Zorriana Johnson graduated this year from St. Vincent Ferrer High School and will be attending Manhattan College in the fall. In June, she was one of 10 NYJTL scholar athletes awarded a $5,000 Marian and Jacob K. Javits Foundation Public Service Scholarship. In this essay, Zorriana explains how her experiences as a NYJTL participant demonstrate her extraordinary ambition as a scholar athlete.
By Zorriana Johnson
I have been in NYJTL for at least three years now and I can honestly say they have been my family since the first day I joined the program. The opportunities they provide are beyond exceptional and the coaching and mentorship have put me on a path to becoming a better scholar athlete.
Last year during my junior year of high school I tore my ACL and was unable to take part in practice for six to seven months. However they still kept in contact with me through the whole process and even offered me a free SAT class. After that my score for the test became better than it was before. And since I was still recovering from my injury I was unable to play for the Mayors Cup but it didn’t stop me from volunteering my time with the tournament. After that I was able to represent them in the Arthur Ashe Contest for the Girls 18’s and meet the Mayor David Dinkins for Arthur Ashe kid’s day. Or even the group trips to meet the representatives of the Emirates Company, and tennis pros that can give us advice on becoming better players and to evolve our game.
These past three years have truly been a roller-coaster but as I look at all the mentors and coaches that have taught me for the past three years and my teammates that I practice with, I am truly proud and blessed to be a part of something great. Each individual that I meet in the program can help me to learn, grow and mature into a better individual and athlete. While pushing me to become the best Zorriana Johnson possible and through all my experiences and the maturity I have acquired I can honestly say that I never regret any moment in my life because this program has taught me that each moment we have in life should be lived to the fullest.