Samantha Hurst

Kangaroo hurler wants to travel, save the forest

By: Elyssa Brogdon

Posted: 3/31/08

Junior pitcher Samantha Hurst enjoys being on the softball field and in the woodlands. She's an environmental science major and somewhat of a "green" advocate.

"I like being outdoors a lot and I like studying the different issues with the environment like global warming and waste management," Hurst said. "I'm hoping to do something like forest restoration, but I don't think the curriculum here covers that. But, hopefully I'll get to do something like that in the future."

The future is definitely on Hurst's mind, and she knows what she wants and doesn't want for herself.

"I don't want the standard 2.3 kids in the suburbs or a white picket fence," Hurst said. "I want to travel a lot, so I want to find a job that lets me travel. I just want to see everything."

Hurst is already on her way to seeing "everything." Before she pitched for the Roos, the Kangaroo junk ball pitcher grew up in Melbourne, Fla., and played a year for Tennessee State University.

Hurst said nothing of being homesick, but admits the Florida weather was hard to leave behind.

"I'm weather sick definitely and I really miss the ocean," Hurst said. "I like 70-degree weather all year round. That's nice. And I like predictable weather."

One of the reasons Hurst left the "Sunshine State" was softball.

At age 7, softball piqued her interest when a flyer was handed out at school. She told her father she wanted to play and softball has "pretty much been [her] life" ever since.

"Playing softball has actually improved my life, because I've learned and experienced stuff that other people don't get to experience," Hurst said.

Years later, the Roo hurler is in a similar situation, much like when she started. She is on a new team.

"The fact that our team is completely different this year and the fact that we have such a young team has helped me grow up and be more responsible," Hurst said. "I have matured."

Besides giving her a unique experience and helping her grow as a person, softball "satisfies [her] competitive edge."

Being competitive for Hurst not only stems from the desire to succeed, but also to prove herself to non-believers.

"People underestimate me," Hurst said. "I'm a really goofy person, so people think I don't have the ability to do things well."

Hurst sees her goofiness as her biggest weakness, but also as her biggest strength. She said she has a good attitude and can find humor in anything.

Hurst has done a great deal in her life to prove to others just how determined she can be about doing things her way.

In high school, Hurst was involved in several clubs and organizations. She did the morning announcements and played several musical instruments.

"I marched French horn [in marching band] and played French horn in concert band," Hurst said. "Then my senior year I marched trombone. I just wanted to switch it up, and I thought it was a fun thing to learn. And I can play trumpet and baritone also, so basically every brass instrument besides tuba."

Hurst was also successful in learning how to knit.

"I knit. I found some knitting needles in my house and I was like 'oh look, mom teach me how to use these,'" she said.

Another hobby, another day in Samantha Hurst's unpredictable, though always interesting, life.

ebrogdon@unews.com