For Nadine Tochi, Education Has Truly Been a Journey
By Jonathan Petty,
Director of Enrollment Marketing and Communications –
Growing up in Palau, Nadine Tochi enjoyed the island life. It was slower, simpler.
“Over there, I get downtime,” she said. “I get to enjoy the breeze, the sound of the waves, the sunrise and sunset. I feel like the pace is much slower than here.”
It was a stark contrast to what she found in the United States, where people are constantly on the move, driven by a sense that they always need to be doing something, to compete, to work, to be successful.
“Over here, you wake up and the first thing you think is, ‘I’ve got to go to work and pay my bills.’ It’s survival mode, here.”
While she might prefer the slower pace, Tochi has accepted the difference, embraced the culture, and it has led her to a career, an education, and a more complete understanding of what she wants her future to be.
Life Speeds Up
Education was never difficult for Tochi who completed her bachelor’s degree in accounting at Texas A&M University–Central Texas last May. She graduated the eighth grade as valedictorian of her class and carried that through to a salutatorian finish in high school. It was a proven accomplishment for the young woman who was proud of her academic standing. But there was more to come; and it was coming sooner than she expected.
As she crossed the graduation stage to collect her high school diploma, she had thoughts of attending the after-graduation party with her friends and celebrating their accomplishments. She wasn’t ready for what happened next.
“The night of my high school graduation was the night I flew out,” she said. “I didn’t know I was going to fly out, but my parents, after I walked, they were like, yeah, you’re leaving tonight.”
A little shocked, stunned, and disappointed that she couldn’t celebrate with her friends, Tochi packed up and headed for the United States with one goal in mind—get a college education.
Education in the States
Tochi knew that leaving Palau was the best path to a university degree. Afterall the small island nation has only a single community college, and she knew she wouldn’t get where she wanted to be with that as her only option. Her journey to the U.S. took her to Portland Community College in Oregon. A year later, she moved to Colorado and attended Aurora Community College.
Tochi, however, wasn’t finding fulfillment in the classroom. To fill the extra hours, she volunteered at a local dog adoption shelter, helping stray animals find homes. While a noble cause, Tochi felt like she was destined for more. She wanted to make a difference.
“I felt that I wasn’t doing enough, so I stopped going to school,” she said.
A Military Family
Out of school and looking for purpose, Tochi made the easy decision to join the military. She was young, athletic, enjoyed fitness, and very independent. And with a family background entrenched in military service, she knew she could do it.
Her uncles had served in the military and with two older brothers—one in the Marines, the other Navy—her choice was easy. She joined the Army.
“I didn’t want to cross paths with [my brothers],” she grinned.
Tochi spent eight years in the Army as a mechanic. It was a natural fit for the young woman who grew up working alongside her father repairing cars, refrigerators, air conditioners, and building houses. She jumped at the chance to learn new skills, not wanting to rely on other people to do those kinds of things for her.
Never one to waste away sitting behind a desk, Tochi loved working with her hands and being active. She enjoyed her military career. But when she reached the rank of sergeant, she suddenly found herself behind a desk, pushing papers. Then, she knew it was time for a change.
Back to the Classroom
Tochi originally started community college with the goal of getting an accounting degree. Over time, however, those interests had shifted to a desire to work in real estate. She started back to school in 2022 to pursue a real estate degree. It quickly became evident, however, that she might lack the people-pleasing skills to be a good realtor.
“The military kind of made me rough around the edges when it comes to speaking with people,” she said. “I guess I can come off kind of direct, sometimes, and that’s not what is successful in the real estate business.”
With her new-found self-awareness came another shift in priorities. She moved back to the familiar subject of accounting, focusing on her bachelor’s degree. She transferred her community college credits to A&M–Central Texas and dove into the curriculum. Through her educational pursuits, she discovered data analytics. She enjoyed looking at data and cleaning it up to develop presentations, spreadsheets, charts and graphs. A class project led her to Hives for Heroes, where she assisted a nonprofit organization designed combat homelessness, drug addiction, and other issues that plague veterans when they return to civilian life. Hives for Heroes pairs veterans with mentors, teaching them beekeeping, raising hives and harvesting honey. The vital work provides veterans with a sense of purpose.
Tochi analyzed the data and cleaned it up developing recommendations for the organization based on what she found.
Tochi said the hands-on educational experience helped her to really learn the subject matter and retain more information. It also provided a practical application for what she was studying so she could better see how concepts and theories play out in the workplace.
It also sparked a new career interest for her—data analysis.
From Accounting to Analytics
With her bachelor’s degree in accounting in hand, Tochi has now started the Master of Business Administration program at A&M–Central Texas. The MBA offers a concentration in data analytics, but with her career desires and thoughts of moving back to Palau when her education is complete, she decided to take a broader course of study, to learn more generalized information.
“I don’t want to be well educated in just one specific thing,” Tochi said, explaining that the broader education track opens the door to more career opportunities. She said that if she needs more concentrated education in a specific area once she finds a career, then she can pursue academic certificates in that field.
With a desire to return home and an understanding that people with MBAs are rare in Palau, Tochi knows she will have career options. For now, however, her time will be spent reading, studying, and continuing to help veterans process their military benefits through her current job in the university’s Military and Veterans Services office. All while dreaming of spreadsheets, charts, graphs, data analytics, and a career that moves at a slower pace back home where she can take a little extra time to enjoy the island breeze.
