Pro surfer JODIE NELSON gets things done her way - whether it's riding waves for magazine shoots, stunt doubling for LORI LOUGHLIN on the WB's "Summerland," writing her advice column at www.surfline.com, or earning her degree. The Hurley-sponsored rider is committed to her wavework, but she values education too - especially sports marketing and sports management.

"I went to Pepperdine University (Malibu, CA) for a year and a half, but I was traveling so much for my surfing career that I took a year off to do that full time," she says. "After that, I wanted to go back to school, so I went to California State University (Long Beach, CA). I needed to decide what my major would be, but nothing they offered in particular sounded too attractive to me. I'm the type of person who won't take no for an answer, so I dug a little deeper, asked some questions, and found out there was an interdisciplinary studies program, which would let me make up my own major."

Jodie admits that she had to bust out some extra moves to ride her ideas to shore, but the result was worth it. "It was harder work up front, but it really paid off," she says. "The major I created was sports marketing management and mass communications. I had to write a 20-page proposal explaining what I want to do with the major, how each class fits into that, and then I had to get signatures from all the department heads."

Not only did her creative approach help Jodie score a degree on her own terms, but the knowledge she acquired helps her keep her head above water. "I learned about sports psychology, management, sports marketing, bargaining and negotiating, and conflict resolution," she says. "All the classes helped me so much. They gave me great skills to have as a professional athlete."

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