Manassas City and NOVA Partnering to Empower Residents to Advance Their Careers

The goal of the Grow Manassas Tuition Assistance Fund, a partnership between the City of Manassas and NOVA, is to empower City residents like Manizha Khorram to learn new skills and advance their careers.

Made possible by the City of Manassas, the Grow Manassas program helps cover tuition for select NOVA courses that prepare students for professional certifications in high-demand fields. In Manizha’s case, she obtained her Python programming certificate. A recent immigrant from Afghanistan, she recognized that proficiency in highly popular computer programming languages — including Python — would increase her chances of employment.

“I understood that software development is very in demand, and that I can find good jobs and even remote jobs. So I was always searching,” Manizha said. She was skeptical, however, when she saw an online advertisement for the Grow Manassas program — it seemed too good to be true! Her husband also had his doubts about the program, but Manizha filled out the form anyway. Then she got an email notification about the class she’d signed up for: “It was real, and I was really thankful for that,” she said.

Manizha is filled with gratitude for the Grow Manassas program. A mother of two small children with her third on the way, Manizha can’t easily attend classes in person. She’d been looking for online classes in software development, and this was the perfect solution.

“I know that the job market is so tough in the U.S., that I should get more preparation…. So I’m very grateful that I got this opportunity. I know that in the future when I apply to a job this will help me a lot,” said Manizha.

Now it’s onto the next phase of her journey. Manizha is preparing to enroll in a CompTIA Linux+ class through the Grow Manassas program. “I’m very fortunate that am eligible [financially] for that one, too,” she shared, adding that she and her family would otherwise not be able to afford such classes. 

Manizha hopes to finish the Linux+ class just before her baby is due. Imagine adjusting to a new country, learning a new language and caring for two young boys with a third child on the way while also taking class and studying. But Manizha does it all — she is determined and steadfast in pursuing a career in software development. And she’s happy to share her story so others can take advantage of the Grow Manassas program to improve their own lives.

Submitted by:
Kathy Parkinson, PIO, KParkinson@nvcc.edu