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Starkville native and Mississippi State student Khristian Carr has been “all-in” on volleyball since her middle school years and has not looked back. When she decided to try out for the volleyball team for the Starkville High Yellow Jackets in sixth grade, she was concerned she was not going to make the team because she had no experience playing the game.

“I had never done anything volleyball related,” Carr said. “I was very, very nervous, but by the grace of God, I made the team.”

It was not until her seventh grade year that she realized how much fun she was having and that she had the ability to be good at the sport. Being promoted to the varsity squad that same year, Carr’s athletic ability became evident and she was able to understand the flow of the game.

“You want to be able to start your sport very early on,” Carr said, “so it really is a blessing to be able to do what I love even though I didn’t start until sixth grade.”

Carr walked on at Mississippi State to play volleyball, and since that freshman year has been awarded an athletic scholarship in return for her dedicated hard work. She says that it is amazing to be rewarded for commitment to the sport.

“Being able to see where your hard work pays off makes me happy,” Carr said. “It is not easy to be a walk-on athlete. I doubted my abilities a lot.”

She remembers being embarrassed that so many people thought that she was such a phenomenal athlete when she did not believe that herself. It took some time to grow confidence and to realize she was going to be playing volleyball for MSU.

“It is extremely important to keep going and believing in a higher power,” Carr said. “Just keep going and do not stop.”

Carr says that everything about Mississippi State attracted her to the university. She loves the atmosphere and has become a football fan.

When she graduates with her degree in broadcast journalism, she plans to get to work doing what she feels is her calling.

“I want to go to New York after college because I feel like there are a lot of opportunities there,” Carr said, recalling that she fell in love with New York and its people during a spring break mission trip.

Carr says that nothing can stop her from fulfilling the dreams that she has because “I’ve already come so far.”