School may be out for the summer -- but NY1's scholar athletes aren't slowing down anytime soon.
NY1 and Ford Lincoln of Queens recognized 25 city high school seniors Friday at the 16th Annual "Scholar Athlete of the Week" Luncheon.
The celebration was hosted at the New York Stock Exchange.
"It's really great to have all of my friends, my teachers, my parents proud of me," said Ford Lincoln of Queens/NY1 Scholar Athlete Sydney Ng.
Each scholar athlete was profiled on NY1 throughout the school year for their athletic and academic achievements. Candidates were chosen for their participation in varsity sports combined with their stellar grades and contributions to their community.
New York Knicks legend John Starks was among those honoring this years' recipients.
"It means a lot, obviously, to be here and to support these young aspiring athletes," he told NY1.
NY1 Executive Sports Producer Marc Weingarten also lauded the honorees.
"They all have one thing in common and that's that they're leaders in their classrooms, leaders in their communities, and leaders on the athletic fields," Weingarten said.
Each scholar athlete received $1,000 college scholarship. Since the program's inception in 1999, organizers have provided almost a million dollars in total scholarships to more than 400 students.
"I was an athlete before in high school, and I worked with Iona College's basketball team, so I really did believe in giving back to the communities," said Joseph Vultaggio of Ford Lincoln of Queens, which sponsored this year's program.
Tyrone Parker, Sports Coordinator of the Public Schools Athletic League, agreed.
"School's expensive," he said. "All the studying all the practice, it does pay off."
For the honorees, their hard work won't stop. All 25 recipients have big plans in store.
"I'm going to play women's volleyball and I plan on studying pre-med," said Gaitree Boojraj.
And Ivan Gubarev has similarly loftly plans.
"I'm studying international relations and I'm trying to become a diplomat," he said.