Carli Milano is a senior and one of the captains of Wittenberg’s Women’s Tennis team. Milano is from Beavercreek, Ohio and graduated from Carroll High School.
In May, she will be graduating from Wittenberg with a degree in Education and is seeking an Early Childhood licensure. She wants to become a teacher because she loves working with kids and wants to inspire the next generation. With a license in Early Childhood, she will mostly be working with elementary kids, so she must teach all subjects. However, her favorite subjects to teach are math and reading. She enjoys these subjects because she has a passion for math, while reading is a great necessity of life: you’re able to expand your imagination while becoming more intelligent.
The thing Milano is going to miss the most about Wittenberg is the people: “people here are super awesome.” While reflecting on her time here at Wittenberg, Milano has no regrets and is perfectly content with everything she has been a part of at Wittenberg.
Some of her favorite memories on campus are karaoke nights in Founders. She loves to sing on stage and have fun. Her go-to karaoke song is “Don’t” by Ed Sheeran and she is ecstatic that she has memorized all the lyrics to this song. Currently, her hype song for this season is “Lit Right Now” by Ayo & Teo.
Milano’s favorite memory that involves the tennis team was during her freshman year spring break trip to Florida. They went to Disneyworld and she described that trip as “magical.”
Milano’s father taught her the game of tennis and inspired her at the young age of three. As she got older, her father entered her and her sister in numerous tournaments then, as she put it: “boom success happen[ed].” Prior to being a full-time tennis player, Milano played soccer until she was in eighth grade.
As a tennis player, Milano enjoys watching Roger Federer play. Federer is her favorite tennis player to watch not only because he is a great athlete, but also because he is a kind and considerate person. Milano relates to Feder and people she believes are “compassionate, unselfish, ray of sunshine.”
Milano dreams of having the opportunity to play against Serena Williams in a single match, play with Federer in mixed doubles and play with Kim Clijers and Venus Williams. Also, she would like to hold the Venus Rosewater Dish and Challenge Cup, which is the trophy that tennis players hold after being announced the winner of Wimbledon tournament.
Milano had decided to attend Wittenberg University because she heard numerous positive reviews about campus. So, she decided to take a visit and next thing she realized was that she was a Wittenberg student.
In her last season as a collegiate athlete, Milano was chosen to be one of the tennis team captains. As captain she created some expectations and goals for her team, they are to “try your hardest, never ever give up” and to “try your best.” She wants the team to grow closer together as they strive to win the NCAC championship. Her personal goals for the season are to grow and develop more leadership skills. As captain she would like to continue receiving accolades. Last year, she was honored with All-NCAC Honorable Mention in Singles.
Milano is a very faith-based person who is a part of Campus Crusade for Christ also known as Cru and the Newman Club. When Milano is not serving up aces or teaching the next generation, you can visit her at the front desk of the HPER where she works.
Some parting advice from Milano is: “no matter what happens in your life always remember to laugh.”
