A volunteer firefighter who is dedicated to community service, Allamuchy resident has received a full, four-year scholarship to Centenary University

Centenary University first-year student Kygan Garletts of Allamuchy is dedicated to improving his community. An honor student while attending Hackettstown High School, Garletts founded the Clean Community Club in his senior year to help the environment and raise funds. In its first year, the club recruited approximately 15 student volunteers and forged relationships with elected officials in Allamuchy and Hackettstown to pick up litter. The club’s efforts earned more than $750. 

            “Environmentalism is a huge deal for me, so I wanted to bring that part of my life into the school,” explained Garletts, a biology and environmental science major at Centenary. “I also really like helping people, so through the Clean Community Club I wanted other students to experience the joy that I feel in helping others.”

            Centenary University recently named Garletts the 2024 Hackettstown Scholar, a designation that awards a full, four-year tuition scholarship to a graduate of Hackettstown High School. Called the Hackettstown Partnership Scholarship, the award recognizes students who demonstrate outstanding academic and extracurricular achievement, as well as service to the community.

            A high school student-athlete, Garletts was a member of Hackettstown High School’s cross country, track, and swim teams, as well as the National Honor Society, the National Science Honor Society, the National Math Honor Society, and the Key Club. As a high school sophomore, Garletts signed on as a junior volunteer firefighter with the Allamuchy Fire Department, and today, he’s a probationary firefighter preparing to begin Firefighter I training. Garletts said, “At Centenary, I can continue firefighting, while getting a college education. That’s a huge plus for me.” 

When Garletts heard about the Hackettstown Partnership Scholarship at Centenary, he applied immediately. “Finances are an issue for me right now, so I was looking for a college with the lowest possible cost,” explained Garletts, who lives at home with his father, sister, and twin brother, who is also a volunteer firefighter in Allamuchy. “My dad was so happy when he heard about the scholarship. It’s such a blessing—the most amazing thing that could have happened.”

As he settles into his freshman year, Garletts values the small class sizes at Centenary that have given him the opportunity to interact closely with his professors. His future plans include attending graduate school to study environmental engineering and forestry. He has this message to the donors who funded Centenary’s Hackettstown Partnership Scholarship: “I’m going to make sure that your investment in me will be worth it. I want to make an impact on the community by continuing to help others, and on the world by improving environmental stability.” 

ABOUT CENTENARY UNIVERSITY
Centenary University offers extraordinary learning opportunities that empower students to develop intellectually, emotionally, and interculturally—keys to career and personal success. Under the leadership of President Dale Caldwell, Ed.D., the University aspires to advance its reputation as a world class institution offering innovative programs, including the world’s first Master of Arts in Happiness Studies, to lift the future for our students and local communities.