“No one likes getting their nails done more than I do. As a matter of fact I go every four days to get a manicure and every seven days for a pedicure,” says tennis superstar Serena Williams, who surprised fans by enrolling in a Palm Beach, Fla., nail school in March. As she explains in her globalgrind.com blog, “I had a brilliant idea to get certified to be a nail tech. Besides the fact that I am coming out with a nail collection from a company called HairTech, I thought ‘Serena this is a no brainer.’ Immediately after I came home from the Australian Open I researched some schools and enrolled in a course that allowed me to complete 240 hours.” Williams intends to complete the course in a year, rather than the usual six weeks.

In the blog, Williams made it clear she’s bringing both her work ethic and sense of style to class, staying up the night before to study for a few hours so she could get ahead. She also came prepared. “The night before my class I made sure I had all my tools, books, and gear organized. I went to the Hello Kitty store and bought plenty of containers as well as a backpack to keep my belongings,” she wrote. “Not only do I plan on being the top student to graduate from my nail school, but I also intend on being the most fashionable! We have to wear blue scrubs. So I asked the administrator if I can wear pink, but she insisted on blue.”

Her first day brought the challenge of a pedicure on a fellow student: “When I got there, they immediately had us do pedicures on each other. I wanted to make sure I did it just the way the real salons do it, so I began with asking the girl if she wanted any water to drink. I was so relieved when she said no, because honestly, I didn’t have any to give her. Then I asked her to pick a color and she said French! I’ve never done French, but I was determined to not butcher it. Luckily, thanks to my weekly pedicures I took my time and it came out great. I know it wasn’t just me thinking I did good because all of the other girls kept asking if I had done this before,” she wrote.

We’ll keep you posted on her progress on our “From the Editors” Blog (http://blogs.nailsmag.com/editor).