Lacrosse players, according to Emily Andriello, require specific skillsets and mindsets to achieve success. The standout Pearl River (Rockland County) High School scholar-athlete, who now is beginning her studies at the University of South Carolina, immediately has applied her athletic skills and critical thinking from lacrosse (and soccer) to her new scholastic responsibilities. Emily also knows that she must acquire many new and diverse talents for her chosen career.

Emily ranked 14th in her high school class with a 96.4 weighted average. At college, she plans to study biology before attending medical school or physician’s assistant school. Emily hopes to pursue a career in neonatal intensive care. She found her passion when she first studied biology and anatomy a few years ago.

Emily’s world, however, is much more than science and sports. Last year, she helped a teacher with workshops held at Queens College and Hunter College, embracing the Italian language and poetry to demonstrate lesson plans for students who aspired to become teachers. Emily also is involved in her community. She has received many awards and citations for her commitments.

During her high school days, Emily learned a lot about herself. One lesson came about when she worked at the neighborhood ice cream store — with countless choices and combinations at her fingertips, Emily said that she just prefers good old chocolate with “no toppings, nothing special.”

It’s no frills for Emily as she pursues her goals. But, it’s no secret that she does leave room for a few “specials” in her life, including Gus, her bulldog.

I maintain a special interest in high school students who play lacrosse. Whether or not they continue with the game in college, lacrosse already has provided them with a solid foundation of teamwork, specific skillsets and separate mindsets that will become useful later in life. For Emily, the lessons learned on the lacrosse field will create many great opportunities for her in the health care field.

Sonia Citron is drawing a lot of attention for her work on and off the basketball court.

Sonia is a junior at The Ursuline School in New Rochelle. She has received numerous college athletic scholarship offers since she significantly contributed to the United States win at the 2019 International Basketball Federation’s U16 Americas Championship in Chile.

Oregon and Stanford made scholarship offers, following others by Maryland, Duke, North Carolina, Wake Forest, Clemson, Texas and Michigan. Harvard and Princeton did not offer scholarships but each has recruited Sonia. She is ranked 17th overall and six among guards in the high school class of 2021 by ESPN.

At the Chile tournament, Sonia averaged 13.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 3.2 steals while playing almost 20 minutes per game. Team USA finished with a perfect 6-0 record and defeated all opponents by wide margins. Back at high school, Sonia led Ursuline to the Section 1 final this year (loosing to Ossining High School). She has scored more than 1,300 points in her varsity career and earned all-state honors the past three seasons from the New York State Sportswriters Association. She was a second-team all-state honoree in Class AA for 2019.

Among Sonia’s other accomplishments are her role on Ursuline’s soccer team and her academic average of nearly 96 as a member of the National Junior Honor Society. Sonia also cherishes her participation in the school’s Warm Hands, Warm Hearts program that provides meals to 100 clients at a community soup kitchen. Sometimes she is the chef and at other times she is the shopper. Everything Sonia touches – academics, basketball, soccer, community service and more — is accompanied by her warm and captive smile.

Ursuline encourages, empowers and inspires young women, and the school certainly has been a magnificent influence for Sonia’s success that is drawing a lot of attention.