Below the names on the back of their golf bags rests a flag signifying the places that helped raise them. It’s a mixture of five countries spanning three continents and yet one Penn State emblem adjacent to those flags brings them together as a family in Happy Valley.
Half of Penn State’s team hails from outside the United States including a trio of freshmen with Thailand’s Jiratchaya Jiratthitinun, Turkiye’s Zeynep Sualp, France product Lauren Thompstone and junior Myranda Quinton from Canada.
Blended with Pennsylvania freshman Gwendolyn Powell and a trio of seniors Michelle Cox, Jami Morris and Drew Nienhaus, a true mixing of cultures happens every day on the course and beyond.
5️⃣ countries represented on this year’s roster! 🇺🇸 🇨🇦 🇫🇷 🇹🇭 🇹🇷 #WeAre #PSUWGOLF pic.twitter.com/gdr1kut5wu
— Penn State Women’s Golf (@PennStateWGolf) August 29, 2024
Jiratthitinun first met head coach Kristen Simpson during a recruiting trip for the latter at one of the premiere stages in junior golf; the 2022 Callaway Junior World Championships in San Diego, California. Jiratthitinun took home gold in the event and has found a home over 8,600 miles away from Bangkok, Thailand thanks to Nienhaus who’s taken the first-year under her wing.
“On the first day I was back this summer, we had our alumni and friends tournament,” Nienhaus said. “I played with Yaya [Jiratthitinun], and I literally asked her a million questions, and she asked me a million questions too. I got to know her just within four hours, and I know her whole life story.”
Simpson’s trips to Europe helped land Sualp and Thompstone who are over 5,300 and 3,700 miles away from home, respectively. Sualp served as the captain for the Turkish National Team for two seasons and said “there was no other choice for me” after building an already strong relationship with Simpson and Penn State.
Sualp said Penn State is a reminder of her hometown in Marmaris, Turkiye, with the mountains and natural beauty of the 169-year-old campus. She said the vibrant colors of State College’s nature have given her a steady slice of home.
That sense of home for Thompstone was felt through a computer screen in France where she connected with Simpson on a zoom call during her recruiting process. Simpson took Thompstone on a virtual tour of the facilities and the Paris product immediately tabbed the short game area as a launching pad for development.
The international trio of freshmen have already curated a close bond going through the same journey together. Simpson said they’ve all brought fresh ideas and fresh perspectives to the team including Thompstone who’s embraced bringing her culture to the table full of different tastes.
“I think my French side, my European side, brings a bit of a different sense of humor,” Thompstone said. “Different jokes and a bit of a different personality but that's what makes this team. The diversity makes it so special and we have a lot to talk about. A lot of different things to try. We’ve definitely planned a few Turkish food nights.”
Quinton was once in the shoes of an international freshman two years ago and took the responsibility of ensuring that the group had a smooth transition to Penn State. A native of Burlington, Ontario, - over five hours from State College - Quinton texted the newcomers and made it known that she would be a valuable asset.
Those messages of support and clarity stood out to Thompstone who said it was a “relief” to have someone else that understood the dynamics of coming to college as an international student athlete.
“I reached out to them and made sure they knew what they were doing because there's a lot of stuff you need to do before you get here,” Quinton said. “A bank account, phone number, immigration; all of that stuff I went through as a freshman, and I was super confused, because there's so much information coming at you. Helping them comb through that information and what you need to learn and then when you get here, what kind of orientations you need to go to, what information is important, what information isn't important.”
Cox, Morris and Nienhaus have also immersed themselves into their roles as leaders for the group and have placed a focus on creating “a family atmosphere.” Nienhaus is 12 hours away from home in St. Louis, Missouri, and has been able to build a connection with the newcomers on trips to the gas station. “They were amazed about slushies,” Nienhaus said.
Doing the little things have gone a long way in building the culture including trips to Chick-Fil-A or Chipotle for international players that have yet to experience it. Morris said that between the TikTok’s in the locker room, the team nights together and having one-on-one conversations with the freshman, the seniors are focused on leaving, “a good mark on this team.”
Morris said she’s been impressed with the way the freshmen have been open and honest about asking for help and that’s been a two-way street with the seniors reaching out as well. “They make me feel like I’m at home,” Jiratthitinun said. “They made sure that I didn’t feel left out being so far from home. They always check up on me, asking ‘are you ok, how are you doing?”
“I tell them all the time we are their people,” Simpson said. “Megan [Furtney] and I become their moms and the girls on the team become their sisters. The internationals rely on their teammates and us way more because Mom and Dad aren't coming. Mom and Dad can't come to tournaments where my American players, their parents come to events… Drew [Nienhaus], Michelle [Cox], Jami [Morris] and Myranda [Quinton] have loved it, they've embraced it, and they've done a really nice job of getting them acclimated really quickly.”
Powell has spent the first month of the fall season absorbing the different cultural dynamics her fellow freshmen classmates have brought. She’s been captivated with cultural diversity research and has talked to her teammates about differences in the way different communities eat and dine for a blog post in her honors English class.
Powell is familiar with different cultures as an adopted child from China to parents of Polish heritage. The Madison Township, Pennsylvania, native shared her upbringing gave her many “interesting experiences with culture” but said that golf is a game of unity that can bring those cultures together.
“Golf is such a technical sport where we learn the same things even though we're thousands of miles away from each other,” Powell said.
Simpson tells her players the relationships built between the eight teammates will last long after the days of college golf are over. She shared her own experience as a coach of numerous international players and knows when she’s in different areas of the world she can pay a visit to someone. “I tell the girls you literally will have friends for life, that you'll be able to travel the world,” Simpson said.
Establishing those lifelong bonds with the international and American players is something that Nienhaus has taken to heart during her final season at Penn State. She recognized how the international flare of the team has given her friends forever in each corner of the world.
“As an athlete from America, you have an idea of what it's going to be like in college, but then when you come from another country, you obviously have no idea,” Nienhaus said. “What's been really cool is hearing what it's like over in Thailand, over in France, over in Turkey, or Canada… I want to go there and experience that.”