Who in our club would you pick as the member most likely to have worked in a nuclear power plant? Probably not Michelle Nettles….but she worked in outage at the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power plant over a short college break. She graduated with a degree in biology from Virginia Tech. So how did she go from biology to interior design?

 

Michelle grew up in northern Virginia and enjoyed visits with her brother when he was at Virginia Tech. After getting her degree in biology, Michelle began a career in teaching. She taught biology and physics at the high school level and was the department chair at Byrd High School in Chesterfield, Virginia. Along the way, Michelle earned a Masters in Education.

 

One day while living in the Richmond area, she went to get her hair cut. One of the stylists noticed a Virginia Tech ring on Bill E. Nettles’ finger and asked him if he knew Michelle. He did not.Not afraid of the curlers in Michelle’s hair, he went over and started a conversation.That led to a date the next night….and as they say, the rest is history.

 

Bill Nettles’ career has been in construction management for various companies specializing in multi-family housing. When his career took Michelle to Dallas, she decided to pursue interior design. She had thought about switching majors in college but felt she was just too far along in her studies. She attended school at night and on the weekends. When the family moved to Atlanta, she completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts in interior design at the University of Georgia.

 

Michelle lives in Virginia Beach and is president and owner of MJN Interiors with a focus on residential design. She is listed among the best designers of Houzz.com, an honor afforded only to the top 3% of people on the website. Houzz.com is a website for people wanting to do something with her home and includes construction trades as well as designers. Michelle has done a variety of interior design projects including decorating model homes, working with an architect designing new estate homes, and helping homeowners with the design process. She loves helping her clients to make their home inviting and comfortable.

 

In her free time, Michelle loves outdoor activities—going to the beach, boating, gardening, bicycling in the Norfolk Botanical Gardens.  She also enjoys yoga and entertaining people. She also serves on the Virginia Beach Task Force on Aging.

 

Dona Overstreet introduced Michelle to Rotary and our club. Michelle was in the process of relocating to Hampton Roads and interviewed several moving companies about transporting furniture for her company. When she talked to Dona about Security Storage & Van where she works, Dona said “Why don’t you come with me to Rotary?” 

 

Michelle and Bill have two children. Melanie is also a Hokie and lives in California where she is a recruiter for U.S. Gypsum. Their son, Lee , graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is employed by Hotels.com in Dallas.