Each year, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s member schools select one senior student who plays a varsity sport, possesses a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 and exhibits outstanding school and community citizenship to be honored at its annual Scholar Athlete awards banquet.
According to njsiaa.org, more than $120,000 in scholarships are given out each year to athletes at the event.
Two high school seniors from Palmyra, Julia Adams of Palmyra High School and Aeryn Gilmore of the Burlington County Institute of Technology in Westampton, were recently selected as their school’s Scholar Athlete Award winners, a distinction that comes with a $500 scholarship.
Adams began her athletic career at a young age when she developed a passion for swimming, taking her first lessons at just 3 years old. By age 6, she joined the Jersey Wahoos Swim Club’s competitive swimming team.
Around the same age, she began to branch out into soccer, playing first with the Palmyra-Riverton Soccer Club and eventually for Palmyra High School. She picked up track and field as a spring sport in high school as well, throwing the discus, shot put and javelin and running 4×4 relays and hurdles.
She continued swimming competitively despite being the only athlete representing Palmyra until this year, when she was joined by her younger sister.
“I really wanted to be able to represent Palmyra and my school at that level of swimming, which is my favorite, it’s what I’m going to do in college,” said Adams.
Adams counts a particularly satisfying win playing soccer against Pemberton among her fondest memories of her high school sports career. Palmyra had previously lost a game to the team 3-2, but managed a shutout this time around, winning 4-0, with two assists by Adams.
“It was really exciting, the atmosphere was absolutely incredible and I will always look back at that as being my favorite soccer memory,” said Adams.
It takes more than just an impressive sports career to be selected as a scholar-athlete, and Adams always strives to match her athletic prowess with her performance in the classroom. To stay on top of everything, she makes use of multiple monthly and daily calendars, marking off any important due dates.
“Part of that is just the personal drive I have,” said Adams. “When it comes to my schoolwork, I will be up until whatever time I have to be to get my stuff done.”
Like Adams, Gilmore started with sports when she was very young. By age 4, she was playing soccer and softball with the Palmyra-Riverton Athletics Association and she stuck with these sports throughout her high school career.
More than the games or her personal accomplishments playing sports, Gilmore says she will always remember her teammates and the lasting friendships formed both on and off the field.
“I love the team aspect of it. Any team bonding or any experiences we had outside of playing the sport, that was what really made it,” said Gilmore.
When it came to academics, Gilmore always put her schoolwork before athletics. She was never shy about going the extra mile or seeking additional help when she needed it.
“I never got sleep during high school, but it was definitely worth it. I stayed on top of my homework and I went after school for extra help sometimes. I really stressed having good grades above sports,” said Gilmore.
Both Adams and Gilmore worked hard both in competition and in school. The Scholar Athlete Award and banquet represented a culmination of their efforts and the end of a chapter in their lives before they move on to the next.
“After four years of hard work it felt nice, it felt like I was appreciated and what I did didn’t go unseen,” said Gilmore.
In the fall, Adams will be attending Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania to major in publishing and editing and plans to swim with the varsity team. Gilmore will be attending Rider University to study secondary education and mathematics. Her current goal is to teach high school geometry.
