We’ve all seen the hit television series American Idol. Now NOVA has its own iteration of the show, NOVA Idol.
Dozens of students auditioned, performed, and were sent home, until only the finalists remained. At 7 p.m. on March 26 the finals will be held at Schlesinger Hall at the Alexandria campus. Eight students with great talent will compete to hold the title of NOVA Idol, as well as cash prizes for third place, second place and the Idol.

Streetcars may one day whisk passengers to NOVA’s Alexandria campus, if current plans hold up.

Planners are working on a streetcar line that would run from the Pentagon City Metro station, down Columbia Pike, and end at NOVA.

The Alexandria campus would be a central part of this new system. A control center, rail yard, and repair shop at NOVA could be part of the new line, according to Dr. Jimmie McClellan, the dean of Arts and Humanities at the Alexandria campus and a board member for the Northern Virginia Streetcar Coalition. Classes in streetcar repair and operation could be offered as well.

Tax season is rapidly approaching, and with it the stress of complicated tax laws. However, with free tax preparation workshops at NOVA and special tax credits for students, there are many ways to make the season easier.

There are several tax provisions that are designed to help students. One is the Hope Credit which can provide $2,500 for education expenses; the other is the Lifetime Learning Credit that affords a broad range of tax refunds for educational expenses.

On a dull rainy day the sounds of Scot Joplin lit up the Alexandria’s campus library. In honor of Black History Month, Professor Harvey Jacobson played the sounds of that famous African-American composer and pianist.
Around 100 students gathered in the lobby of the library to hear the music on Feb. 23. “This was the first time a concert had been held in the library” according to Dr. Jimmie McClellan. While not the first time NOVA’s Alexandria campus has had a concert, the library seemed a fitting place for the late 19th century musical genius.

An African American History II class on the Alexandria campus recently had a special guest speaker, the co-founder and CEO Dr. Ayize Sabater of Mentors of Minorities in Education’s Total Learning Cis-Tem. Dr. Joseph Windham introduced Sabater, a former student of his at Morehouse College. Sabater spoke about how his non-profit organization is using progressive history to nurture at risk children of color and help them achieve positive educational outcomes in the District of Columbia.

If one needed encouragement to counter balance the negative daily news regarding the employment and the economic downturn, the Ernst Cultural Center Theater on the Annandale campus was the place to be on Wednesday, Feb. 24. Author, entrepreneur and public speaker Jonathan Sprinkles was the special guest speaker on that afternoon.

During the summer of 2009, Dr. Joseph Windham, Professor of History at the Alexandria campus, attended a Yale University seminar, Passages to Freedom: Abolition and the Underground Railroad. The course was taught by Professors James and Lois Horton, graduates of George Washington University and George Mason University. The seminar series offered at The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History was designed to help teachers bring new life into teaching history. On Wednesday, Feb. 18, Windham led a lecture in the Bisdorf Building, sharing what he learned with NOVA students.

What’s better than playing video games at home, with all the lights off, just you and 5 million other people all connected by headsets? Playing with friends at school, that’s what. Video games have become more of a social past time than ever.
With such a drastic leap toward social gaming, why are some gamers still insisting on sitting alone in front of their consoles day after day, playing against opponents they don’t even know?

Ever since last spring, one woman has stood out from the typical crop of campus leaders. Karima Ben Ayed has made a lasting impression on both the staff and students at Northern Virginia Community College’s Alexandria campus. Carrying the appellation of the most recent past-President of the International Club, Ben Ayed’s autograph covered many programs gathered by attendees at last year’s International Spring Festival.
The event was the most highly attended student-initiated function in recent NOVA history and was even more noteworthy because Ben Ayed raised the defunct International Club from a three-year-long period of inactivity to a juggernaut, able to mobilize the most creativity, curiosity and culinary expertise the student body may have ever seen.

NOVA student Roz Schaufele donates blood with the help of Red Cross worker Suzanne Fantigrossi at the Woodbridge campus blood drive February 4. NOVA holds several blood drives throughout the year, including an upcoming one at the Alexandria campus on February 24 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Appointments will be scheduled every 15 minutes and can be scheduled by contacting Syrous in the Student Activities Office at: student.activities.nova.al@gmail.com.