Developing Career Pathways to Data Center Operations Through High School Summer Bridge Programs

Josh Labrie; Christopher Russell; Samuel Aaron Snyder

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Conference: 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Portland, Oregon
Publication Date: June 23, 2024
Start Date: June 23, 2024
End Date: July 12, 2024
Conference Session: Engineering Engagement Activities
Tagged Division: Engineering Technology Division (ETD)
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/47161

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Paper Authors

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Josh Labrie Northern Virginia Community College

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Josh earned a B.S. in Chemistry and a Master's in Teaching at the University of Virginia, and taught chemistry and physical science in Prince William County Public Schools for 9 years. He joined Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) in 2012 as the program manager of NOVA SySTEMic, the college’s STEM program to expand regional capacity for STEM talent in northern Virginia. As the Director of NOVA SySTEMic he leads the team in STEM Outreach, manages NOVA’s Perkins V award, and maintains a portfolio of NSF and private grants to support STEM and CTE pathways in the region.

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Christopher Russell

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Christopher Russell is the Information and Engineering Technologies Project Manager at Northern Virginia College. His research focuses on developing novel methods of integrating digital fabrication into formal and informal STEM instruction. Currently, he manages two NSF ATE awards - Makers By Design, a design thinking professional learning program for interdisciplinary groups of educators, and Product Design Incubator, a summer-long entrepreneurship program for community college students.

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Samuel Aaron Snyder Virginia Tech

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Sam Snyder is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech. He received his Bachelors of Science in Materials Science and Engineering in 2017 from Virginia Tech. His current research interests are in engineering ethics edu

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Abstract

Data centers are large, centralized clusters of computing hardware. Enterprise and economic activities that rely on internet services (e.g., cloud-based computing, online commerce, video and audio streaming) require significant data center infrastructure to ensure continuity of services. To provide these services, data centers require significant capital investment, ongoing operational maintenance, and the engineering workforce capacity to support continued growth. Northern Virginia in particular has the largest data center footprint of any region in the world, and strong demand for a skilled technical workforce means the industry has ongoing difficulties reaching talent. Data center capacity is forecasted to double in Virginia during the next 10 years, with most of that growth concentrated in regions of Loudoun County and Manassas (Miller, 2018). The jobs created as a resul0t of these investments offer high salaries for entry level technicians, especially compared with other regional opportunities to 2-year degree holders (Patil, 2019; Schneider & Vivari, 2012). Despite attractive wages and a growing field, student and educator awareness of the industry remains low, with the sector operating invisibly to most stakeholders (Peery, 2022).

This paper reports on project results from Northern Virginia Community College's (NOVA) summer bridge program in Data Center Operations (DCO). This 2-week program for high school juniors and seniors seeks to increase recruitment towards careers in the data center industry. Over these two weeks, students complete introductory hands-on labs in engineering technology, spend two days onsite at data center partner STACK Infrastructure, and earn their OSHA 10 certification. Using quantitative and qualitative survey data from four cohorts of bridge program participants, this paper investigates the extent to which student participation in the program improved their knowledge of data center careers, important industry skills, and the educational pathways required to obtain those careers. These results are then generalized to practitioners with an interest in improving high school student recruitment into new and emerging technological fields.

Citation
Format

Labrie, J., & Russell, C., & Snyder, S. A. (2024, June), Developing Career Pathways to Data Center Operations Through High School Summer Bridge Programs Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/47161

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - Data centers are large, centralized clusters of computing hardware. Enterprise and economic activities that rely on internet services (e.g., cloud-based computing, online commerce, video and audio streaming) require significant data center infrastructure to ensure continuity of services. To provide these services, data centers require significant capital investment, ongoing operational maintenance, and the engineering workforce capacity to support continued growth. Northern Virginia in particular has the largest data center footprint of any region in the world, and strong demand for a skilled technical workforce means the industry has ongoing difficulties reaching talent. Data center capacity is forecasted to double in Virginia during the next 10 years, with most of that growth concentrated in regions of Loudoun County and Manassas (Miller, 2018). The jobs created as a resul0t of these investments offer high salaries for entry level technicians, especially compared with other regional opportunities to 2-year degree holders (Patil, 2019; Schneider &amp;amp; Vivari, 2012). Despite attractive wages and a growing field, student and educator awareness of the industry remains low, with the sector operating invisibly to most stakeholders (Peery, 2022). 

This paper reports on project results from Northern Virginia Community College&#39;s (NOVA) summer bridge program in Data Center Operations (DCO). This 2-week program for high school juniors and seniors seeks to increase recruitment towards careers in the data center industry. Over these two weeks, students complete introductory hands-on labs in engineering technology, spend two days onsite at data center partner STACK Infrastructure, and earn their OSHA 10 certification. Using quantitative and qualitative survey data from four cohorts of bridge program participants, this paper investigates the extent to which student participation in the program improved their knowledge of data center careers, important industry skills, and the educational pathways required to obtain those careers. These results are then generalized to practitioners with an interest in improving high school student recruitment into new and emerging technological fields. 
AU  - Josh Labrie
AU  - Christopher Russell
AU  - Samuel Aaron Snyder
CY  - Portland, Oregon
DA  - 2024/06/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Developing Career Pathways to Data Center Operations Through High School Summer Bridge Programs
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/47161
ER  -