Thursday, August 30, 2007
When Camilla Svensson began golfing as a 12-year-old girl, she never imagined it would take her as far away from home as the University of Kansas.
After growing up in Gothenburg, Sweden, the sophomore’s desire to pursue academic goals, as well as continue her career as a golfer, made coming to the United States an opportunity too good to pass up.
“In Sweden it’s hard to both study and play golf at the same time,” Svensson said. “I’ve always said it’s important to have an education because you never know what could happen, but I felt like I wanted to give golf a chance too.”
A number of college coaches contacted her, but Svensson found her way to the University of Kansas after hitting it off with coach Erin O’Neil at a tournament in Sweden.
“Coach O’Neil was definitely a part of why I decided to come here,” Svensson said. “Of course there were other parts too, but we had a good connection back in Sweden. I felt that she could help me improve my golf game, and she understood my way of looking at golf as well.”
Although her relationship with O’Neil played a large role in bringing Svensson to Kansas, she said her campus visit in Fall 2005 made the decision even easier.
“It’s a really nice campus, of course, and the entire athletic department is just a big family,” Svensson said. “I could tell the first time I got here that it was a good place for me. The facilities and golf courses are nice, and I wanted to be some place a little bit different.”
Once on campus, Svensson’s transition to American culture was less stressful than what many international students face.
Because students in Sweden are required to take English classes from third grade through their second year of gymnasium, the Swedish equivalent of high school, Svensson said, she came to Lawrence without a significant language barrier.
She said her ability to communicate made living in the U.S. much easier, and the positive reception she received from Americans made a distinct impression on her as well.
“I love the American people,” she said. “I love the openness and how helpful everyone is. It just makes my day that much easier.”
Despite the welcome from Americans, Svensson said not seeing her family and friends in Sweden had become difficult.
She said the distance separating her from her family had been the toughest part of adapting to life at the University. Svensson said it was hard to miss out on quality time with family and friends.
“There are a lot of things you miss at home,” Svensson said. “My brother had a baby, and she is 2 years old now. I miss a lot of time with her.”
Being away from loved ones is tough, Svensson said, but she is focused on becoming a more complete golfer and helping her teammates improve on a ninth place finish in last year’s Big 12 Championship.
Big 12 champion Amanda Costner will be impossible to replace, but Svensson said she expected to continue to improve on last year’s progress despite low expectations.
“We have a young team, so I don’t think a lot of people are going to expect much from us this year,” Svensson said. “We believe in ourselves. We know that we are good enough to definitely be there and compete for the conference title if we stick together. We’ve started something really good here,” she said.
So good that Svensson is considering making the United States her permanent home.
“I might return to Sweden for awhile,” Svensson said. “But I definitely think that I will come back and live here. I could go back to Sweden for a year to see family and friends first, but it will just depend on how I feel.”
Either way, Svensson has three more years to experience life in the Midwest before deciding on her future. She plans to make the most of it.
— Edited by Kaitlyn Syring
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Correction: August 31, 2007
Three errors occured in yesterday's University Daily Kansan. Here are the corrections.
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