28 July 2012: Teresa Odera Earns Conference Honors

Best known amongst her schoolmates as “Terry”, she helped defend successfully the Kenya National Secondary Schools Championship as a member of the Malezi High School tennis team for three years before becoming captain herself at 16 years in 2010 and leading her team to win their 9^th title. Her team was undefeated throughout her four years as a member.

Listening to Terry’s achievements is like reading a book littered with successes and promise. After completing high school, Teresa became one of the few Kenyans to earn a four-month scholarship to train at the famous Van der Meer Tennis Academy, where she joined the World Class Academy, a team of select top juniors from around the world. A few months later, Terry Odera again jetted out, this time to Southern California, the media capital of the world, on a 4-year college scholarship, that will saw her play number 5 singles and number 1 doubles position for her Vanguard University, and reaching the nationals with the team in 2011 season, while earning a degree in Cinematography.  Asked about her experiences there, Terry says, “It was tough, I was in a team of top quality European players, mostly from Russia and Sweden, and I am glad that I was able to prove myself, and earn a place in such a team, and even earning a place at nationals.”

Asked about her change to Northwestern, Terry says, “I felt that tennis is only part of my life, and Northwestern offers an excellent opportunity for me to grow academically, being ranked amongst the best small liberal arts colleges in the mid-west, with a recognized undergraduate journalism course”. She added, “Of course getting in is not easy, and one has to work hard, but it’s a great place and people here care about each other”.

Teresa started her tennis at four years, at Sadili Oval Sports Academy, and her strength in the game saw her win a silver medal at the ITF Under 13, as the youngest player in that tournament, while only just 10 years. She went on to play for her team, Malezi School, gaining experience in the game from the senior school team members. By signing up to play for a top college, Teresa is the 7^th player to qualify for college sports in the last four years, from Sadili Oval’s training programme, under professional coach, Dr. Liz Odera and her team. Terry is the daughter of Dr. Liz Odera and well known Architect Abok James Odera. Her brother Joab Odera, is also a student on scholarship in North Carolina in the USA, where he is studying Molecular Biology. Other players who have earned scholarships in the past after passing through Dr. Odera and Sadili Oval include CCAC player of the year 2011 Aziza Butoyi (Illinois), Maurice Wamukowa (Florida) and Rahab Mbugua (Alabama), amongst others.