Karnley moved from Liberia to the United States by herself at the age of 13 to live with her aunt.
Know Your Bulldog: Monigo Karnley
September 10, 2018 | Soccer
by John Haynes, Student Assistant/Communications
The following feature story can be found in the Sept. 1 Mississippi State Football Game Program.
In Liberia, Monigo Karnley's school was surrounded by barbed wire and brick walls to keep the students from leaving and she could only access the Internet by paying for it at the local library.
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Despite the stark differences between Liberia and the United States, Karnley, who moved to the U.S. when she was thirteen, held on to one comfort – soccer.
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"As long as I can remember, soccer has been my escape," Karnley recalled. "Soccer is basically everything to me, it's my life. The first memory I have of playing soccer was in Liberia with my brothers and cousins. I wanted to spend time with my older brothers, so I started playing soccer like they did. I have always wanted to play soccer, and anywhere I go, I take a soccer ball with me."
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Although Karnley has years of experience, she did not think she had the skill to play in college until her coach and friends from her club team, Penn Fusion, encouraged her. Inspired, Karnley made the 2016-17 Olympic Development Team and began to market herself more aggressively to universities. Mississippi State stood out because it offered a degree in aerospace engineering, a major Karnley embraces because she loves to travel.
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Karnley aspired to join the Air Force ROTC, but said that is unlikely to happen at this moment as she is still undergoing the process to become a United States citizen, a status required of all cadets.
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However, that hasn't dampened her spirits to see the world.
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"I want to travel the world in one of two ways - by flying planes or by playing soccer," Karnley said. "I love the window seat. When we went to Wisconsin [for an exhibition game], I told Geri [Siudzinski, the coordinator of soccer operations] that she knew me well because she placed me in the window seat."
The following feature story can be found in the Sept. 1 Mississippi State Football Game Program.
In Liberia, Monigo Karnley's school was surrounded by barbed wire and brick walls to keep the students from leaving and she could only access the Internet by paying for it at the local library.
Â
Despite the stark differences between Liberia and the United States, Karnley, who moved to the U.S. when she was thirteen, held on to one comfort – soccer.
Â
"As long as I can remember, soccer has been my escape," Karnley recalled. "Soccer is basically everything to me, it's my life. The first memory I have of playing soccer was in Liberia with my brothers and cousins. I wanted to spend time with my older brothers, so I started playing soccer like they did. I have always wanted to play soccer, and anywhere I go, I take a soccer ball with me."
Â
Although Karnley has years of experience, she did not think she had the skill to play in college until her coach and friends from her club team, Penn Fusion, encouraged her. Inspired, Karnley made the 2016-17 Olympic Development Team and began to market herself more aggressively to universities. Mississippi State stood out because it offered a degree in aerospace engineering, a major Karnley embraces because she loves to travel.
Â
Karnley aspired to join the Air Force ROTC, but said that is unlikely to happen at this moment as she is still undergoing the process to become a United States citizen, a status required of all cadets.
Â
However, that hasn't dampened her spirits to see the world.
Â
"I want to travel the world in one of two ways - by flying planes or by playing soccer," Karnley said. "I love the window seat. When we went to Wisconsin [for an exhibition game], I told Geri [Siudzinski, the coordinator of soccer operations] that she knew me well because she placed me in the window seat."
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