Whiz Kid: Fifth Grade Phenom Tommasina DiMeglio

Tommasina DiMeglio is 11 years old and a fifth grader at School No. 1 in Fort Lee. She enjoys going to school, participating in sports and playing musical instruments.

But it’s rare to find someone like Tommasina who has accomplished so much at her age in such a wide array of areas.  

When she was as young as five years old, this Whiz Kid was trying sports like pee wee baseball and flag football as one of the girls on the boys' team.  

She is also a part of three Fort Lee sports programs, including soccer, basketball and softball, as she competes with the recreation squads and the travel teams. Remarkably, Tommasina also swims the breaststroke and freestyle in the summer when the other sports are on recess.

DiMeglio says that basketball is her favorite sport and others have noticed why.

“I guarantee you, as a freshman, she will be starting varsity as a point guard [for Fort Lee],” said Mike Klein, League President of the Fort Lee Girls Basketball League where Tommasina plays. “She has the sense on the court of just hitting the open man all the time.”

“You get to run up and down and get a lot of exercise,” DiMeglio said of playing basketball. “It’s fun because I play point guard, so I get the ball a lot and it helps me with my hand-eye coordination.”

In addition to athletics and being good with her eyes, DiMeglio is also very talented musically using her ears. Tommasina played the piano growing up in her musical family and then started performing on the cello this year for her school music program.

“She is a natural,” Tommasina’s mother Connie said. “In preschool, her music teacher noticed she had a natural ability to play…she is also into singing for the chorus at her school.”

DiMeglio found time to become a ballerina as well and has recently added cheerleading to the mix.

“I got to explore the art of being a ballerina, and I liked it because it gave me my flexibility to do gymnastics,” Tommasina, who now performs cartwheels with the cheerleading team to, said .

But with all of the accomplishments and medals out of school, it is what she does in the classroom that helps her excel after the final bell.

Tommasina is described as one of the top students in her grade, a member of the Gifted & Talented Program, and has even participated in events to display her creativity.

DiMeglio earns mostly A's in school and sometimes does homework for two to three hours a night to maintain those grades.

And even with all of this on her plate, Tommasina places school above the rest.

“Really school is number one,” her mother said. “If her grades are slipping or she has a test to study for, then she is not going to go to practice. It’s more important that she stays home and studies. But so far that hasn’t been an issue.”

One of the reasons this has not become a problem is the commitment of Tommasina’s mother, Connie, and father, Ralph, who will drive their daughter and son to separate events and make sure they don’t skip a beat. Connie also helps her daughter schedule out the day to make things easier on a girl who has tried a little of everything.

“It comes right from her parents,” Mike Klein added. “Her parents are both astute and her parents push her to be the best that she can, but they also let her decide what she wants to do. Definitely, her doing all that is good parenting. Both her mother and father are very, very supportive at anything she does.”

But when she was asked why she does so much, DiMeglio simply said, “to have fun and enjoy life.”

And with those final words, Tommasina was right back to her busy schedule with a smile on her face.

Know a great kid who made Eagle Scout or did your local soccer team take the
championship? They may be our next Patch Whiz Kid honoree.
Each week, Fort Lee Patch will seek suggestions from readers for
individual kids, youth groups, teens, and even sports teams that wow us with their
accomplishments. We want to hear about these amazing children and teens and
select one each week as the Patch Whiz Kid. Submit your nomination in our comment box below or e-mail the information to erik.wander@patch.com. Be sure to include all of the following information:

● Nominator's Name
● Nominator's E-Mail
● Whiz Kid's Name
● Whiz Kid's Age
● Whiz Kid's School
● Whiz Kid's Accomplishment
● Whiz Kid's Key to Awesomeness (what made him/her successful?)

If your nominee is selected, we'll contact you and asign a photographer to take a photo. For questions, e-mail erik.wander@patch.com