#GRAD2BeARebelForever: Georgia Kingman
UNLV Women's Soccer
 
No less than 65 UNLV current and former student-athletes would have been eligible to take part in the University's Spring Commencement ceremonies this week, including making that memorable walk across the stage inside the Thomas & Mack Center. COVID-19 had other ideas, of course, and the pomp and circumstance have been postponed for the Class of 2020. In their honor, each day this week UNLVRebels.com will tell the story of one member from our esteemed group of new grads.



Georgia Kingman's freshman season at UNLV back in 2016 was a dream one. The Bay Area native arrived in Las Vegas and quickly found herself a key member of arguably one of the best teams in program history as the Rebels captured the Mountain West regular season and tournament championships in the same year for the first time and made their first NCAA tournament appearance in a decade. Kingman played in 23 games and started the final 12 games that season en route to earning a nod on the Mountain West All-Newcomer team.

Fast forward three years and Kingman was headed into her senior season last fall hoping to make a return to the league mountain top that had eluded the Rebels during her sophomore and junior campaigns. That hope was quickly extinguished, however, as Kingman suffered an injury a few games into 2019 that not only put her senior season in jeopardy but her entire soccer career. The uncommon injury to her quad left her and doctors uncertain of her future.

"When it first happened, I was simply confused and I wasn't really accepting the severity of the injury," said Kingman.

"A few doctor's appointments and very tough conversations later, I quickly understood that my season was out of the question and that my soccer career could potentially be over. I knew that if I recovered I would have the opportunity to take a fifth year, but many doctors weren't completely certain that my quad would recover to a level that would allow me to play competitively and take on the high demand that being a college soccer player requires."

With surgery not being an option, all there was left to do was wait.

While wondering if this would be how her time at UNLV would end, a coaching change in the women's soccer program took place and made the future even murkier. Kingman was set to graduate this spring and it would have been easy to ride off into the sunset with a new staff coming in and the rehab it would take to make her return to the field. She knew the change would be challenging, but ultimately that's not how she wanted her time at UNLV to come to a close.

"Honestly, at first I wasn't completely set on coming back," said Kingman. "I was super fearful as I knew the situation was going to be unfamiliar and I was going to have to really prepare for whatever that change might look like. Eventually, I decided that I wanted the chance to properly finish my experience at UNLV in a way I could look back on and be proud of. I also wanted one more chance to play with my team, regardless of how the changes were going to test us."

New head coach Jennifer Ruiz-Williams, the first former UNLV women's player to return to lead the program, her former Rebel teammate and new goalkeeper coach Jenna Olson (Huff) and assistant Kayley Sullivan have made the transition smoother than Kingman could have imagined.

"The new coaching staff has impressed me in so many ways," she said. "I feel so lucky and excited to play for them. They helped us get comfortable and were super empathetic to the fact that the change could be hard on us. But, they were also able to push us, get us accustomed to their coaching style and form a game plan to achieve our goals at the same time. They have implemented a high level of competition, ambition and drive on our team and have only strengthened the family atmosphere."

After seven months, Kingman was finally cleared to play collegiate soccer again and is looking forward to simply being out on the field again with her teammates and getting those intense feelings of competition back. Their focus next fall is to be the hardest working team in the Mountain West and win the league championship like Kingman experienced early in her career.

With the decision to return made, Kingman turned her attention to finishing the semester and walking across the stage on May 16, 2020, but the hospitality management major was hit with another wave of adversity when the pandemic hit and the ceremonies were cancelled. While she's thankful for the time at home with her family in the San Francisco area, she can't help but feel disappointed that she's not in Las Vegas celebrating this accomplishment the way she pictured it.

"I wish I could be with all the people who have been through everything with me in the past four years," said Kingman. "But I am so grateful to have gotten the opportunity to get my college degree and that is something that I can celebrate anytime and from anywhere. I am so proud of my friends, teammates and fellow athletes, I'll be celebrating them from a distance!"

Despite the tumultuous year, Kingman is keeping it all in perspective and reflecting on her time at UNLV and her unique experience here as a student-athlete.

Said Kingman, "The opportunity to be a student-athlete has been the biggest blessing. Being able to go to college for athletics has given me the chance to get a great education while doing the thing that I love most. It has been particularly special to be able to do that at UNLV and graduating from here means the world to me. When I came to UNLV, I was immediately surrounded by a big family that pushed me to be better every single day and provided me with all the tools I needed to succeed in school and in my own life outside of academics and sports. Getting my college degree shows me why I have been putting in so much hard work all my life and that any failures and hardships along the way were part of the journey to get me here. I'm so lucky to call myself a UNLV Rebel forever."

Given all the ups and downs of the last four years, would Kingman still tell her 18-year-old self to come to UNLV? Without a doubt.

"I would tell her that she is about to meet some of the most amazing and important people that will be a part of her life forever. I'd also tell her she is about to learn so much more about herself from the experiences she'll go through and that she made the best decision to be a Rebel!"

Kingman may also still get that chance to walk as she hopes to have the opportunity next year when she finishes her graduate degree.

Until then, Kingman will celebrate this huge accomplishment with her family this weekend and can't wait until she's back with her teammates playing the game that they love and representing the Rebels with pride.

Extras
- Favorite class or favorite professor at UNLV? I think my favorite class at UNLV was Hospitality Law with William Werner or potentially Intro to Hospitality with Carl Braunlich my freshmen year!
- Biggest mentors/influences during UNLV? Our academic advisor Alan Hott has really pushed me and had my back my whole college career. He was constantly there to remind me of what I was capable of and is a huge part of the reason I am where I am today! My family has also been my rock through every moment of college even from a distance. I couldn't be more grateful for them.