The 34-year-old Canadian hopes to tick off two bucket list items.
In April she will represent her country at the Commonwealth Games and later this year she hopes to finally complete her PhD thesis through the University of Otago.
Her hopes of winning the North East Valley women’s classic pairs are already over, however.
She was paired with Invercargill’s Kerry Williams and they were unable to recover after losing their opening game 10-8 to Noreen Paul and the experienced Mata Frankum, and went on to miss qualifying for the quarterfinals.
Cooper’s thesis has been a lengthy undertaking. She left Canada in late 2010 armed with a masters degree in geophysics from the University of Calgary.
"It has been [quite a process]," she said.
"I had a couple of years off so that has lengthened it a bit. But it is a great place, New Zealand, and I’ve enjoyed my time here."
Shortly after arriving in Dunedin she found herself carrying out seismic hazard identification work in Christchurch following the devastating earthquake in the city.
Cooper is in the middle of writing her thesis but has to juggle her studies with her bowls commitments.
She took up the sport only three years ago but was a curler before that and made a quick and successful transition from the ice to greens.
Cooper, who plays for the North East Valley Bowling Club, was selected in the Canadian women’s four last year. The team won a bronze medal in the Multi Nations event on the Gold Coast in June.
She has been selected for the women’s four and triple for the Commonwealth Games and will play as second.
While Cooper is relatively new to the sport she said her curling had provided a wonderful platform to launch her bowls career.
"For people who curl, the game of bowls appeals to them. It is similar in its strategic aspect, so I got into it that way."
Sometimes she finds herself wanting to sweep, though, and has even been known to mime the action.
"I air sweep", she said.
She enjoys the camaraderie of bowls and likes the format of the classic pairs, in which players can be teamed up with a complete stranger, depending on the outcome of the draw.
With the tournament forced indoors to the Dunedin Bowls Stadium, the games have been shortened to eight ends and Cooper and Williams suffered a close defeat in their opening game.
"We had one bad end in that game and it was really hard to come back," she said.
