The Potomac chapter of AFCOM (Association for Computer Operations Management) in conjunction with the NOVA Foundation is pleased to announce the Wendy Darling Scholarship, a fund of $10,000 honoring Potomac Chapter Board Member, Stuart Dyer’s mother, who passed away in October 2020.
“AFCOM’s mission is to provide educational advancement opportunities to its members, and we extend that mission to up-and-coming experts in this community by supporting their academic growth,” said Stuart Dyer, Vice President, Advisory Services at CBRE, and AFCOM Potomac Chapter director of scholarships & internships. “Losing my mother to this terrible pandemic, at the young age of 60, was an enormous and tragic loss. My mother always put my education first, and it was extremely important to her that I finished college. To be able to establish an AFCOM Scholarship in her honor is something that would make her proud, and I am honored that the AFCOM Board has made this gesture of kindness.”
NOVA’s Data Center Operations program develops students for entry-level positions in the fast-growing data center industry. This curriculum is designed to prepare students for employment in data centers or companies that support data center function as a technician, operator and/or technologist.
“I’m excited to be a part of this innovative program. As a NOVA instructor and data-center industry professional, I see this as a win-win for everyone involved. Funding the potential at NOVA, which are our students, only means that they can in turn bolster the ranks of a much needed data center workforce pipeline. I’m looking forward to helping students get excited about this industry,” said TJ Ciccone, NOVA Adjunct Faculty and Vice President, STACK Infrastructure.
Wendy Darling Scholarships will provide a pathway that eliminates the cost for entering this program.
“We are proud of and grateful for our ongoing partnership with Potomac AFCOM. The Wendy Darling scholarship award is an investment of $10,000, which will provide $500 to each new student in our first class of data center operations program. Organizations like Potomac AFCOM are leading the way for NOVA students to achieve their educational and professional dreams in a high-demand field,” said Kelly Persons, executive director of the NOVA Foundation.
AFCOM Potomac supports the states of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia for individuals (members and non-members) who wish to learn about, participate in and network with the local data center community. AFCOM supports the advancement of data center and IT infrastructure professionals around the world by delivering comprehensive, vendor-neutral education and peer-to-peer networking to its members. For more information on becoming a member or participating in these internships, please contact either Stu Dyer, Director of Internships/Scholarships at Stuart.Dyer@cbre.com or Dave Mulholland, President, AFCOM Potomac chapter at DaveBMulholland@Eaton.com.
Learn more about the Wendy Darling scholarship by visiting: https://potomacafcom.webstarts.com/wendy-darling.html.
The NOVA Foundation is governed by a board of directors whose members come from both the public and private sectors in Northern Virginia. For additional information about the NOVA Foundation, visit https://giving.nvcc.edu/. For press inquiries, contact Hoang Nguyen, public information officer, at hdnguyen@nvcc.edu.