TYWLS Astoria Senior Chosen as Spectrum News NY1’s Scholar Athlete of the Week
Dahna is a senior at The Young Women’s Leadership School (TYWLS) of Astoria, a school in our Young Women’s Leadership network.
Dahna T.: Knowing What She Wants and How to Get It
By Rocco Vertuccio and Tara Alexander
Originally broadcast on Spectrum News NY1 on June 5, 2025
Dahna’s love of soccer has propelled her into a leadership role.
She is captain of the Girls Varsity team at The Young Women’s Leadership School of Astoria in Queens.
“My first year of coaching at the school. She stood out as one of the leaders on the team very, very early on,” [her coach Jerry] Kokkinos said. “She’s a great communicator. She works hard. She encourages her teammates to work hard as well. So I think they look up to her in that way.”
Aside from soccer, she is captain of the school’s track team, digital team and she’s also one of two class presidents. Dahna is also a lifeguard. All this while maintaining a GPA over 90.
At the end of the day, when you see the hard work and the progression of it and the end goal, I think that was the beauty of why I do what I do. —Dahna
“At the end of the day, when you see the hard work and the progression of it and the end goal, I think that was the beauty of why I do what I do,” [Dahna] added.
In the fall, Dahna will be attending Norwich University in Vermont. While she plans to major in biology, this ambitious teen has plans that include service to her country.
“So I want to be a doctor, but I will be joining the Navy ROTC. So I will be commissioning as an officer upon graduation in the Navy as a doctor, and I hope to deploy on submarines,” she said.
