Pathway Student Works Hard to Help Family, Achieve His Dreams

Woodbridge Student Hassan Naqvi is very pleased with his experience at NOVA, and he took the time to send a quick email to his advisor, Alex Coppelman (WO). That note made its way into the Daily Flyer mailbox.

Naqvi said his high school counselor recommended he look into NOVA. After a little research to compare community colleges with four-year colleges, he found that NOVA offered Computer Science, the major he was interested in, at a very affordable cost. And affordable was important for him and his family. From the beginning, he says, he has attended classes (this semester, he is taking five classes and a lab), and he also works 30+ hours a week, while still maintaining an impressive GPA, to help his parents pay the rent.

“My parents do not have the funds to send me to college,“ he said. “Going to a four-year college would have made my student debt extremely high to pay back in the future.” Between financial aid and grants, his costs have been covered. “Thanks to reasonable tuition fees offered at NOVA, I was able to avoid student debt for my first two years of college,” he said.

He says NOVA provides a perfect opportunity for students to think realistically about how to achieve their goals.

“NOVA can help, especially considering how affordable it is compared to a four-year university,” he said. “Students who lack financial support to attend college may find that NOVA can really make it easier for them without having to stress or worry about student debt, which may make them have to drop out otherwise.”

He went on, “NOVA provides valuable resources, and the class sizes are relatively small, which makes communicating with professors far easier compared to four-year universities. The tutoring center has been a key resource in helping me to make crucial changes to my assignments before submission.”

In his note to Alex Coppelman, Naqvi sang the praises of NOVA and of the Pathway to the Baccalaureate program.

I want to share my experience at NOVA so far because I think it’s something worth bringing to your attention. I want to thank everyone at NOVA for always being supportive of students. When I first started as a freshman, I was nervous, but the orientation experience helped me feel more welcome. I was told about the Pathway to the Baccalaureate program at Potomac High School, and I think joining the program was one of the best decisions of my life! 

The Pathway experience so far has been amazing in every way; especially since my Pathway advisor is Mr. Coppelman, who also taught me SDV 100 where I developed formal skills to speak appropriately and also aided my public speaking and communication skills. Furthermore, Mr. Coppelman helped me pick the right courses for my transfer to George Mason University. I am highly satisfied with the help I have been provided by my pathway counselor. I would suggest to anyone that they consider becoming part of this prestigious program.

NOVA is more than just a community college for me, and it does make students feel more comfortable in taking their desired degree programs without a sense of failure. At NOVA, everyone is supportive and wants to see students succeed. NOVA also provided me with a Cares Act Student Emergency Grant, which helped ease my financial burden during the pandemic. I was able to pay my crucial bills and stay focused on my courses for the semester. They say, at NOVA, they want every student to succeed. This is why they provide so many exclusive-to-NOVA resources that have played a major role in my journey to work toward my associate degree. I feel more confident than ever in pursuing my computer science degree and transferring to Mason soon. I have saved a lot of money compared to what it would have cost me at a four-year university. 

Hassan Naqvi is one of so many NOVA students working tirelessly to help their families and to achieve their own educational dreams. And, Alex Coppelman is one of so many NOVA employees working tirelessly to help them!