ATLANTA — There's a new scholarship for single Latina mothers trying to get a degree in Georgia.
Dominican entrepreneur Giovanni Nova, known locally as International Nova, is backing the new initiative with his nonprofit Early Motherhood Foundation.
Nova wanted to honor his aunt Elizabeth after she passed away last year. He said that her impact on his life inspired the Eli Motherhood Scholarship, her namesake and legacy.
"She was an awesome single mom for a long time," he said. "And then kind of refined that to be based on single mothers who are pursuing education or pursuing music in their education as well."
After moving to Atlanta in 2015 to realize his dreams of becoming a musician and furthering his career, he found his voice grew louder with his advocacy work as well. After arriving "a dollar and a dream," he realized that he wanted to give back to the community soon. So, he said, the scholarship was a no-brainer after revisiting the foundation's purpose.
"When it comes to books, clothing for the children, anything we can with food - anything that we can help and to kind of make things a little easier for them is what we kind of aim to do," he said.
The Eli Motherhood Scholarship was launched this Hispanic Heritage Month. It's for Hispanic women and Latinas taking undergraduate classes and pursuing degrees in either business or music. Applicants need at least a 2.8 GPA. Nova said he's hoping to do this at least four times a year and award $500 for each scholarship.
"I was raised in a single-mother household, so I know the struggles that these women go through," he said.
Nova strives to make his mother proud and has invested much of his time in philanthropy and community work. He's a brand ambassador for Lifeline and identifies as an animal advocate and was recognized this week with the statewide honor of Georgia's Outstanding Citizen Award.
"It's always one of my things to kind of fight for those who can't fight for themselves," he said.
Up next, he plans to flush out more plans for the Early Motherhood Foundation and help raise funds to provide food for Latino families this Thanksgiving. He plans to announce his first scholarship award in January.
"I will continue to do my best to do that and to bring our people, the Latino people, the Black and brown cultures together," he said.