She is a country girl at heart.
But after spending four months living and studying in Athens, Greece, Samantha Kempker has found her independent side and is ready for all of life's challenges.
"Hopefully I will find myself living abroad again. I could see myself living in Europe for a few years - not forever - but for a while," the Taos native said.
The youngest of four, Kempker said she has always been the adventurous one, so when she approached her parents with the idea and determination to study abroad, they were apprehensive but not surprised.
"It was something I had always wanted to do," she said. "When I went on visits to college, the first thing I always asked about was their study-abroad program."
Kempker is preparing to enter her junior year at Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla this fall.
The psychology major and research assistant lived in Greece with 12 other American students earlier this year.