By Janet L. Molinaro

Nikki O’Dell ’01 – successful entrepreneur at 26 and actress on a rising star – never took business or acting classes at Old Dominion, yet credits much of her achievement to her college education. It’s as much about attitude as academics.

“I had some awesome professors. My professors in women’s studies gave me the confidence to step out and to be a strong woman. They empowered me,” said O’Dell.

With ownership of a business and a prime acting role in a recent PBS documentary on her resume, O’Dell has put the assertiveness training to work.

She received her bachelor’s degree in foreign languages and literatures with a minor in women’s studies, and also earned an advanced study certificate at the University of Costa Rica, San José. Family ties brought her back to the Washington, D.C., area after graduation where she began working as a Spanish-speaking liaison for an investment firm.

But it proved to be too confining and predictable. “I hated it,” she said. “When you sit in a boring cubicle, it sparks your imagination. I started thinking, ‘What else could I be doing?’“

She recalled a project she initiated as president of the ODU Spanish Club to introduce schoolchildren and their parents to Spanish language and culture at Cedar Elementary in Chesapeake. The idea was so popular that she had to hire additional ODU students to teach the classes.

Along those same lines, O’Dell launched Bi-Lengua in 2001 (www.bilengua.com). Serving children, adults and corporations, the company offers foreign language and cultural education, translation and interpretation for 10 different languages.

The acting bug bit in January 2003. O’Dell had appeared in small parts on the Discovery Channel in 2002, after a chance encounter with a Virginia Beach talent scout. This time, she set her sights on “Slavery and the Making of America,” a four-part series. She was hired to portray Harriet Jacobs, a slave who ran away after being forced to submit to her owner’s sexual advances. It first aired on PBS stations in February 2005.

She has also acted on stage, television and in commercials. “Acting is fulfilling. You complete a task and you are a part of a product. You get immediate satisfaction. Plus, the people involved are so fun, so creative and so diverse.”

In recent months, O’Dell has poured her enthusiasm into yet another project. She is managing the “members-only” portion of an elite nightclub in the D.C. area. She will play a large part in a family-values initiative at the nightclub with celebrities like Cuba Gooding and Tom Cruise.
For all her success, O’Dell remains humble about the opportunities that have come her way. “I was never the student who won the awards,” she said, noting that she was cut twice from the ODU basketball team after trying out as a walk-on. “I say that I’ve lived my life backwards. I didn’t do all the usual activities when I was growing up because we couldn’t afford them. I didn’t really start living life until after college. I count every blessing. My life is great!”