Gaining a financial foothold at NOVA can maximize your educational and career goals. Most students today don’t have the simple luxury of just attending classes and then going home to study. Many of you have jobs, families, money worries, and car problems. We want you to know there are resources and steps you can take to gain traction, earn your degree, and achieve financial stability. NOVA’s Working Students Success Network connects your educational goals to your career goals by finding income and work supports to tide you over when life gets complicated. We also link you to financial and asset building services for the long haul. Access resources like free food on campus and fresh food to take home, emergency aid for unexpected bills, financial coaching with a certified professional, free tax preparation and filing services, resources for housing, transportation, or child care, and much more.

Rachelle Thompson, MSW

Program Coordinator, Working Students Success Network

Institutional Effectiveness & Student Success Initiatives

Northern Virginia Community College

phone: 703-503-6240

email: rpthompson@nvcc.edu

blogs.nvcc.edu/wssn/

Academic Support Services

If you are a new student or have questions, a counselor will help guide you through the sometimes confusing administrative procedures and requirements. All NOVA campuses have counselors available by appointment or walk-in.

Academic advising helps you to plan a program that will meet your educational objectives. If you cannot come to campus to meet with your advisor, Online Virtual Advising is available to you.

http://www.nvcc.edu/virtualadvising/index.html

For more information:

http://www.nvcc.edu/novacares/index.html

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Individual and group therapy can enormously help individuals deal with grief. No one has a magic formula for “fixing” grief, but it is often helpful to be with others who deeply understand how you are feeling. Many people feel shy about joining a Grief Group, but support groups are a time-tested method of helping people struggling with all sorts of difficulties. A Grief group can provide members with validation and understanding of the intensity of their experience. It can combat isolation by providing members with a compassionate community that will support them in their struggle, while allowing members the opportunity to share their strengths and coping strategies. This sharing provides affirmation and hope that one can survive loss.
Benefits of a Grief Group
• Realizing you’re not alone
• Making connections
• Expressing your feelings
• Learning helpful information
• Gaining hope and strength
• Reducing distress
To learn more please visit:
http://www.nvcc.edu/novacares/resources.html

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Manage Your Stress the Right Way!
All of us can get stressed from time to time but it’s important to learn healthy coping strategies. Stress can affect us in many different ways. By learning coping strategies, you can learn how to reduce stress and gain your self-confidence back!
Below are common signs of stress:
• Trouble sleeping
• Headaches
• Stomach ache
• Depression
• Impatience
• Easily irritated
• Inability to focus
• High blood pressure
• Chest pain
• Poor concentration
• Anxiety
• Fatigue
If you are experiencing any of those signs, then please read the strategies below that you can use every day to deal with your stress:
• Breathe deeply
• Eat well-balanced meals
• Have a positive attitude
• Exercise–even a little bit
• Manage your time
• Listen to music
• Laugh
• Hot baths
• Mediation
• Yoga
• Massage
• Get enough sleep
• Talk to someone
To learn more please visit:

http://www.nvcc.edu/novacares/resources.html

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Support Suicide Prevention!
People who have suicidal thoughts rarely ask for help but that doesn’t mean these individuals don’t want help. Suicide has become a desperate way out for some individuals who find it difficult to deal with pain. Suicide Prevention starts by knowing the warning signs.

Warning Signs of Suicide:
• Clinical Depression
• Talking/writing about committing suicide
• Increased substance abuse
• Withdrawal from friends and family
• Calling or visiting people to say goodbye
• Writing a will
• Experiencing dramatic mood changes
• Losing interest in activities
• Making comments such as “I want out” or “It would be better if I wasn’t here”
• Feeling hopeless
Visit the website: www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org

Why Call Crisis Link Hotline?
• talk with someone who cares about you
• talk with an empathic person if you feel you might be in danger of hurting yourself
• find referrals to mental health and other community services
• get ideas and tips about how to help someone you’re concerned about
To learn more please visit:
http://www.nvcc.edu/novacares/resources.html

Interpersonal Violence Support Group Info! Email us at: NOVA.SAS@nvcc.edu for more information or call us at                 703-338-0834  –  24 hours a day, 7 days a week!