Education and athletic advancement via a scholarship at an American college is now a popular pathway for Otago's most promising sports stars. Hayden Meikle meets the latest bright young thing heading for the big time.
Laura Hoskin just cannot stop smiling.
If there are nerves lurking behind that cheeky grin - fears that might be understandable in a kid who is just 18 and about to trade the quiet Otago life for the dazzling world of American college sport - she is hiding them well.
The tickets are booked. July 5. Oregon, here she comes.
''I can't wait to go. I'm fizzing. I'm a wee small Kiwi and I'm going to America,'' Hoskin said.
''It's only sort of hit me in the last few weeks. I'm so excited. I can't wait to leave and sort of start this new life.''
Her new life will be as a golfer on a full scholarship at Oregon State University, a college with an enrolment of about 27,000 in the town of Corvallis.
Hoskin, of Arrowtown, spent her first four years of secondary schooling in the St Hilda's boarding hostel in Dunedin, before switching to the Correspondence School last year. Her mates have been at university this year while she has been in full golf mode.
The college dream first surfaced about three years ago and became a reality when Hoskin played a few junior tournaments in the United States.
''I'm lucky to have parents who are really supportive. They took me to America last year and the year before to play.
''I played really well in America. I made the US junior amateur, and won a couple of tournaments. That gave me a little bit of profile and I started to get a few emails from colleges.''
One of her suitors was the University of Texas, about as big as colleges get. But Hoskin plumped for Oregon State. It is part of the elite Pac-12 conference, which contains golf powerhouses like Stanford, Washington, USC, UCLA and California.
''I really want to play against the best. Oregon State are the underdogs. But that's good for me. I can go over and make the team and start playing against these really good players. I just want to play.''
There are nine players in the women's golf squad, and five travel to any one tournament.
Former Mt Aspiring College pupil Saasha Bruce is on the rowing squad at Oregon State, while Auckland's Jesse Hamilton has just completed her freshman year on the golf team.
Oregon State alumni include New York Yankees baseball star Jacoby Ellsbury, basketball great Gary Payton, and Dick Fosbury, who developed the famous high jump style. The university also has one of the best collegiate golf courses - Trysting Tree, named for a tree where couples used to meet for a date.
Hoskin liked what she saw of the campus, and of the surrounding area. She will likely major in ''management, of some sort'' and is prepared for an intense few months as she adjusts to the demands of study and college sport.
Her family - parents Richard (a former Otago cricketer) and Sally, and 15-year-old sister Brigette - have been hugely supportive and plan an American visit at some stage.
Hoskin, who plays off a handicap of 1.0 at the Arrowtown club, first picked up a golf club at the age of 10 after being encouraged by her father.
''It took me years to get my head around it. There was this group of girls, five of us. The others were getting the ball airborne straight away, and I was hitting it along the ground.
''But I got some lessons from Robyn Boniface, and I just kept telling myself to stick at it. I think the others have all given up. I've seen lots of talented players give up, and I always vowed that wouldn't be me.''
Hoskin has worked with coach John Griffin for the last few years. She is happy with her swing, and her strengths are her driving and iron play. Chipping and putting remain a big focus, and she has been working with Dr Neki Patel at Queenstown Health on her conditioning.
Another key will be working on the mental game. In that regard, Hoskin has a good example in superstar Lydia Ko.
''She's emotionally stable, like a silent assassin. I'm a bit up and down. That's something I need to control. I'm really working on trying to be a bit more even.''
That will come with maturity, though when you look at Hoskin's bulging list of achievements - Otago No 1 at 15, New Zealand representative, qualified for the New Zealand Open and the US junior amateur, Youth Olympian - it is obvious she can call on plenty of experience.
Her hope is to complete four years at Oregon State, turn professional and join the LPGA Tour.
