TOCC-Human Interest

Novia

Tohono O’odham Community College (TOCC)

Novia is the Tohono O’odham Community College (TOCC) Financial Aid Specialist. She has been employed at TOCC for more than four years. Novia is a single mother of two children; her daughter is a high school senior and her son is a middle school student. She is from the Diné Nation, Eastern Agency and originally from Whitehorse, New Mexico. Novia is completing her associate’s degree at TOCC and will transfer to the University of Arizona. She plans to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in May or December 2012.

When asked about the impact of the Wisdom of the Desert scholar program, Novia states, “I get a lot of family support. I know I have to make a sacrifice to stay where I am (in college)…and to get what I want (my degree).” Novia also recognizes that she is a role model for her daughter. She tries to make her daughter realize her opportunities, that she has options in education and for her future.

Novia applied to the National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA). She is waiting to see if she received a Global Information Systems and Global Positioning System Internship. Her TOCC math instructor helped her complete the applications. She says she learned from the NASA application that studying mathematics offers many opportunities. “I love math, I will always take a math course, even if it is not part of my major. I will make it my minor.”