Nocola received her doctorate degree in Teacher Leadership in 2011 but chose to remain in the elementary classroom for her entire 31-year teaching career. She retired from teaching in 2022 and still finds herself substituting and mentoring youth in her Southern Maryland community. Coming from a family of educators, it is no wonder Nocola fell in love with words and reading at a very early age. She enjoys writing poetry and short stories. Her first book, Freddie the Flounder, was written in 1992 but was not published until 2022. Since the spring of 2020, Nocola and her husband Quincy have been transforming their backyard into a mini homestead, complete with a garden, chickens, and of course honeybees. The Hip Hop Homestead and her family provide the inspiration for many of her children’s books.