Donna Hagans

If you have ever walked into the VCS gym, you may have noticed a big banner on the wall reading, “2018 CIF Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Adam Grabowski”. This esteemed Scholar-Athlete of the Year honor is only given to two athletes in the entire state. Basketball captain, active student council member, and community serving student-athlete, Adam Grabowski, was recognized for his excellence in academics, athletics, and character in his final year at VCHS. Grabowski, the youngest of three VCHS alum, graduated from Vacaville Christian in 2018 to welcome a busy, yet equally fulfilling, college experience at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). 

Most of the VCS community remember Grabowski for his athleticism on the court and his outgoing personality. A past coach of Grabowski and now close family friend, Coach Paulo Mikelionis considers Grabowski to be one of the most respectful and selfless students he has known.

“He has always been self-motivated and always worked to be the best version of himself in whatever he undertakes. I enjoyed his light and fun personality which balanced his competitive nature well. When I think of what a VCS student-athlete is, he is a top example.”

Coach Paulo Mikelionis

Grabowski grew up in the VCS community quite literally as he attended VCS for 15 years. Over the course of his high school years, he was a tri-sport athlete, playing on the varsity men’s basketball team for four years, and for two years on the varsity soccer and volleyball teams. He received First-Team All League honors for basketball his sophomore and junior season. Finally, Grabowski was recognized as the Men’s Basketball Sierra Delta League MVP his senior year. One of Grabowski’s fondest memories in high school, aside from his decorated sports career, was his senior year camp. He mentioned that many of his classmates had been there for as long as he had, essentially growing up together. “It was special to be all together enjoying each other’s company,” Grabowski shared.  

Leaving a class of around 60 students to entering his incoming class at UCLA of nearly 14,000 students, Grabowski was excited to embrace his new environment. “I chose UCLA because I believed it gave me the best opportunity to be successful after college, while also having a great experience.  Although I received a Division II scholarship, I decided it was best to think in the long term and choose the place where I would be happiest.” Grabowski’s older brother and sister both graduated from UCLA as well, so this school was the most natural choice. “I loved knowing how welcoming the student community was as well as the determination of the student body. I wanted to be a part of that.”

Quickly, Grabowski immersed himself into that welcoming undergraduate community.  “As soon as I got to UCLA, I was playing basketball about 2 hours everyday so I realized it would be a good idea for me to get involved with a team that would be competitive.” The club basketball coach for UCLA approached Grabowski one day in the gym and asked him to try out for the team. Soon after making the team, Grabowski found a community that he considers his closest friends. Like himself, Grabowski’s teammates had played basketball for all their lives. No matter D1 or not, they played for the love of the game. They did not lack in competition or intensity.

“We practiced twice a week with full on scrimmages that got very heated. Imagine a bunch of guys who were the best players on their high school teams, all fighting for playing time for this club team.”

Grabowski and his team played local schools throughout the season like USC and UC Irvine. Later in the season, UCLA’s club team played nationally where they eventually lost to the University of Miami in the end of season tournament.

The club team commitment may be lighter than the Division 1 team commitment, but Grabowski has chosen to be involved in both. Grabowski is a manager for the UCLA D1 Men’s Basketball team. “As a manager, I help the coaching staff and team in any way I can. I play defense on players during practice, help with film for upcoming games, and work out with players out of practice.” Grabowski enjoys having basketball in his everyday routine. He finds his position valuable as he continues to learn about the game from respected teachers of the sport. He stated there simply are no negatives with this opportunity. 

“My favorite experience as a manager is seeing how much work goes into creating a strong program and making connections with everyone in the program.”

Double basketball commitments, and Grabowski still has time to be involved in more extracurriculars. He is an active member of RUF, Reformed University Fellowship, a campus ministry that offers him a faith-based community. Additionally, he is a member of Camp Kesem, a nationwide community of college students who support children through and beyond their parent’s cancer. Grabowski describes this community to be one of his biggest highlights of college thus far.

“I loved being a camp counselor. Helping kids find happiness and offering them emotional support has been more than rewarding.”

Considering Grabowski’s many experiences since leaving VCHS, he tells the biggest lesson he has learned is to keep a positive attitude and the ability to adapt. “I have learned to see the positive side of things and to adapt to every situation in order that I can better my future.”

In between Grabowski’s extracurriculars, he is pursuing his double major in Economics and Sociology. His 16 hour days of class, studying, basketball, workouts, and spending time with friends, have made UCLA his home away from home. He plans to be back on campus in the summer – if the distance learning restrictions are lifted – in order to take classes contributing to his double major workload. If Grabowski could give any advice to current students, it would be to keep a positive attitude and trust God.

“With the right perspective and God at the forefront, you will be blessed with opportunities.” 

Adam Grabowski

By Lindsey Munar ’16 | August 3, 2020

“I learned how to slaughter, butcher, and make sausage… as a class. My sophomore year, I was collecting stallions and breeding mares… as a class.” An inside look into the life of a pre-vet student and dedicated rider on the Cal Poly Equestrian team. Class of 2017 graduate, Sydney Immel, has more than just human teammates. Her most important teammate is a horse weighing at least a thousand pounds and standing at 16 hands high. While Immel is in her third year at California Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo, she is experiencing her first as a member of the Equestrian team. Immel is a Rookie B rider on the Western Show Team. 

Immel and her teammates devote their hard work to horsemanship. Horsemanship entails the execution of maneuvers, smoothness, the geometry of the pattern, equitation (the properness of your seat and riding), and your bond with the horse.

Just like any other sport, the team practices day in and day out to master these skills. The competition aspect involves an interesting element of surprise. Riders learn the riding pattern on the day of the show. Most exciting, just twenty minutes before performing, the riders draw a random horse and are expected to show that horse to the best of their ability. More often than not,the rider has never been on that horse unless they have the home advantage. “It’s extremely stressful but it really shapes you into a better rider,” Immel discloses. “Every horse person knows the more horses you ride, the better you become.” Immel expresses she has been lucky to draw great horses but also has been very unlucky. Sometimes, unlucky means being thrown off. Thankfully, that has yet to happen to her.

“Giving medical care, exercising [the horses], feeding them, foaling them out, all of it makes me feel like I am where I am supposed to be.” Immel is fulfilled by her line of work, but more than that, she thrives from the challenges that come with working with these animals.

If not tending to her responsibilities of being on the Equestrian team, Immel is working at the Cal Poly Equine Unit, a student trainer for the Cal Poly Performance Horse sale, and a member of the Young Cattlemen’s Association. She is an Animal Science major on the pre-vet track. Needless to say, Immel is devoted to animals for most of her day, but she would not want to have it any other way. As an extension of her daily studies, her favorite experience has been her job at the Cal Poly Equine Unit.  “Giving medical care, exercising [the horses], feeding them, foaling them out, all of it makes me feel like I am where I am supposed to be.” Immel is fulfilled by her line of work, but more than that, she thrives from the challenges that come with working with these animals. “We get all kinds of injuries and infections that we get to work on first hand with some of the best veterinarians in the nation. It sounds like I do a lot for them but really, they do a lot for me. I don’t think I would be half as sane as I am without them.”

Immel is thriving in her new home on the Central Coast. Cal Poly’s ‘learn by doing philosophy’ has influenced her education in a way that she expresses will pay dividends when she enters the professional realm. “This year, I have stayed up overnight at the Equine unit to help mares deliver their foals as well as start a two-year-old horse to be sold in our Performance Horse sale.” As an aspiring veterinarian, Immel reflects on these experiences as more than valuable for her potential career, and for her life in general. “Cal Poly just really has my heart. Once I plugged into the equine scene sophomore year, I have never once wanted to leave.”

During her time at VCHS, Immel was a 4-year varsity soccer player. She played as a defender throughout her career, riding wherever time permitted. Coincidentally, the two sports of riding and soccer drew a parallel for Immel. Past the substantial amount of dedication, Immel discovered a similarity between training her two-year-old horse, Brandy, and defending an opponent.

“You move a cow how you play defense,” she spilled. “You watch their hips and their eyes, when they stop you stop, when they move you move. If you want to get a cow to change directions, you cut them off, just as you would a forward coming at you with a ball.”

As unique as it is, this perspective worked for Immel to combine her two athletic worlds into one.

Immel is only in her first year of being a part of the Western Show team, but she has accomplished plenty in a short amount of time. Placing first at four of the shows and making it to the semi-finals on the Western Show team have been some of her highlights. She plans to gain residency in Oregon and apply to Oregon State’s vet school, but she is open to where her career takes her. In face of uncertainty, Immel is eager for her future, being that she is content with the route she has chosen. If she has learned any lesson since leaving VCHS, it is that you could have the straight A’s but still fail. “If I wanted a 4.0, I would have to give up everything else, and to me, that is not worth it.” Immel shares that she has met incredible people along the way and has devoted her effort to exactly what she wants to do for the rest of her life. “When I come out of college with my degree, I might not be the most stellar student, but I will be a well-rounded person that can get myself through the rest of whatever life throws at me. It is not about the numbers.”

From Sydney Immel to her VCHS community: If you are in the market for a horse, please come to the Cal Poly Performance Horse Sale next May! Thank you for all the love and support! P.S. I love you Mrs. Golden!