cohort resulted in NOVA SySTEMic school presentations, class field trips to NOVA campuses, and industry site visits by educators and their students.

Applications for 2024 Externships will be open next January. They will be announced in our newsletter and through NOVA IET Twitter and LinkedIn.

For more about Engineering Technology and Data Center Operations at NOVA, click here