I te marama o Hanuere 1949, i te wha o ona tau, ka heke atu a Springer me ona matua ki te United States, ka noho ki te rohe o Kew Gardens o Queens, New York. I haere ia ki te Kura Tuarua o Forest Hills e tata ana. Ko tētahi o ōna mahara tuatahi mō ngā kaupapa o nāianei, i a ia e 12 ana, e mātakitaki ana i te Huihuinga ā-Motu o te Manapori i te tau 1956
i te pouaka whakaata i kite ai ia i a John F. Kennedy.