We’ve all heard the phrase “it’s not rocket science,” which suggests that a task is not overly complex.

Actual rocket scientists accomplish extremely perplexing tasks every day, all of which involve using projectiles to explore the vastness of outer space. Mona Okorie, a girls’ varsity basketball player at Holy Cross H.S., Flushing, hopes to be in that group one day. And she’s well on her way, as she will be enrolling at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the prestigious re- search institute in Cambridge.

The senior forward and soon-to-be three-time Tablet All-Star pulled down more than 1,200 career rebounds over her four-year varsity tenure — a program record. She also set the program record for blocked shots and has scored over 700 points.

Despite her accomplishments on the court, her academic prowess off of it is even more impressive. She is the first Holy Cross student since the 1960s to be accepted to MIT and the first female student since the school went co-ed in 2018.

Born in Nigeria, Okorie came to Queens Village when she was just 5 months old. Her family later moved to St. Albans. It wasn’t until the summer of seventh grade at Merrick Academy-Queens Public Charter School that she began playing basketball for the Amateur Athletic Union.

She chose to attend high school at Holy Cross and became the only freshman on the Knights’ first-ever varsity team. She improved every year and was selected as a team captain before this past season, where scoring double-digit points and grabbing double-digit rebounds became a nightly occurrence.

“We’ve come so far since my first year,” Okorie said. “Being able to watch the program grow over the last four years, I know the next era of Holy Cross basketball is in the right hands.”

While Knights head girls’ varsity basketball coach Tom Catalanotto, who just completed his fifth season, knows Okorie’s departure will be a tremendous loss to the program, he could not be more excited for her to excel at MIT.

“Mona has some great athletic ability, and she can jump higher than most girls in the league,” said Catalanotto, who is a parishioner at St. Mel, Flushing. “She leads by example because she’s such a hard worker. She takes basketball as seriously as she takes her schoolwork.”

In fact, she takes her schoolwork so seriously that she has a little corner in the gymnasium called “Mona’s office,” where for the past four years, she’s become the prime example for managing one’s time wisely.

“Mona never wastes a minute,” Catalanotto said. “When she’s not playing basketball, she’s on her computer doing her work and research. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a student like her.”

While basketball has been a major part of high school for her, Okorie has a multitude of interests and talents. She plays the saxophone for the school’s concert and jazz bands and has been named on the principal’s academic achievement list for all 14 quarters so far. She’s also won 16 academic awards for having the highest grade in a particular subject at year’s end.

Last summer, Okorie spent six weeks in a re- search program at MIT, where she worked in the media lab with a robot on the International Space Station. She thoroughly enjoyed this unique experience so much that she decided to apply to the highly competitive university.

On the day she was to find out whether she was accepted, she received an email during the basketball team’s film session. She decided to hold off on looking at it right away.

“I didn’t check it because I didn’t want to have that plague me going into the night,” Okorie said.

The next day, she went straight to her guidance counselor’s office to open the email, and sure enough, the news was good. Holy Cross administrators — who have played a key role in Okorie’s spiritual and academic development — made an announcement to the whole school to celebrate this generational achievement.

“Everyone who’s helped me to get here so far has supported me so much because I know that I put a lot of pressure on myself,” she said. “Sometimes it’s important to fall back on someone who will support you and help you get through it.”

Okorie said she intends to major in aerospace engineering while thinking about a minor or major in French. She is also in line to continue her hoops career with the NCAA Division III MIT women’s basketball team — aptly nicknamed the Engineers.

While she was a complete player on the basketball court, she’s an even more well-rounded student whose determination has led to her thrilling opportunity at MIT.

Mona Okorie is surely a name we’ll hear doing big things in science and technology in the near future because, for her, it is rocket science, and it’s precisely the challenge multitalented young individual longs for.

Contact Jim Mancari via email at jmmanc@gmail.com.