STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- After hearing the news that St. John Villa Academy would be closing its doors at the end of the school year, Joanne Grzelak hoped to make the last graduation ceremony one to remember.

The Port Richmond resident has been giving a $500 scholarship to the daughter of a civil servant at Villa's high school graduation since 2002, in memory of her husband who died on Sept. 11, 2001.

Joseph Grzelak was the chief of Battalion 48 in the Prospect Park section of Brooklyn. He was dispatched to Tower 1 of the World Trade Center at 8:55 a.m. on Sept. 11.

The award, the Joe Grzelak Memorial Scholarship Fund, was given to Ann Cecilia Curatolo, whose father is an FDNY firefighter, at the school's final graduation earlier this month.

But Grzelak had one more surprise for the graduates sitting in white caps and gowns in the school's gymnasium.

She and her daughters gave a $500 scholarship award to each of the 76 graduates -- totaling $38,000.

Watch the video above to hear Grzelak's presentation at the Villa graduation and to see the reaction of the graduates.

Grzelak was the principal's secretary at Villa for 16 years until she retired in 2012. Her daughters, Debra Grzelak Lauro and Kristie Grzelak Perrotta, were cheerleading coaches at the school until 2016.

The graduates were surprised and grateful for the scholarships.

"Giving the entire last senior class of Villa $500 scholarships in memory of the fallen hero 'Joe Knows' was nothing less than selfless, generous and honestly quite shocking!" said Cristianna Cardinale, a senior who graduated this year.

Grzelak said she's received thank-you letters, gifts and fruit baskets.

"They were so excited and a lot of them told me in notes they would use it for their [school] books and that's exactly what I wanted," Grzelak said. "As long as it helps in some way. I just really wanted to help them out in any way I could."

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