I would venture to bet that most NIU students went home last weekend to see family and friends. I would also bet that home was only a car drive away.

Imagine home being on another continent thousands of miles away. That is how far Samantha Thompson came to go to NIU and play on the women’s golf team.

Thompson is a sophomore from Victoria, Australia. She is in the middle of qualifying and hopes to join the team at Illinois State for their first meet this weekend. Although she enjoys the team and NIU there is still a little piece of her that would like to be in Australia.

“It is on long weekends like this and being so far away that your network of friends becomes very helpful,” said Thompson.

Thompson’s journey to NIU began when she picked up the game at age 15. In the years that followed she played in the Australian Junior Championships which later turned into a trip to the United States on the Australian Junior National Team. It was on that trip that Thompson met NIU golf coach Pam Tyska.

“We had a meet in Indiana and I stayed with a family there,” said Thompson. “It was through mutual friends that I met coach Tyska, and I knew I wanted to go to NIU.”

The irony is that Thompson had no intentions of wanting to go to school in the United States prior to the trip. However, the idea of being able to play golf and go to school thrilled her.

“Back home all the sports are through private clubs and have no affiliation with the school,” said Thompson.

When Thompson came to NIU last fall she had an unusual freshman transition.

“For one thing, I went from winter right into summer,” said Thompson. “Then I had to get used to the school calender. We go from February to December back home. I had a hard time adjusting to being so far away from home. With all that going on it was hard for me to concentrate on my game. Golf is a mind game and I am very critical of myself. I am just glad my first year is over.”

Thompson does take a few positives from that dreadful freshman experience into this fall. She qualified for seven of the 10 tournaments last season. She has been through the rigors of qualifying and tournament play for the first time. She has also learned how to be a little less critical of herself out on the course.

“Things aren’t 100 percent, 100 percent of the time,” Thompson said.