HHS seniors Smolinka, Wu are top honorees
By: Mary Ellen Zangara – Special Writer
The Somerset County High School Principals’ Association recently held their 27th annual Scholar-Athlete Awards at the Doubletree Hotel in Somerset. Athletes from each of the 16 county schools were honored.
Hillsborough High School athletes Steve Wu and Ashley Smolinka were given the honor for their school. They joined the others along with family, administrators and teachers who came out to honor them.
Greeting began the evening from the associations President Karen Bingert.
"Each year, the high school principals nominate two students from each school, one male and one female, who have earned recognition for their work in the classroom and in athletics," she said. "It is no small feat for a student to be recognized in only one of those areas but the time, energy, commitment, work ethic, dedication and tenacity required to be successful in both says a great deal about the students being honored this year. On behalf of the Somerset County Secondary School Principals’ Association, I offer sincerest congratulations to this year’s honorees, Each has worked extremely hard and has earned this distinction because of the desire to strive for success in class and in the athletic arenas."
Dr. Thomas DiGanci the chairperson of the dinner then announced each athlete as they walked into the room with a spotlight on them as their biography was read and their photo shown on the big screen. HHS principal Karen Bingert presented each of the honorees with a bowl trophy and a plaque with their photo.
Wu, the son of Michael and Sharon, grew up in Hillsborough with his brother John and starting playing tennis at the age of 5. He is the captain of the varsity tennis team and his favorite subjects in school are math and physics. Steven received four varsity letters in tennis. He is the 2009 SCIAA Boys Tennis Somerset County Champion at No. 1 Singles, New Jersey Star Ledger 2009 Somerset County Player of the Year, and made the New Jersey State 2009 All-Group 4 First Team. Steven plans to study math in college and hopes to participate in intercollegiate or intramural tennis. He is the Vice President of National Honor Society, President of Future Business Leaders of America, a National Merit Scholar Finalist, AP Scholar Award, has an unweighted GPA of 97.94 and weighted GPA of 105.85.
"For me, the honor represents a lifetime of dedication to my grades and tennis," Wu said. "Just as I’ve worked hard in school all my life, I’ve played tennis and competed consistently since I was five years old. I obviously feel honored and proud to be one of two people chosen, since I know a number of other student-athletes who also fully deserve it. But at the same time, I know that I’ve been blessed to have the kind of family, coach, team, and teachers to support me all these years. Most people might only see my name in the class rankings or the state rankings for tennis, but I know how much I owe my success to others behind the scenes every day."
At first, Wu didn’t even know about the Scholar-Athlete award.
"I wasn’t really aware of this award until the time I received it to be honest," he said. "So it really all came as a surprise."
Wu credits his family for his success.
"As with any other award I’ve ever earned, I definitely can’t take full credit," he said. "Without a dad to provide constant coaching, a mom to discipline me and drive me everywhere to tournaments, a brother (and former No. 1 singles player) to repeatedly hit with, and a coach to provide technical and moral support the last few years, I wouldn’t have been nearly as successful. In a way, this honor is another source of motivation for me because it is a reminder of what I am capable of if I put in the hard work every day."
Wu will be attending the Stern business school at New York University and will major in finance or statistics.
Smolinka, the daughter of Rick and Debbie, earned 12 varsity letters in cross country and track. She was Hillsborough’s top distance runner for all four years, leading the cross country team to a state title this year and was county and conference champion. Smolinka holds all the HHS cross county course records and the 3200 records in track.
For the past two years, she was named the Somerset County Runner of the Year and all-state first team. This year, Smolinka was the only New Jersey female to qualify for the Nike Nationals as runner up for the Nike Northeast Regionals. At HHS, she is a member of the National Honor Society and has a weighted GPA of 99.72.
"Over the past four years I have worked really hard and devoted myself to running and getting good grades," she said. "I couldn’t think of a better way to end my high school career than with this award because it recognizes both academic and athletic achievements. I am truly honored that I was selected for this award because there are so many amazing athletes and students in my grade. Knowing that I am among them is rewarding in itself."
Smolinka is proud to have received this honor.
"There are so many talented athletes and hard working students in my class that numerous people could have received this award," she said. "I am honored that I was chosen. I could have never ran and kept up my grades without my parents. They took me to all my early morning practices before school, picked me up from late night meets, pushed me to study, motivated me to run my best, and always reminded me to have fun. They have always supported me one hundred percent and I am very thankful for that.
"I also could have never been where I am today without my coaches. Not only have they helped me with training but with confidence and motivation as well. They push me to work hard and always try my best. I attribute my love of running to them, because they made me realize that hard work pays off and that you can still have fun in the process."
Smolinka will be attending Syracuse University and double majoring in advertising and marketing.
"Receiving the scholar-athlete award has been one of my greatest honors, and I will do everything I can to live up to its high standards and continue to work hard in academics and athletics," Smolinka said.

