Global Team Finds Home in Norman

International golfers from all over the world come to the United States to play in tournaments and catch the attention of NCAA coaches, and that's where OU women's golf head coach Veronique Drouin-Luttrell finds many of the girls who make up her team.

Drouin-Luttrell's squad is home to nine girls from five countries who speak four different languages. But why would a player from half way across the world feel at home in Norman?

“Our team is really family oriented. We do a lot of things together as a family,” Drouin-Luttrell explained. “You kind of know when they come on campus just the way they interact with the current players and you just know if they will be a good fit. It's rare that someone would feel unwelcome. Most of our players feel that they are at home. I feel like if I can get them on campus I can sell the university to anyone. The campus is really pretty and our facilities are so close to the dorm, so it makes it easier.”

The team enjoys spending time together outside of golf at OU football games and other events.

Freshman Julienne Soo, a South Yarra, Australia, native, had a different experience than most when choosing her future school. Drouin-Luttrell and her staff FaceTimed with Soo, who never stepped foot on campus before moving to Norman, to show her the school and the team's golf facilities

“Before I came to Oklahoma I had only been to the west coast, like California and Arizona,” Soo said. “I kind of expected America to be all the same, and obviously it wasn't, but I really like it. As soon as I saw the OU campus I was totally in love. It's so beautiful. I saw the facilities out here and thought there was nothing like this that I had ever seen before.”

Moving away for college can be tough for any student, let alone one who is international. College freshmen deal with being on their own, cooking, cleaning and being independent, but many OU golf freshmen are also dealing with learning a new culture and a new way of life.

Sophomore Valerie Tanguay, a native of Saint Hyacinthe, Quebec, decided she wanted to pursue collegiate golf in the United States about two years before she came to Oklahoma. While she was already nervous about moving to a new country, she had another problem to face. Due to classes back home, she would have to wait until January of what would be her freshman year to come to Oklahoma.

“It was hard at first. I was stressing because everyone in my class arrived at the same time and I was going to get here and start my freshman year later and everyone was going to already have their friends,” Tanguay recalled. “I was scared to be all by myself and not have friends, but it wasn't like that at all. Everyone talks to each other here and it's like a big family, not only with my teammates but with all the athletes at OU. It helped me get through that tough transition because everyone here tried to include me.”

But even though OU has created a home away from home for these international student-athletes, there are still obvious differences between the girls.

For instance, sophomore Ana Ruiz, who hails from Chihuahua, Mexico, is a health nut, so teammates like Maggie Neece from Colleville, Texas, like to take her to eat cheeseburgers and chili cheese fries at local burger joints. Freshman Karen Arimoto, a native of Kyoto, Japan, takes her teammates to eat sushi, even though she insists it's not “real” sushi. To highlight and learn about the differences among her squad, Drouin-Luttrell created a family night for her team this season where each girl was asked to bring a traditional dish that reminded them of home.

“The culture dinner was great because sometimes our teammates might forget that we're international and we go through a lot of things they may not go through because we're so far away from home,” Ruiz said. “I think those activities bring everyone into perspective of our teammates' cultures. It just makes us aware of where we all came from.”

The team had a family night and brough a dish that reminded them of home to share with the group.

Activities like the team's family night create a sense of home to Drouin-Luttrell's golfers and show the team that although they are different, they can come together for the same goal and make unexpected, but lifelong, friendships along the way.

“It's impressive to me that they spend so much time together and actually enjoy being around each other outside golf,” Drouin-Luttrell said. “It's a lot of fun watching them grow together not just on the golf course but everywhere. They get along better than a lot of teams I've been around for sure, so it's fun to keep up with them and see what all they're doing.”

From trips to the Fort Worth rodeo on team retreats, to OU football gamedays, to quick day vacations to Turner Falls, the Sooners enjoy spending most of their time together and have found a home in the relationships they've made miles away from the places they grew up.

“I still can't believe how lucky I was to find a team like this one,” Ruiz said. “I came here and I actually didn't know any of my fellow classmates. When you play golf you normally know at least someone from playing in tournaments with them before. I was really nervous about that, but I was just really lucky to find great girls. It helps you out being that close to your teammates when you're so far away from home. They get you through everything in college. I feel lucky because we have a lot of fun together outside of golf too, and that's really helpful for all of us. It's been a joy.”