Tucson Standard

Nicolette Gomez was uncertain about her academic path after graduating high school in 2009. As a member of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, she opted for a gap year working at Casino Del Sol, which extended to a decade.

Gomez eventually earned an associate's degree in web design from Pima Community College in 2022 during the COVID-19 pandemic, when virtual life became the norm. This experience revealed to her that living on the Pascua Pueblo Yaqui Reservation did not necessarily mean working for a tribal enterprise.

Now a junior at the University of Arizona studying design arts and practice with a minor in entrepreneurship, Gomez aims to inform others about business opportunities and help them acquire the necessary skills. She is the executive director of Nopalito Network, a startup teaching web design, marketing, and other tech-based skills to aspiring entrepreneurs, particularly those in tribal communities. Her new program, Yaqui-Tech Innovation Lab, has fostered a community of Pascua Yaqui entrepreneurs.

"I don't think a lot of people realize that there is so much opportunity with remote work and being creative," said Gomez, who goes by Niko. "You don't have to work for big tech companies to sustain yourself and have more flexibility in your life."

Gomez began learning web design in 2018 through self-teaching basic skills like using WordPress. She eventually freelanced and now works for Bodhi Creative Collective, a digital marketing agency based in Los Angeles. Many clients asked her to teach them basic web design skills, sparking her interest in offering more hands-on education.

"I thought, 'If people want to learn how to do this, imagine what it could do for my community,'" she said.

After earning her associate's degree from Pima in 2022, Gomez enrolled in an accelerated fundamentals course at Startup Tucson that fall. The organization supports local entrepreneurs with sponsors like Arizona FORGE at the University of Arizona. There she met Aleshia Howell, then-program manager for Arizona FORGE.

"She came in passionate about delivering technology training to youth populations so they can understand they had more opportunities than might be obvious," Howell said.

The course marked Gomez's first step toward formal business education. In September 2022, she launched Nopalito Network offering digital marketing services and programs teaching digital skills to her community.

Howell helped Gomez find expansion opportunities through grants. A grant from the university's Provost Investment Fund established the pilot program for Yaqui-Tech Innovation Lab. The monthlong program guided ten Pascua Yaqui entrepreneurs through workshops on fundamental web design skills and tools like digital marketing and artificial intelligence. By month's end, each entrepreneur had a basic website for their business or idea.

In late June at the Pascua Yaqui Tribe-University of Arizona Microcampus graduation ceremony for Yaqui-Tech Innovation Lab participants shared their stories. Their businesses ranged from restaurants to travel agencies and miniature golf courses.

Graduate Elizabeth Valenzuela is launching Native Horizons Travel after a 32-year airline industry career; she hopes it will cater to tribal delegations' unique travel needs. "It was just an amazing process," Valenzuela said.

Another graduate Cesar Balgañon II plans to start Players Club: "Top Golf of minigolf." He aims to offer casual rounds of miniature golf alongside lessons from PGA Professionals.

"Whenever there are opportunities like this... it's my responsibility to go for it and give it 100%," he said.

The goal behind starting Yaqui-Tech Innovation Lab was precisely this—to encourage taking advantage of such opportunities. The program was recently named a semi-finalist for MIT's 2024 Indigenous Communities Fellowship.

"I help because I spent ten years in a career that I wasn't really excited or passionate about," Gomez said. "I want to show that this is possible—that there's more out there."

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