Samantha Nelson Senior Profile

- What is the best thing about being a Duke field hockey player?
Samantha Nelson: Having our own facility. It’s one of the nicest things and very unique to our team. Sometimes I wish it was a little more accessible to the rest of the student body rather than just the freshmen, but I think it’s really nice to be able to have our own field.
- What is your favorite sport to watch on TV?

SN: Since rooming with my teammate Susan [Ferger], she is an ESPN Sportscenter guru, I really like watching football.

-What is your favorite sport to play other than field hockey?

SN: I really liked soccer when I was younger. I’ve been a single-sport athlete for a number of years now, but I definitely loved soccer.

-Do you have any pre-game superstitions?

SN: Not really. I usually try to take a moment to myself in the locker room just to pull my thoughts together. It’s always really loud and people are laughing and talking, music’s playing, but I think it’s important to have a moment to yourself to collect your thoughts and focus.

-What do you watch on TV?

SN: I guess True Blood is my new TV obsession right now. There’s not so much time for TV during the school year.

-What do you have on your iPod?

SN: My favorite song right now is Sweet Disposition by Temper Trap. I’m one of those people, who, when they like a song, just plays it over and over and over again for two weeks straight, which is another thing my roommate would tell you drives her crazy about me.

-What was your first job?

SN: I’ve coach field hockey before at Duke camps, but my first in-the-workforce job was this past summer. I worked for a lobbying firm in Washington D.C. It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed it.

-Who has had the biggest impact on your life?

SN: I’d have to say my family, specifically my brother. Anybody who’s not an only child can definitely say that their siblings have had a big impact on their life and how they grow up. My little brother, Taylor, we’re about four years apart, but we’ve gotten to an age where we can be friends.

-Who is the best cook in your family?

SN: Definitely my mom, and my teammates can all tell you this because she cooks for my team and for tailgates. That’s one of the things I missed most when I started college, home-cooked meals.

-What is your favorite home-cooked meal?

SN: My mom makes incredible lemon chicken.

-What is your favorite snack?

SN: I guess this is sort of because I’m in college and it’s really easy to eat, but whenever I’m hungry I always eat bananas with peanut butter.

-What has been your favorite class at Duke?

SN: I’ve had a couple, but this semester I’m taking American Business History, which is probably the most reading I’ve ever had to do for a history class. It’s really interesting. It’s one of those classes where it’s just like reading a story that is really dramatic and never-ending; I really enjoy it.

-What has been your toughest class at Duke?

SN: Last year I had an International Relations class where we had to write a 25-page research paper and that was my first big paper in college. That was definitely the most consecutive hours I’ve ever spent in the library the week that I had all my midterms and my research paper was due. It was a marathon.

-What will you miss most about the university after graduation?

SN: Everything. I really enjoy the lifestyle of just being a student. I love being able to go to class, meet friends for lunch, then going to practice. Just walking around the Duke campus and walking to class is a pleasure, so I guess I will also miss the scenery.