Not every athlete finds their love of a sport during childhood, and not every student decides on their college by the end of senior year.

Nora Ferguson is one person who claims both.

A freshman on the cross country and track and field teams, Ferguson said she found her love of running by accident, and selected her college less than a month before school started.

Ferguson said she began running her freshman year of high school to stay in shape for soccer. At first she did not like it, but began to see results.

“My high school coach really saw my potential,” Ferguson said. “He pushed me and got me going into it. From that point on, after I started seeing the results and what I was capable of doing, I really started to love it.”

After quitting soccer to focus on track, she began thinking about taking the next step into college running. The decision was not too difficult for her to make.

“I basically thought to myself, ‘Could I imagine not competing and not being a part of a team?'” Ferguson said. “When I thought about that, I couldn’t imagine not doing it, so I knew I had to stick with it.”

A Schaumburg native, Ferguson said most runners from her high school who want to continue running after high school attend North Central College. She had the same plans until August, when she had a change of heart. Having only applied also to NIU, Ferguson came to DeKalb and walked on to the cross country team.

Running on the cross country team in the fall prepared Ferguson for her mid-distance competition during the track indoor and outdoor seasons. Her superstitious behavior before her runs also contributes to her preparation, she said.

“I always listen to certain songs before I race,” she said. “I listen to Dixie Chicks; it gets me going. There’s a song called ‘Ready to Run.'”

Fellow 800-meter runner Rebecca Cronin said Ferguson’s supportive attitude helps the team.

“Nora is a great teammate, always on the track supporting everyone else,” Cronin said. “She can push herself as a competitor to improve in each meet.”

Ferguson has found success on the track as part of the indoor 4×800-meter relay team that set a new school record of 9:44.70 at the Indiana Wesleyan University Invitational, for a third-place finish.

Outside, she has posted personal bests of 2:22.39 in the 800-meter run and 5:01.53 in the 1,500-meter run.