Eagle Scout is the highest honor that can be attained by a Boy Scout in the Boy Scouts of America. This is a difficult accolade to achieve, but it is a testament to the work ethic and strong values held by these individuals.

Hillsborough High School is privileged enough to have eight students who have reached this decorated distinction. Ranging from sophomores to seniors, Joe Bijas, Ryan Centofanti, Anthony Hebert, Zack Krasnansky, Jared Tebbi, Trevor Tomczak, Nathaniel Trampe, and Daniel Eppes are all Eagle Scouts who attend HHS. This group of young men each acquired 21 merit badges and completed a comprehensive project.

There are various different projects that have been completed to achieve this rank.

Senior Anthony Hebert created a 500-foot long crushed stone pathway along the outdoor Stations of the Cross at Mary Mother of God Church.  In total, about 275 hours of work were put into the project.

“This achievement is the greatest thing that I’ve done so far, and although it took a lot of hard work, I’m very thankful that I followed through with it until the end,” Herbert said. 

At HHS, Hebert  is also involved with the school’s concert band and is president of the STEM club.

Another senior, John “Zack” Krasnansky, converted two rooms in the Somerset County Historical Society into a museum that included organizing colonial-era tools and Native American artifacts into a display. He built six display cases, framed pictures and painted all the walls.

“I recieved letters from NASA and other companies, colleges, and celebrities,” Krasnansky said. “I met Congressmen Lance when he came to my Eagle ceremony.”

Centofanti’s proejct was to build a retaining wall around a bathroom at Oak Springs Girl Scout Camp in Somerset, New Jersey.  The purpose of the project was to prevent further land erosion and to create a privacy barrier to keep people from looking inside the bathroom.

“Like most people, I feel pretty accomplished to finally achieve this high rank, but what makes me feel great is knowing that I made a difference in my community and I will continue to do so for the rest of my life,” Centofanti said.

Centofanti is also involved with HHS Theater, Waksman Student Scholarship Program (WSSP), and the Tri-M Music Honor Society.

Besides their commitment to Boy Scouts, this group of young men are also heavily involved with school and extracurricular activities. The special attributes held by these Eagle scouts are things that they bring to the halls of HHS everyday.