Earlier this month, the Nomad Futurist Foundation proudly partnered with Flexential to host a special behind-the-scenes tour of their Portland Hillsboro 3 Data Center, welcoming staff from Portland Community College (PCC) and the Education Service District for an immersive experience inside one of the region’s premier digital infrastructure facilities.
The tour offered a rare, firsthand look at the critical technology that powers our digital world, and more importantly, highlighted the wide array of career pathways available to students in the data center ecosystem.
Representing the Foundation on-site was Jake Curtachio, PR & Media Relations Manager at iMiller Public Relations (iMPR) and a trusted Nomad Futurist partner. Jake guided attendees through the inner workings of a modern data center, pulling back the curtain on what lies “behind the walls:” rows of high-performance servers, intricate networking systems, robust cooling infrastructure, and backup power solutions that ensure 24/7 uptime.
“It was great to see the interior of data center buildings, which have been appearing in our backyard. By demystifying what a data center is, we can better understand as educators how they fit within our local tech employment landscape and better support promoting job opportunities to students.” — Educator, Portland Community College.
The tour offered more than just a look at cutting-edge technology; it highlighted the diverse range of professionals who keep data centers running smoothly, from operations and cybersecurity to facilities management, human resources, and compliance. By revealing the full scope of the data center ecosystem, educators gained a clearer understanding of how academic disciplines like computer science, IT, and engineering translate into tangible, in-demand careers in the world of digital infrastructure.
Attendees left with renewed inspiration and actionable insight to bring back to their classrooms, prepared to guide and ignite student interest in these vital, high-growth fields.
We’re deeply grateful to our partners at Flexential for opening their doors and sharing their knowledge. Events like this embody the heart of the Nomad Futurist mission: to bridge the gap between education and digital infrastructure and create opportunities that shape the next generation of digital leaders.
Interested in attending a data center tour or getting involved in industry-leading events? We’d love to collaborate — reach out to connect with us!
Don’t forget to explore the Nomad Futurist Academy, where our free online learning modules provide an in-depth look into the world of data centers and digital infrastructure. We’re constantly evolving, expanding our content, and seeking passionate partners who share our mission to inspire the next generation.
Join us and help unlock this essential industry for others.
About Nomad Futurist
The Nomad Futurist Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization established to demystify the world of digital infrastructure and the related technologies that impact every aspect of our daily lives. Our primary focus is to empower and inspire younger generations through exposure to the underlying technologies that power our digital world and cultivate the next generation of industry leaders. Through the contributions of our supporters, we are launching global programs in partnership with a range of education providers, NGOs and other nonprofit organizations committed to educating children in underprivileged communities, promoting diversity and inclusion, and opening up opportunities for growth and new career paths.
- To learn more about the Nomad Futurist Foundation, please visit: http://nomadfuturist.org/.
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- For more information, visit www.nomadfuturist.com
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About Flexential
Flexential empowers the IT journey of the most complex businesses by offering customizable IT solutions designed for today’s demanding high-density computing requirements. With colocation, cloud, connectivity, data protection, and professional services, the FlexAnywhere® platform anchors our services in 40+ data centers across 18 highly connected markets on a scalable 100Gbps+ private network backbone. Flexential solutions are strategically engineered to meet the most stringent challenges in security, compliance, and resiliency. Experience the power of IT flexibility and how we enable digital transformation at www.flexential.com.
