Ashley Nova, a 29-year-old from Santurce, Puerto Rico, moved to Alaska to work in the fishing industry. What started as a seasonal job turned into a permanent residence after she found an opportunity to study mechanics at the University of Alaska. The university paid for her semester because she was the only woman in her class.
Nova's goal was to work in Alaska's oil industry, which she believed would provide better pay and fewer working hours. After a decade, she now works in the oil industry under contract. Nova admits that the change was difficult, but she and her partner have managed to adapt to their new life in the remote town of Valdez, which is five hours away from Anchorage and lacks Latino communities and basic amenities like McDonald's, Home Depot, and Walmart.