The photo was taken by Saniya's HS coach, Dan Ricci, at Ossining HS. Dan is like a coach and like a father to Saniya.
I am sure her dad, mom and the coach will be very proud of her as the first college degree person in her family.
Not easy for a blue worker family.
Dan Ricci (@CoachRicOHS) | Twitter
Kaizen, you said a mouth full. If you are a college graduate, you fully understand and appreciate the 4 years of hard work, dedication and sacrifice (by you and your support group) it took to qualify you to walk across that stage with your classmates on graduation day. If you are not a graduate, you'll never understand or appreciate having one, as you said especially for a blue collar family. A lot of students ENTER college, not all of them FINISH!!! Some dropout along the way and never go back. I'm very proud of Saniya. I hope she has unbridled success in whatever direction life takes her.
We saw her come in as a young 18 year old, full of wonderment, not knowing if she had what it takes to play at this level. We saw her gradually grow and mature on and off the court. We saw her struggle during low points and cheered her during high points during her career.
Fast forward to today, here stands Saniya Chong. A accomplished young woman that has finish her journey through college, CD's & Geno's finishing school, and leaves with all the tools necessary to be successful in today's world. It was a pleasure to watch you over the last 4 years. Congrats Saniya.