All in all it is a great chance to prove something to myself.

Karina, it was your big dream to obtain a soccer scholarship at an American University. Now you are living in the US. How is it?

At the moment it's hard, but nobody said it's going to be easy! I thought the hardest thing about my soccer scholarship would be the physical side, but I was wrong. The mental challenge is much harder than I expected. People here are a bit different, but this is the American culture and I get used to it.

You already earned a Bachelor’s degree in Estonia. At Niagara University you are currently enrolled in a Master’s program. How do you like it and what are the differences between an American and an Estonian University? In Estonia school is more difficult. In the US teachers are very understanding and you get a lot of homework. So here it takes more time to study, but it is easier. Actually, it is very comfortable here, but I am sure it will get harder as it is only the beginning of the semester.

For Estonia you already took part at the Universiade in China this year. How would you compare it to the level and atmosphere of College Sport in the US? You can't compare the Universiade and US College Sport, because the Universiade is a huge and very international event. A nice fact here in the US is though, that a lot of people support female soccer: Parents come to see their children playing, film it, and they keep statistics about everything. As you see it is very professional.

If you would compare the team spirit in America with the one in Europe, would you say there are any differences? Yes, the team spirit is definitely different. I like that everybody here pushes themselves and other teammates to do better.

You are from Estonia and applied for an athletic scholarship through Monaco Sports. How come and did you feel comfortable with it? Everything happened so fast, so there wasn't much time to prepare. It was definitely a really hard choice to leave everything behind. I decided to give it a shot. You have to remember that even if it is a long journey and a lot of work to do, you have your friends back home who will always support you. All in all it is a great chance to prove something to myself. Monaco Sports has been with me all the way, giving advices and supporting me in any situation.