Courtesy of Madi Thomsen

Rosie O'Neal was a four-year soccer player for the Campbell women's team before her time as a student-athlete got extended unexpectedly. She flourished during her time as a college athlete, becoming a team captain her senior year along in route receiving Second Team All-Big South Honors. As a key part of the women's soccer team at Campbell, she also became a key part of another team on campus this past spring. Rosie was asked to join the lacrosse team after she thought that her years as a college athlete were over. As a forward on the soccer field, a goalie on the lacrosse field, and a loved student and friend on campus, Rosie reflects on her four years in the Creek.

Question: What led you to Campbell University?
Rosie O'Neal: "I loved how welcoming everyone was on campus, from the first person that I talked to, to the last. Everyone seemed genuinely interested in me and wanted to make me feel comfortable. That was really important because I was going to be away from my family and knew that I needed a good support system."
Q: Was your experience at Campbell, athletically and academically, what you thought it would be when you committed in high school? In what ways was it the same/different? 
RO: "My experience was completely different than what I imagined it would be in the best way possible. Coming in, I did not think that I would have the amount of success that I had on and off the field. I was able to be selected as an all-conference player and hold a few leadership positions while maintaining good grades."
 
Q: If you were a high school student again, would you do anything differently to prepare for college as an athlete and student or even change the school you went to? Why? 
RO: "I would not change the school I went to, but I would change how I conducted my recruiting process. I was very unprofessional and did not take it seriously. The other thing that I would change would be to take my fitness more seriously rather than just winging it."
 
Q: What made you want to play two sports in college?
RO: "I did not know that I wanted to play two sports until I was approached by the lacrosse coach in January. One of their other goalies was injured and would not be able to play this season. They needed a backup and I was a good fit, I guess. What really made me want to do it was that I knew so many of them off the field, so I wanted to be able to help out if that meant that they could have a better season."
 
Q: What was the biggest challenge you faced athletically in your four years with soccer?
RO: "For soccer, my biggest challenge was being mentally tough enough to be successful. I learned that I can push through being uncomfortable. I was able to take criticism and use it to help rather than letting it break me down."
 
Q: What was the biggest challenge you faced with lacrosse?
RO: "My biggest challenge for lacrosse was with the entirety of the sport. I had never played lacrosse before and only knew some basic rules and lingo, so I was having to learn a lot in a short amount of time."
 
Q: What was the biggest trial you faced in your four years off the field?
RO: "The biggest trial that I faced off the field was when I sustained a concussion my freshmen year. It was a challenge because I was always in pain, upset, or angry, and I was not able to perform in class the way that I was able to before. What made all of that worse was that I began to feel isolated. I was only allowed to go to class, the dining halls, and be in my dorm which led me to being alone a lot."
 
Q: Who was your biggest mentor during your college athletic experience and in what ways did they help you or teach you? 
RO: "My biggest mentor in college has been my soccer coach, Samar Azem. I may not have always agreed with her on the field, but she has helped me become a better leader and person, more than I ever thought I would become. She has given me a space to be vulnerable when I need it. She has also shown me that I should push myself to do things that make me uncomfortable, which has helped me be successful in other commitments that I have on campus."
 
Q: What is the biggest takeaway you had from playing college soccer for four years and then transitioning into another sport at the end of your college career?
RO: "That people are capable of so many different things if they let themselves be in the moment. I was scared when I went to my first lacrosse practice because I had no idea what I was doing, I'm not going to lie. Honestly, I was not trying to embarrass myself. I then had to realize that having that mindset was going to be the reason that I did not perform well because I would be over thinking it and play scared. I had to just let myself be free and ask questions when I did not know what was going on, which was most of the time. I had to let myself fail because that was the only way I was going to learn."
 
Q: How does it make you feel that your lacrosse career got cut short?
RO: "The lacrosse season getting cut short actually hurt a lot more than I thought it would since I had not been on the team long. It hurt because I thought about what it would have been like if this had happened during the soccer season, and how I would have felt if I was not able to have a senior night or battle for a conference championship. It is something that you work so hard for and that we were working towards as a team, but did not get to do."
 
Q: Does it give you closure or a sense of relief that you got to finish your soccer career even though you did not finish your lacrosse career? 
RO: "This makes me appreciate my final soccer season much more. Of course, I appreciated it to begin with, but it is different now that I know that it could have been cut short and that my story would have felt unfinished."
 
Q: If you had the chance to be at school one more time, what is the one thing you would do? 
RO: "I would say bye to my friends. There are some people that I knew on campus that I may not be able to ever see again or that I will not see for a long time. So, I would at least want to get a little bit of closure."