Northern Virginia Community College has joined 83 other community colleges across the nation as a recipient of a grant received through the Office of the National Coordinator, Department of Health and Human Services to provide expanded Health Information Technology training in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. All tuition, required text books and associated fees are paid in full for qualified applicants.

In 2001, MAGFest was billed as primarily a music-centric convention intended to promote smalltime bands and, hopefully, breakouts. In recent years, the focus has changed in encompass entertainment in general, with a variety of panels and topics ranging from music genres to collecting and trading comics to the history of video games.

If you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah or just about any other national holiday in the month of December, chances are that you’ve got a wallet stuffed with gift cards. They’re as useful as currency, but unfortunately consumers tend not to spend them as carefully as their own cash, sometimes missing out on good deals or forgetting about the gift cards entirely in all the hustle and bustle life can bring. This article is aimed to help all of you post-holiday shoppers get the most bang for your gift card buck and ring in the new year with high style.

The NOVA hockey team, replenished for the spring semester with the addition of some new players but the loss of others, had three games remaining in its Atlantic Division of the Blue Ridge Hockey Conference. The results of those games would determine whether it would reach the playoffs, as four of the eight Atlantic Division teams reach them.

The Automotive Program at the Manassas campus of Northern Virginia Community College hosted the regional SkillsUSA Competition in Automotive Maintenance and Automotive Service Technology on Jan. 6. Two high school students from the Spotsylvania Career and Technical Center were the big winners.

Brandon McCormick received a $1,000 NOVA scholarship for taking first place in the Automotive Service Technology competition.

Robert Dowell received a $500 NOVA scholarship for placing first in the Automotive Maintenance category.

The Northern Virginia Community College men’s basketball team started its second-semester season in strong fashion, winning its first four games to run its winning streak to nine and raising its season record to 13-5.

The semester break saw the team add two strong players in forward S. Dolman and guard Bobby Mott.

For those who are unaware of what NOVA Idol is all about, the answer is in the name. NOVA Idol is like the TV show “American Idol” in that the singers compete against each other for cash prizes and a bit of localized fame. The fame and fortune in winning either the first, second or the third-place spot in NOVA Idol are, of course, to a lesser degree than one would achieve in winning “American Idol,” but it’s still well worth the effort to win.

Throughout the first week of school the Annandale chapter of the NOVA Green Club made a showing of environmental awareness by conducting a Recycling Blitz in the campus cafeteria.

Unlike the Eco-Rage held last semester on the same campus, the Recycling Blitz was a less dazzling affair but no less effective in its ability to make the club visible, especially to the Annandale administration, which seems to have taken notice of the efforts of the club to make the school greener.

Annandale campus celebrated this month’s NOVA Day with arcade games, popcorn and cotton candy.

Guests attend the gallery reception for Living Legends of Alexandria. LLA is an ongoing, not-for-profit photo documentary project to identify, honor and chronicle individuals whose vision and dedication have made a tangible difference in the quality of life in the community. Former NOVA-Alexandria employee Eula Miller was one of them. The project was conceived by photographer Nina Tisara.