Conversations with Angela O.

Today we’d like to introduce you to Angela O.

Hi Angela, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I was born in Nairobi, Kenya on October 31st. I come from a family of 6 and I am the youngest out of four children. We immigrated to Dallas, Texas in 2001 so I was raised in the states. I had a really great upbringing as I was surrounded by so much love and support from my family. My siblings and I were always encouraged by our parents to always give 100% to whatever we do.

I have always been super driven and studious my entire life. I would spend my summers either shadowing, volunteering, or doing neuroscience research. I loved academically challenging myself. In addition, I loved makeup and being in front of the camera since childhood. As a child, I would drag my father to any acting audition I heard of or any meeting I had with talent/modeling agencies. My interest in glam and taking photos often led to others assuming that there wasn’t that nerdy side of me that loved research and has aspirations of one day becoming a doctor. Because I was often underestimated, that further drove me to academically excel in all subjects. By the end of high school, I was president of multiple clubs, Vice-president of the student body, and was voted “Most likely to succeed”. I was accepted into a dual-degree BS/DMD program at Nova Southeastern which meant I got provisional acceptance into their dental program, at 18 years old. I double majored in Behavioral Neuroscience and Biology with a minor in Health. My heavy college workload coupled with various extracurricular activities forced me to place my creative side on the back burner. However, it was not all in vain, as I was accepted to over three dental schools by my senior year!

I moved to Los Angeles, as a student, to start my new journey toward saving smiles for a living. Through the past six months here, I have been able to also dive back into creative projects and take up modeling in my free time! I have been featured in Megan thee Stallion “Hottieween” short film, A$AP Rocky’s Need for Speed music video, ad campaigns for Stella Rosa, and much more! I am excited for what the next day holds and hope to build a strong network in SoCal for when I start my own dental practice in the future! I aim to inspire other professional students to try to carve time for their hobbies. Spending a few hours doing an activity you love is beneficial to one’s mental health. In order to provide quality care to your patients, it is important that you are happy and healthy.

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?
Relocating from Dallas, TX to Fort Lauderdale, FL was tough as I didn’t have any family in Florida. I had to quickly adjust and fend for myself knowing that I am my own support system at the moment. I appreciate that I adopted this survival trait early because it made my move to Los Angeles very seamless.

Throughout schooling, I experienced imposter syndrome and feeling constantly worried that I could potentially let myself and my family down. I also made an effort during undergrad to not let that discourage me in my academic journey because it is important that I truly believe in my abilities in order to perform my best.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am currently a first-year dental student. I hope to specialize after four years but I am keeping my options open. I am also a part-time freelance model. I do E-commerce, brand ambassador, music videos, and a bit of acting. I hope to dive more into acting and book commercials, TV shows, and etc when time allows.

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
My family played a huge role in who I am today–their relentless support of my endeavors has provided ease in my journey thus far.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: instagram.com/relaxshawty

Image Credits
@leahshoots @photo__mark