Nikki Noya ’00, Communication Studies, is a certified personal trainer, wellness coach, former professional volleyball player and now the co-host of TV’s first travel talk show, “The Jet Set.” During her time at URI, Noya was an A10-winning volleyball player. With support from Professor Agnes Doody, she unlocked her potential as a communicator and public speaker.

After graduating, she joined the AVP Next Pro Beach Beach Volleyball as a professional player before returning to school to become a certified personal trainer in New York City. Noya appeared on the Today Show and other programs to do fitness segments and was eventually offered the opportunity to have a “Fit to Fly” segment on The Jet Set. Since then, she has moved up to become a co-owner of On It Media and  an  executive producer and co-host of “The Jet Set.”

Why did you choose to study at URI?

I have a unique path to URI. I was a volleyball player, and I got recruited to play at URI. When you are recruited, they would bring you out for a campus visit. I was a senior in high school and wasn’t quite sure where I wanted to go to school. I was kind of open to traveling around the world. I can remember getting off the plane and going down to Narragansett. I looked around and said, “This is absolutely beautiful. This looks so fun.” So, it was volleyball that brought me to Rhode Island. I had never been [to Rhode Island] in my life. I grew up in Southern California. I’m a beach surfer girl. But URI’s volleyball program is excellent. I mean, we won A10 my freshman year, so it was an unexpected yet absolutely unbelievable experience that I had at URI. 

What made you choose to study Communication Studies?

I really didn’t know what I wanted to do. I knew I liked playing in front of large groups of people. I’m not shy. I was always the team captain in my club in high school teams. I’m used to being the kind of leader and speaker of the group. So I thought about what classes would foster my natural talents: that was public speaking, writing, English, and journalism.

I had a pivotal professor, Dr. Agnes Doody. She completely changed the trajectory of my academic life. I had a public speaking class with Dr. Doody, and we had to do a presentation that lasted the entire class. After I did my presentation, she pulled me aside after class and said, “Whatever you do, keep doing this. You have a natural gift. And I expect great things from you. You have what it takes. So go out into the world and do something big, and you have to come back to me and tell me all of the things that you’ve accomplished. Now go.”

I was maybe 20 or 21, not knowing what I would do with my career. I was more concerned with beating UMass [in volleyball] than what I would do with my career. She changed everything, and she really believed in me and gave me the confidence that I needed to pursue big things. Even now that I graduated 24 years ago, she’s still such an important figure. She taught me just to be fearless, go out there, and be brave. 

How do you use the skills you learned while at URI today?

Okay, this is number one: What students need to be doing right now is public speaking. This is the number one tool that students at URI need to practice, work on, and perfect. When you get out into the real world, no one is going to remember how great your emails or texts were. It’s how you present yourself in front of people, how you communicate interpersonally, how you talk when you’re having a business meeting, and how you pitch a story. So, I think being able to get up in front of your class and present should be something any communication student, from freshman to senior, should be doing. If you can’t get up in front of your class and rock the mic,  we have to work on that because that’s what makes you memorable.

Describe your favorite memory from your time as a student.

I really had an extraordinary experience at URI because of the volleyball team and our success as a team. The women on the team are still very good friends of mine today. When I look back at school, I think of walking into practice, I remember the clothes and knee pads smelling so bad, and I remember working together, crying together, laughing together, losing together, and winning together. I really had a wonderful, wonderful experience.

What was your path between graduating from URI and becoming the host of The Jet Set?

A  circuitous roller coaster. After I stopped playing volleyball, I thought, “Okay, what do I know the best? I know fitness. I know wellness. I know being in the gym.” So, I went back to school and became a personal trainer. And because that was just an easy fit for me. I loved it and was really good at it because it melded all of my passions together. 

I was living in New York City at the time, and I was a trainer at the sports club in Rockefeller Center, where they filmed the Today Show. So I started to do some fitness segments on the Today Show, and then I started getting more fitness segments on different shows. From there, it segued into doing more media fitness.

At the same time, some friends of mine were starting a travel show called The Jet Set, and they said, “Hey, Nikki, can you come on our new show that we’re just starting? It’s going to be a travel lifestyle show. Can you do guest segments every once in a while about how to stay fit when you’re traveling?” And I said, “Sure, I’ll fly down. No problem. I can do some fitness segments on the show.” And I called the segment Fit to Fly. 

So I would go on The Jet Set, and I would do segments every once in a while about how to keep up with your wellness program when you’re traveling or what the best snacks are to take when you’re having an adventure trip to Utah. The original female co-host got pregnant, and I didn’t have any experience being a host, but I asked to take over for her. They let me do one of the first episodes, and I was terrible, but they gave me a chance, and they gave me another chance. Then, they gave some other co-hosts a try. A little while later, I got the phone call, and they said, “Actually, Nikki, we’re gonna go with you. If you want the job, you have it.” I started out as a co-host, then I moved into being a producer, then I segued into being an executive producer, and now I’m one of the owners of the company. 

So I just kept saying yes, and I just kept failing, and I just kept saying yes. If you had told me 15 years ago that you were going to be living in Washington DC, owning a media company, and flying all over the world having amazing adventures, I would have said, “That sounds awesome, but how does that happen?” But I said yes. I believe in myself, and I am not afraid of making mistakes. I’m not paralyzed by failing. People might be disappointed, but that doesn’t affect me, and I just kept going.

What one piece of advice would you give Harrington students?

There are so many things. You should have like five different careers, so don’t freak out or worry like, “Oh, but I thought I was going to be this.” You could start out as a communications major, and then you are at a job where you meet a sports agent, and then the trajectory of your career path suddenly changes. Maybe you’re meant to be doing something else than where you are. Just be open to having different careers and not being so, like, you know, pigeonholed into doing one thing.

Another thing is you have to ask for that raise, the job, or the assignment. You have to ask. If you don’t say something, you’ll never know what will happen. Don’t be afraid of failure or someone saying no, because what if they say yes? If you don’t ask, you’re never going to know. So, really get over that fear of asking. 

The last thing I would say is to enjoy your time at URI. Learn and take as much as you can from school. Keep those contacts and those friendships because you’ll see when you’re 45 years old and graduated years ago that relationships are everything. If you leave a good impression at an event, at a job, at an assignment, or at anything, then people will remember you.