Nizhoni grew up on the Navajo reservation in Arizona. She received her B.S. in Natural Resources at Virginia Tech and M.S. at the University of Arizona. She moved to Gainesville, FL last August after she got married to her husband Rio, a Ph.D. student at University of Florida. She has been volunteering with Global Connections since. She enjoys meeting international students and extending warmth and love to them. She has a heart for serving and is honored by the opportunity to work alongside IFI. She is passionate about creating welcoming spaces where international students feel seen, valued, and supported as they pursue their studies. Coming from another culture, she understands the impact that kindness and hospitality can have. She experienced this firsthand as one of the few Indigenous students on her college campus while living far from family.

Today, she looks forward to continuing to cultivate meaningful friendships with international students and supporting the team she serves with in Gainesville, Florida.