The volleyballer had just finished at Otago Girls’ High School in 2017, and with the help of her former coaches, she started exploring options to study — and play — overseas.
"I just decided to do it — going in blind," Campbell said.
"It truly was blind because I didn’t understand any of the college system over there.
"Now I’ve come back with a lot of knowledge about the process, and how it all works over there, and [that’s] kind of exciting because I can definitely help people in Dunedin or [elsewhere] in New Zealand also do what I did."
The middle-blocker enrolled at Eastern Florida State, a junior college giving her exposure for two years to understand how the American athletics system worked and provide a better opportunity to transfer to a division one college.
The 23-year-old visited Eastern Kentucky University during the transfer process and fell in love, deciding to commit for the rest of her tenure.
Packing up her life and moving 1400km south was a big adjustment — especially during the early stages of Covid-19 — as she adapted to the level of division one volleyball, a vastly different state and finding ways to socialise.
"My last two years there was a great experience," Campbell said.
Eastern Kentucky played in the ASUN conference, finishing last season ninth with six wins and 10 losses, but Campbell had a season to remember.
She started all 30 games, finishing second in the team for blocks (84) and fourth for kills (161) and points (224), and producing 28 digs and 14 aces.
It was an improvement from her first senior year in 2021, when she played eight games, finishing with four kills and six blocks, and was named on the ASUN conference honour roll.
"I guess just growing from start to finish and peaking in my final year would probably be a highlight for me."
Volleyball in the United States was light years apart from New Zealand.
Campbell had only one day off a week, combining practice, weights and games the other six.
"So the intensity, the speed, sort of the strength, and the athleticism of all the players on my team and in that conference is just sort of unmatched.
"You can’t really get that here. I think that’s the biggest difference: the speed of the game and sort of the power."
After graduating from Eastern Kentucky in December with a bachelor of science degree majoring in exercise and sports science, Campbell returned to Dunedin, and shared her experiences at a Volleyball Otago presentation last week.
She planned to play for Vikings and just take a "little break" before starting her master’s at the University of Otago next year.
