Moraine Valley has produced many successful student-athletes who have gone on to do great things across the world in and out of athletics. This is a special series to highlight those alumni.

There are many layers to Nicole Selvaggio's Moraine Valley onion. The first of which started with a five-minute conversation with Athletics director Bill Finn.

She was a successful tennis star at Marist High School, ranking among the top 30 female tennis players in Illinois. Universities across the country were trying to nab her for their teams, but she had fully signed with and was set to head to Olivet Nazarene University on a full scholarship. Suddenly, that school didn't feel right.

After peeling off that layer, Selvaggio looked into local options to continue school and tennis. Her mom contacted Finn, who also was the head women's tennis coach at the time. He said, "Give me five minutes with her," and that was it.

"I met him in the old gym, and it literally took five minutes. It felt right. Something worked because I haven't left yet," she laughed.

Selvaggio became a Cyclone in fall 2011. Right before joining the team, she earned one of two national Novo Nordisk Donnelly awards established by tennis icon Billie Jean King. Then she went on to become NJCAA Region IV and Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference Player of the Year for two consecutive seasons and helped her 2012 team to a conference and region championship culminating with a run at the national tournament. She is one of the few Cyclones to ever win any matches at the highly competitive Big Dance.

On graduation day, Finn told her she officially would be the next women's tennis head coach to add one more layer to her experience.

"I'm the luckiest person in the world. The women's tennis team eventually got to repeat and taste that success, but I saw it from the coach's perspective," she said.

As head coach from 2013 to 2016, Selvaggio led her team to two conference and one region championship with two trips to nationals. The Cyclones were undefeated both of those Skyway championship seasons, and Selvaggio was named Skyway and Region Coach of the Year.

While coaching, Selvaggio earned a bachelor's and master's degree at Saint Xavier University and Southern New Hampshire University, respectively, becoming the first in her family to earn a college degree. She always figured she'd teach high school, but being a student at Moraine Valley changed her mind. She wanted to work with community college students to reach more minds and make a difference. In 2016, she was inducted into the college's Alumni Hall of Fame.

"My life was on a really different path. Moraine Valley has been my path ever since I was a student-athlete. They were some of the best years of my life and a big part of why I'm still at Moraine Valley today," she explained.

These days, Selvaggio is an adjunct instructor at Moraine Valley and Morton College, teaching communications and other English-based classes. She also runs the varsity girl's tennis program at Marist High School, where she was named Coach of the Year in her first season. Although she's not playing much tennis these days, she's happy to still be involved.

"It's the best of both worlds in academics and tennis. I love working with student-athletes. It gives me a chance to still be involved with tennis," she said.

Reflecting back on her time as a Moraine Valley student-athlete, Selvaggio can't help but boast about how that experience has shaped her life.

"I had such support from my teammates and the Athletics Department, the school was so supportive and treated me with respect. I also had experience competing at nationals in Texas and Arizona, then I got the keys to the office when I became coach," she said. "I'm very proud. There were so many layers to my Moraine Valley onion. I've won so many awards, made it to nationals, relived winning moments as a coach, the Hall of Fame. It's been one blessing after another. So many doors have opened because of Moraine Valley."

If you want to share your Moraine Valley Athletics alumni experience, email Vizzam@morainevalley.edu.