NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — We all know people who have incredible talent and a heart for adventure. One of those people is retiring from Vanderbilt after 54 years of service. We spoke with her about the powerful reason she's lived a life of so much variety.
This starts with a question. How can the life of Odessa Settles be told in a mere article?
"There's no way!" she laughed. "You have to pick and choose."
Her resume includes movies and work as a singer, model and nurse. You just have to start from the beginning.
Odessa was born in north Nashville during segregated times.
"Our home was one of the ones taken when they started to do the interstate," she remembered.
By the 1960s, the city was in a time of change with things like the Nashville Sit-Ins working to desegregate downtown businesses. Looking to tell stories of the Black community, Odessa was part of the original line-up of theater group the Princely Players.
"A lot of the stories had to do socially with what was going on at that particular time," she said. "We created the shows. We got to perform here at Vanderbilt several times."
Those performances led to Odessa beginning work at what is now known as the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. As a nurse, she was part of the emergency newborn transport program covering hospitals within a hundred mile radius of Nashville.
"It was the first intensive care unit on wheels for babies," she said. "Higher level hospitals would take care of community hospitals."
Over the years, she worked in music, including as choral coordinator for the adult choir in Nashville's yearly Let Freedom Sing tradition. Then there were the films. She helped with selecting singers for last year's film, Elvis. Odessa is heard on the soundtrack. Her pictures show her with director Baz Luhrman and star Austin Butler.
"I love movies anyway," she said. "It was just amazing. It was a life changing situation."
After 54 years at Vanderbilt, Odessa is retiring. Always doing the unexpected, she leaves with the immortal words of Lady Gaga.
"When I'm all choked up, and I can't find the words, and everytime we say goodbye, it hurts. When the sun goes down and the band won't play, I'll always remember us this way," she recited. "That speaks loudly to how I feel about this place."
So, why is it Odessa has lived a life of so much variety, building that long resume? Well, that goes back to a childhood in a segregated time.
"When society prevents you from taking of advantage of things just because of who you are, you're going to say, 'I'm going to do everything possible, and I'm going to do my best to make sure I have a good life in spite of it,'" Odessa said.
Odessa tells us while she's retiring from Vanderbilt, she'll never totally retire. She said she's currently doing a lot of writing and hopes to sing and perform with many more artists.
Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
