Jen Calabrase Named Fair Lawn High's NJSIAA Scholar-Athlete

Recent Fair Lawn High School graduate Jen Calabrase was named winner of this year's NJSIAA Scholar-Athlete Award.

The award is given to one student at the school each year who demonstrates hard work and success in both sports and studies.

Calabrase played three sports — softball, basketball and volleyball — through all four of her years at FLHS, acting as a team captain for softball and basketball, and managed to maintain a high GPA at the same time. School Athletic Director Cory Robinson called her "an absolute rarity" who would focus completely on academics from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., then switch over to sports after and still put in a big effort. 

"Only once in a while does an athlete like that come along," Robinson said. "The leadership she shows to younger kids is a big thing."

Calabrase's coaches also had positive things to say about her. Softball Coach Sue Benjamin called Calabrase "somebody that you can really depend on" and basketball Coach Chris Lovermi said she is a tenacious worker.

"Jen is a rare individual," Lovermi said. "You don't find too many Jen Calabrases today in terms of being a scholar-athlete. She epitomizes what the term is all about. She's above and beyond what you typically see."

Calabrase said she was motivated by her parents to work hard in class from an early age. Her pursuit of sports took no convincing at all.

"I've always loved sports," she said. "I've always had a passion for them."

Calabrase will be attending Binghamton University next year, where she plans to pursue actuarial science — basically risk management for businesses. She may also join the school's softball or volleyball her sophomore year, after she has a chance to get settled and focus on her studies.

An earlier version of this article incorrectly spelled Calabrase's last name.