Vanessa attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was a member of the D1 UMASS Dance Team. While on the team, she performed at all football and basketball games. In her senior year, the team competed in Daytona Beach, FL at the NDA National Competition placing 4th in their division. She was a New England Patriots Cheerleader for 2 seasons and ended her last game cheering on the sidelines at a Super Bowl 51 where the Patriots won in a historical win in overtime! Shortly after, she joined the Boston Celtics for 3 seasons as an NBA dancer training under Marina Ortega, owner of ProAction Dance. Vanessa has also represented the Celtics at ProAction dance where she trained in workshops with NappyTaps and Nick DMoura (choreographer to the stars such as Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande to name a few). She is currently with the Miami Heat as an NBA dancer.