2014 Hawthorne High School graduate, Tino Graziano, has spent the last four years building a strong foundation for a very successful life after high school. The avid baseball player and Honor Society student will be attending the University of Scranton in the fall with a pre-med major and a business minor.

Although Graziano is in the top of his senior class and a high honor student, he has been able to maintain a strong balance between academic life and social life over the past four years of high school. He has also been involved in many activities, including varsity baseball, Peer Leaders, Italian Club, S.H.A.R.E, Italian Honor Society, and National Honor Society, as well as being a NJ Boys State Delegate in the summer of 2013 and the recipient of the 1st annual Jack DiSalvo Foundation Leadership Scholarship in 2014.

Apart from academia, Graziano is a huge sports fan and enjoys hanging out with friends, working on his car, going to the gym, playing baseball, and just trying to enjoy every day.

When asked how he has managed to participate in so much and still have an excellent academic standing, Graziano said, “I put school first, but sports are important to me as well. You just have to find the time to study and get everything done. Sometimes it gets hectic, but you gotta do it!”

Marisa Margarucci, Italian teacher at HHS, commented about Graziano, saying, “He is a fantastic student and an all-around great kid. He has a great sense of responsibility and maturity. I am sure he will find great success in all his future endeavors.”Graziano praised his teachers, saying they are “awesome,” and the bonds he formed with them have pushed him to succeed. He said his teachers placed an “emphasis on the importance of learning” and have helped him accomplish his goals.

As Granziano begins his journey beyond the walls of HHS, he is confident he will succeed and enjoy life. He said, “…wherever life will take me, I put happiness first and ‘go with the flow.’”