Phoebe Schecter was still getting used to life in a new country.
At the age of 22, she had moved on her own from the United States to the United Kingdom.
She had been living and working in rural Cheshire for about two months and was starting to feel a little homesick, a little lonely.
She then chanced upon an advert on social media and made a bold decision.
"It changed the complete trajectory of my life," she says. "It's been the best decision I’ve ever made."
That decision has taken the 34-year-old into the world of the NFL. It may yet take her to the Olympics.
Schecter has become one of the key figures in the NFL's international broadcast operation
Growing up in Connecticut, Schecter's main ion was horse riding and, after studying equine business management, she began working with horses.
Schecter, whose mother is British, made use of her dual citizenship in 2012, accepting a job at an equestrian centre near Congleton and opening out her horizons.
"I needed something new in my life," she says. "I needed a change of scenery, a new challenge."
It was a challenge. Schecter was working six days a week, but during her limited downtime she began scrolling online and saw something about a women's American football team.
In February 2013, she attended a trial in Manchester and a new ion was born.
"I had moved by myself so was definitely missing home," she says. "I really wanted to meet new people and get a bit of American culture.
"I saw the ad and just went for it. When you're out of your comfort zone, you're so much more willing to take risks, and that's kind of what happened with me.
"Because of my accent they thought I could throw the ball, but there was no correlation at all. I had no idea what I was doing.
"But I was enthusiastic, I was ionate. I'd never played a sport before but there seemed to be some sort of calling towards it."
Schecter didn't just find a new community, she found a new way of life, which has taken her all over the world.
She has become a role model and a trailblazer, going inside an NFL locker room as a coach and to the Super Bowl sidelines as a broadcaster.
And she could even go to the Olympics as a player, as this week she represents Great Britain at the Flag Football World Championships.
Schecter (left) on the sidelines of one of the NFL's international games in Frankfurt last season, with fellow analyst Jason Bell
More than a decade after seeing that social media ad, Schecter is one of the UK's biggest American football personalities.
But don't let her accent fool you. Her love of American football blossomed in the UK.
"When I was in the States, I watched maybe two Super Bowls," she says. "I hate to say it now, but I thought the sport was so boring. I didn't understand it at all.
"So now, to think I was able to work my way up and go to the NFL, it's kind of one of those pinch-me things, that you don't believe is real."
Soon after the trial in Manchester, Schecter became one of the founding of the GB women's tackle football team. She also started playing flag football - the non- version of the game, which will make its Olympic debut at Los Angeles 2028 - and with the Staffordshire Surge, a men's tackle team.
She took an interest in coaching and in 2016 did the first of three internships at American universities. Then in 2017, she did the first of two internships with the Buffalo Bills, becoming Britain's first female coach in the NFL.
Having not grown up with the game, Schecter says she "came into this whole experience knowing I was behind the eight ball - I had to fast-track my learning".
She created her own glossary to help herself with the game's terminology. She printed pictures of the Bills' coaching staff so she'd know who was who. She ed as many meetings as possible and continually asked questions.
"It was a baptism of fire," she says. "It was definitely a huge learning curve. But being curious has been really helpful for me. I was doing whatever I could to build my experience and absorb as much information as possible.
"I wanted to learn and was so ionate. I had consistent, positive energy - every single day, no matter what the result was at the weekend. It may seem like nothing, but it’s actually really important.
"Once you understand the value you bring to a team, it gives you that boost of confidence of 'I know why I’m here, I know what I can do'."
The NFL is a male-dominated environment but Schecter tried to ignore the fact she was one of the few women clocking in at the Bills' training facility each day.
"If you go into that experience thinking 'oh my gosh, I'm the only woman here', you already have the wrong mindset, your focus is going to be on the wrong thing," she says. "I was there to be the best educator and coach I can be, regardless of my background.
"Some of the guys were saying 'hey, what can't I say around you">