Hills West Valedictorian Stands Tall Despite Disability

A mathlete. Quiz Bowl competitor. President of the Chess Club. Biology researcher at Stony Brook. A 99.9 grade average.

That last line is not a typo. Neither is anything that came before it. It's the resume of Dianna Hu, valedictorian of the Hills West Class of 2011.

"I think it's such an honor because everyone at is really dedicated to their work," Dianna said upon learning she was head of the class. "Even more than that we're dedicated to helping each other, I think that's what comes first and foremost."

No surprise, she's heading to Harvard in the fall, with math and science her primary interests. What may surprise you is that Dianna is largely confined to a wheelchair because of a disability she's had since birth. Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a neuromuscular disease that affects muscles associated with the spinal cord, and 1 in 40 people carry the disease.

SMA can certainly make navigating the halls of high school a challenge. Dianna has an aide to assist her, and she undergoes physical and occupational therapy at school and at home. Suffice to say, it hasn't affected her in the classroom one bit.

"Although it affects my physical body," she said, "it doesn't really affect my mind at all and I think that's what's really so powerful, that I can still use my intellectual power to compensate for the lack of physical power."

She's compensated all right, with a near-perfect grade average, and SMA has spurred Dianna to do research at Stony Brook with Dr. Carlos Simmerling, a renowned chemistry professor. She's even done work with a protein associated with her disability.

Her accomplishments in the face of physical limitations have not gone unnoticed by the staff at Hills West. Specifically, her upbeat attitude through her time there.

"The fact that she's valedictorian for me is secondary," assistant principal Frank Pugliese said. "[Secondary] to the fact that she does carry on with this incredible attitude and just incredible love of life."

Dianna has spoken in front of large crowds, at disability awareness panels, for example. That experience should serve her well in her next challenge: addressing the as valedictorian.

"I imagine maybe my graduation speech might have a little flavor of that, it might just reflect on all my years being here and just being so loved by everyone," Dianna said.

Dianna says she loves solving riddles, but one that's easy to decipher is her fondness for Hills West, and those that have made her journey through its halls a stimulating one the last four years.

"It's a sense of poignant nostalgia, I would love to be here forever if I could,"  Dianna said. "When you're surrounded at school every day by people that you love, it's all great in the end."