When Southwestern Michigan College alumna Samantha Mathews sees her first National Football League game Sept. 17 it will be from an enviable vantage point — field level of 75,525-seat Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.

In May, Mathews won one of 32 coveted spots as a TopCat, the Carolina Panthers dance troupe.

Mathews, who turned 24 in July, started dancing at age 3.

“They are a really good group,” Mathews said. “The first girls I met at auditions were engineers, financial advisors and teachers. I am very blessed to be on the team.”

Mathews, daughter of SMC President David and Sarah Mathews and the late Janet Mathews, graduated from Dowagiac Union High School in 2011 and from SMC May 4, 2013, with an associate in arts degree with a business concentration.

She performed in 15 SMC shows by age 12, including “The Crucible” and “The Diary of Anne Frank,” when Maryanne Arena directed theatre.

Mathews then concentrated on dance studies with Amy Rose at Encore School of the Arts in Dowagiac.

Continuing her education at Western Michigan University, Mathews finished her bachelor’s degree in organizational communications and business in December 2014.

Last year’s TopCats squad included wives and mothers, a medical student, a cardiac nurse, a special educator, teachers from third grade to high school math and science and dance instructors.

Dancers have also come from advertising, accounting, communication/public relations, sports management and dentistry.

“There are a few students, but we mostly have fulltime jobs. Almost all come from dance backgrounds,” she said.

Mathews, who works in the staffing industry, said “rookies” such as herself compose half the squad. Her captain is a seven-year veteran.

In introductory videos on the team website, TopCats extol their positive experiences in this black-silver-and-blue-clad “sisterhood” and the “exhilaration” of performing before 75,000 roaring fans, which most never experience except vicariously as spectators.

“I hear it feels like you’ve been hit by a bus,” the certified personal trainer said.

This is partly due to the stamina demanded performing four times during the game.

Right out of college, Mathews appeared during the 2015-16 season with the Grand Rapids Drive, a Detroit Pistons minor-league affiliate. One teammate advanced to the Detroit Lions’ “Pride” cheerleaders.

“Sammy” has been in bigger stadiums, such as the University of Michigan’s “Big House” in Ann Arbor — but only in the stands.

“This will be my biggest audience,” she said of the home opener.

When the Panthers play the Buffalo Bills, after a road meeting with the San Francisco 49ers Sept. 10 and before another home contest Sept. 24 hosting the New Orleans Saints.

Not surprisingly, the experience involves considerably more than Sunday game days, when they arrive five hours before kickoff.

For what Mathews calls her “fulltime part-time job,” the TopCats practice twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays, plus smaller groups get together at other times.

There was a weekend retreat at a hotel last month so teammates could bond, plus a couple community-service ambassador appearances TopCats do at schools, hospitals, charities and corporate events.

Mathews was no stranger to auditions, whether the WMU dance team or the Drive, but the Panthers take it to another level with a month-long process that started in April with some 100 aspirants.

After several rounds of competition, selections finished in May while the Panthers pursued accomplished role models.

“It’s nerve-racking because you’re not sure what they’re looking for,” said Mathews, who nevertheless made it on her first try.

Like football teams mapping formations in a playbook, so do the TopCats. The 32 dancers align in four lines of eight, with Mathews assigned No. 1 in her rank.

The TopCats appear at Fan Fest Aug. 4 with mascot SirPurr, PurrCussion and the Black-and-Blue Crew and at a preseason clash Aug. 9 with the Houston Texans.

Proceeds from the $5 Fan Fest admission go to charities across the Carolinas.

The Panthers travel to the Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars before their final tune-up Aug. 31 back at Bank of America Stadium with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“I’d love to stay on the team for multiple years and dance professionally,” Mathews said. “My coach (manager/choreographer Richelle Williams) started as a TopCats dancer [for four seasons].”

The TopCats have been part of the organization since it began in 1995.