In honor of her excellence as a student and athlete, senior Stephanie Loo was featured on NY1’s weekly segment that highlights NYC high school students for their hard work, both in the classroom and on the field.

Stephanie is the first Harrisite to win in the last few years, following two former track captains, Jennifer Gersten and Ellie Wu. “To be honest, I was pretty surprised when I found out I had won the scholarship. I applied to it on a whim early in the school year and had somewhat forgotten about it,” she said.

The recognition and the monetary award is given to students all across the city for every PSAL sport. For this 2013-2014 school year, two cross country runners had already won the award and  Stephanie did not think she had a good chance of winning. “When Mr. Hanson told me I won, I was elated and excited about being given this honor,” Stephanie commented.

Stephanie is currently the captain of indoor track and was the cross country captan during the fall seaon. She not only dedicates a lot of time to her school work, but also goes to practice regularly, something that she always looks forward to: “running with my team has been one of my greatest joys.”

Her accomplishment positively reflects the school as well. She said, “[My scholarship] says a lot about Townsend Harris: that there is an emphasis on academic excellence and also strong athletics.”

She is thankful for all her teachers and peers that have encouraged her.Next year, she will attend the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, and will use the money from the scholarship towards her college education.

“Although I won’t be running competitively in college, I will still continue to run on my own because I love doing it,” she said.