Today we’d like to introduce you to Nelly Mullen.
Hi Nelly, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Hi there! My name is Nelly, or if we met in High School, Dan. If we met in College, Dani. If we met abroad in England- or anytime after, you would know me as Nelly although my full name is Danielle. I am a former rocket scientist, current actress and artist, and future singer/songwriter.
I was born and raised in Colorado, from Littleton, to Parker, to Golden. I was always the studious, athletic, and outgoing one in High-School. From being student body president to captain of the volleyball team, I was always ambitious with whatever I had going on in my life.
I then attended Colorado School of Mines on scholarship to play volleyball and get a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. It was there that I was tested to my limits academically, mentally, and physically through the academic rigor of classes and conditioning through volleyball.
I was faced with challenges bigger than my calc 3 homework, but with impostor syndrome and crippling anxiety, it was through my incredible teammates and family’s support that I not only made it through, but also achieved honors when graduating. I also had the incredible opportunity to study abroad in Rome for a summer semester after my freshman year, which was some of the most adventurous and exhilarating incredible weeks of my life.
My whole life, I have chased something bigger. Each and every year testing what I am capable of achieving. It was after college that I was faced with an opportunity to travel abroad to Newcastle, England, to continue playing volleyball while getting a master’s degree. It was a no-brainer for me. In my year abroad, I traveled to Portugal, Spain, Ireland, and Scotland while having some of the most incredible adventures of my life. I skydived in Portugal, ran through castles in Ibiza, frolicked through fields in Scotland, and made some of my best friends, who live all around the world.
After my year abroad, I came home to start my full-time job as a Systems Engineer at Lockheed Martin, working on the Orion Program for the Artemis Missions. From writing technical reports to presenting test results to executives, I was in my dream job… until my dream changed. Sitting in mission control sending commands to a spacecraft, you would think I would be through the roof with excitement, as this was my dream job I had worked for my entire life. But ultimately, I was filled with a void. Outside of work, I am a creative. I sing, paint, model and most recently, act. I modeled in a few runway shows in Denver, CO, and absolutely loved it.
My love for TV and film is nothing new, but I had never seen myself on the big screen until I was watching Top Gun: Maverick, where Monica Barbaro was flying jets with her male counterparts. I related to her as a woman in STEM, constantly surrounded by men, and it was in that moment that I thought to myself, I could be her. I WANTED to be her.
Thus, I started taking acting classes and continued my development in the craft of acting. In college and in my first career as an adult, I was surrounded by people chasing toxicity. In college, it was a competition of who could be the most stressed while juggling the most tests and assignments, and in my first career, it was a competition of how many hours you worked a week. Oftentimes, my counterparts and I would be getting into the 70s. My acting classes were the first environment I had been in in a while where I was surrounded by people who wanted me to get better because they could see the potential in me. It wasn’t a competition; it was a support system. I booked my first feature film while living in Colorado, and still working as a rocket scientist, which was a fun conversation starter on set.
I fell in love with being on stage, performing, and embodying characters’ stories. After 3 years working as a Systems Engineer, I decided I wanted to pursue my creative ambitions more full-time. My life in Colorado was comfortable, but it made me feel claustrophobic. My biggest fear is that I will get to the end of my life and realize the only thing that held me back from reaching my potential was me. So, I left my job, packed my belongings, and moved to Los Angeles.
I love Los Angeles. It is a city full of dreamers trying to make it in industries nearly impossible to break into. Nearly every person you meet is a creative, and it’s equally inspiring and intimidating. I flipped my life upside down and have been trying to find the surface ever since. It has been everything but easy, and that is what I love about this adventure called life. Figuring out who I am outside of the career and sport I had dedicated nearly my entire life to has been the biggest challenge I have faced so far and I cannot wait to continue chasing my dreams, even when they change!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
ABSOLUTELY NOT! There have been many things throughout my life that have challenged my family and me. Wearing a back brace throughout my middle and High-School years formed me into who I am today, challenging me to embrace who I am despite my differences from other girls.
My parents, both of whom had different forms of cancer at different stages of my life, taught me the importance of living with purpose and perseverance. Life is so incredibly precious, and we must tell those we love that we love them every day. Both my mom and dada are the strongest, most resilient people I know, and I don’t know how I would have done anything in my life without their constant support.
There have been broken bones, torn ligaments, surgeries, and other things I’ve faced, but none of which haven’t helped me grow and appreciate the body and the life I have. There is quite literally nothing worse to a college athlete than sitting on the sideline, injured, unable to play the sport that gives you life. However, it was on the sidelines that I learned the importance of watching, observing, analyzing, and being there for my teammates no matter what.
I had extremely tough coaches in college, who pushed me past my breaking point time and time again. It got to the point where I felt I was not a good human being if I wasn’t performing well on the court. I worked so hard, physically and mentally, but never felt good enough. It was in college that I developed a very toxic trait of learning to rely on approval from the authoritative figures in my life to feel content. A trait I am still working to overcome.
The biggest challenge I face currently is myself. I am often, as most artists are, the most critical of myself. To the point where sometimes I forget who I am completely. Through therapy and a lot of self-reflection, I am learning to become my biggest cheerleader as opposed to my biggest enemy that I have been for the last few years. It is not easy, but I am excited to work through it.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am an artist, a model, an actress, and working towards writing music.
As an acrylic artist, I have untraditionally painted on anything but a canvas. I started painting on vinyl records when I was a freshman in college, getting commissions ever since, and have painted and sent over 50 records to people around the country. As an indecisive person in general, I always loved the guidance commissions provided me as an artist. I got provided a list of things the client liked, then I got to use my artistic vision to combine them into one cohesive piece.
This went on for years, and up until this year, I loved doing them. I still do, but I wanted to figure out what my style was as an artist. I had only ever created for people, never for myself.
In attempts of creating art for myself, I started creating canvases out of recycled denim, which I have so cleverly titled “Janvases” (Jean + Canvas). I have started to take a surrealistic approach to my art and am loving figuring out what my style is.
It is in this journey of trying to find the artistic style that I have been faced with crippling perfectionism, worse than ever before. Oftentimes, I will sit in front of stacks of papers with sketches of ideas I have for paintings and never be able to paint out of fear that I chose the wrong idea to move forward with. As many artists can attest to, we all have our issues and self-critics. Sometimes worse and more crippling than others. It is in these moments of indecision that I have to remind myself that I will get nowhere if I don’t start somewhere.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
In the wise words of my middle school principal, Mrs. Tarbell, “Make it a great day or not, the choice is always yours”
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.nothinbutnellysart.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nothin.but.nelly/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-mullen-a06a22189/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Nothin.but.Nellyyy
