For the 20th consecutive year, the Florida High School Athletic Association, or the FHSAA, recognized 12 high school senior boys and 12 high school senior girls to be placed on the FHSAA Ronald N. Davis Academic State Team.

The team honors graduating seniors who excel academically and athletically and have participated in a multitude of community service activities. Each nominee for the award must have at least a cumulative GPA of a minimum of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale and must have also earned, during both his or her junior and senior years, at least two varsity letters from FHSAA recognized sports.

Out of the 685 schools in the FHSAA, only one member of Hillsborough County was selected to be a part of the 24 member team: Robinson senior Caroline King.

King will receive a $1000 scholarship as well as a celebratory medal recognizing her achievement. She will also have the opportunity to attend a banquet in June, in which one of each of the twelve honored female and male athletes will be chosen as the Scholar-Athlete of the Year. With the Scholar-Athlete of the Year award and trophy would come an additional $3000 to put towards the scholarship.

Caroline King, a familiar face at Robinson, is involved in many extracurriculur activities, including varsity soccer, lacrosse, and flag football. She also ran cross country during her freshman year. Along with her involvement in sports, King made it a priority to excel in her studies, even when balancing the two worlds became increasingly difficult.

“It really comes down to time management and doing my work first,” said King about how she manages her many commitments.

Her best advice for younger student athletes about managing the difficult workload as well as the demanding sports schedule was to “be present in the moment” and concentrate on the task in front of you. She attributes her overall success to working hard and remaining focused while completing schoolwork and doing the same when she steps out onto the field.

Joshua Saunders, both King’s teacher and flag football coach, believes her most admirable characteristic is her commitment.

“She shows up for everything all the time and is committed to both her studies and her sports,” said Saunders. “When she decides she will be good at something, she works hard and makes sure she is the best she can be. She works hard to achieve [her goals] and commits.”

King claims that earning the award made her finally feel as if her hard work and commitment were paying off. One of her many keys to success was her time management skills. She says the hardest part about balancing the IB curriculum and school sports came down to the way she managed her time.

“Because of her high commitment level, I think Caroline is faced with a lot of internal conflicts with what to choose,” said Saunders, “But she handles her conflicts better than any person I have ever seen.”

For more info on the Academic State Team, click here.