The latest Scholar Athlete of the Week takes great pride in her school, sport and studies. NY1's Rocco Vertuccio filed the following report.
There is no better symbol for a high school than the school mascot, but it comes with a price.
"You feel uncomfortable at some point," says Monika Grabowski, the latest Ford Lincoln of Queens NY1 Scholar Athlete of the Week. "The smelliness, the hotness."
New Dorp senior Monika Graboswki represents the Cougars in many ways. She's not only the mascot, but she's also the school president and captain of the handball team.
"When I get on the courts and release all the stress that I have, just play, it makes me happy being with my friends, doing something I love," she says.
Grabowski first discovered the sport on the playground. When she got to high school, she joined the varsity squad. So far, she is undefeated against all other Staten Island schools.
Though handball takes up a lot of her time, Grabowski says it has made her a better student.
"It helps me prioritize my time on how I'm going to spend everything, whether how long I spend to study, how long I spend in school to do homework and everything, helping my friends in tutoring and everything, and playing on the team, trying to be the best and helping my teammates," she says.
In the classroom, Grabowski is already racking up college credits. She's taking courses in Italian, economics and English through St. John's University. She will graduate as the salutatorian of her class.
"She takes pride in everything she does," says Lisa Murphy, Grabowski's assistant principal. "Her determination just pushes her to do everything and anything she can."
"She's very confident in her abilities, but she doesn't boast. But she's definitely, she has that confidence about her," says Peter LaMarca, Grabowski's handball coach.
In school, Grabowski tutors her classmates in math and science. She also holds two part-time jobs, is a student aide at the high school and a cashier at Homegoods.
Grabowski says though it's a lot of hard work now, it will all pay off when she goes to pharmacy school.
"In life, there are going to be a lot of obstacles, there's going to be a lot of things that you're going to have to do, but the most important thing is to do what you like to do, and if you have the passion to do it, it will just come easy to you," she says.
So, for having the spirit to try to accomplish all of her goals, Monika Grabowski is the latest Ford Lincoln of Queens NY1 Scholar Athlete of the Week.