Toll Gate High School senior Ryan Viti and Warwick Vets’ Stephanie R. Racca were in some mighty select company June 1 in Providence. They were joined by six other high school seniors from across Rhode Island who have excelled in academics and near unmatched community involvement.

Those students, who came to the RI State House armed with wide smiles and their families, received Cox Communications Scholarships during a special ceremony presided over by Jennifer Bramley, Cox’s Vice President of Government and Public Affairs.

Likewise, Jay Albaugh, the Senior Vice President/Regional Manager for Cox, gave the company greetings, saying, “Cox is committed to the communities we serve, and our focus has always been promoting youth education and support programs that foster academic success. We are proud to recognize these eight outstanding students and to play a role in helping them build a foundation for the future.”

Albaugh and Peter F. Kilmartin, RI’s Attorney General who is the honorary chair of Cox’s scholarship program, presented each student a special citation along with a $2,000 scholarship that several speakers said “will obviously make your parents happy.”

Kilmartin said it best about the eight students and the scholarship program.

“Each year, Cox Communications recognizes some of the best and brightest students in Rhode Island and this year’s recipients are no exception,” Kilmartin said. “Each student has excelled academically as well as given back to the community. I commend them for their accomplishments and wish them all the best in what will no doubt be very bright futures.”

The attorney general, known for his contributions to education and community-oriented events, then paused before saying, “You students would be very, very proud. Competition this year was very keen. We had a total of 120 applicants for these scholarships…congratulations!”

Viti, who plans to study engineering at the University of Delaware beginning in September, is a member of the Toll Gate High Chapter of the National Honor Society. His hobbies include playing sports such as basketball and baseball and he enjoys spending time with friends and family. He is also a member of the National Junior Honor Society, Spanish National Honors Society and he served as senior captain of the Titan’s cross country team.

Viti also played basketball and is in his final baseball season at Toll Gate. He has volunteered his time with several organizations, but serving as a tutor has allowed him to develop a better perspective on how people learn differently than others and how that makes each and every one of us unique.

Racca, who will graduate from Warwick Vets, plans to attend Worcester Polytechnic Institute to pursue a degree in computer science. Her hobbies include cupcake baking, video editing and movie creations and she also plays the piano and is a self-taught electric base player.

Like the other Cox Scholarship recipients, Racca is a member of the National Honor Society and the National Spanish Honor Society. She received the Humanities History Awards in 2015 and was selected to attend the Seidenberg Scholar Program from Pace University.

Racca also participated on the Math League Team, Art Club and the varsity tennis team where she currently serves as the captain. She’s also a member of the Hurricanes co-ed varsity golf team. She takes pride in volunteering her time in the Children’s Summer Reading Program at the Warwick Public Library sharing her love for reading and encouraging young children to read as well.

Cox’s Class of 2016 also included Austin Lind, North Kingstown; Margaret Miniati, Barrington; Oliver Haazard, North Smithfield; Qi Wen Chen, Cranston East; Valentine Russell, Johnston; Vivian Tian, Barrington.

Since 1994, Cox Communications has given more than $600,000 in scholarships.