4 Palos Verdes Students Win Cox Scholarship Awards

PALOS VERDES, CA — Four recent high school graduates from the Palos Verdes area are among 16 Southern California students to receive scholarships to help defray college costs, a Cox Charities spokesperson shared Friday.

In celebration of its 20th anniversary, Cox Charities awarded a total of $40,000 in scholarships to sixteen students.

"Cox Charities is the philanthropic arm of Cox Communications and is funded by employee donations, matched by Cox, and overseen by an advisory board consisting of employees who volunteer their time," they said.

More than 60 percent of Cox employees in Palos Verdes and Orange County are Cox Charities members, meaning they donate a self-determined amount per paycheck to support the community. Additionally, in the Orange County and Palos Verdes areas, Cox Communications in California has awarded more than $1.6 million in scholarships to date.

"Our scholarship program is very important to our employees who love reviewing the applications and learning about the impressive accomplishments of our local students," said Sam Attisha, Senior Vice President and California Region Manager. "This year, Cox Charities celebrates its 20th anniversary in California and 20 years of employees giving back to the community, which makes these scholarships even more special."

The Cox Scholars program is open to graduating high school seniors who live in a Cox service area and meet various academic and community service criteria. For more information on the Cox Scholars program, visit www.coxcharitiesca.org.

The students were selected based on their academic success, community service, leadership and commitment to their education. The four 2019 Cox Scholars from Palos Verdes regions are:

Palos Verdes Peninsula High School graduate RJ Wakefield-Carl looks forward to attending UC San Diego to pursue a career in the computer industry, specially cyber security. He has been inspired to pursue this career by his participation in the CyberPatriot program, involvement in Capture the Flag competitions, and his general interest in computers.

Joy Lee, another Palos Verdes Peninsula High School graduate, will attend at Loyola Marymount University in the fall as a Biology major. Her grandmother's journey and experiences of being an obstetrician in a small Korean town helped to foster insight into what the biology field has to offer. Further, fighting a childhood illness at Children's Hospital of Los Angeles guided her to regain her health and the doctor's showcased phenomenal knowledge, skill, and kindness that inspired her to commit to volunteer at the hospital.

Sarah Atashi, a graduate from Palos Verdes High School is enrolled at the University of Southern California (USC). Atashi will pursue a journalism degree from the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. Her interest in journalism was fostered by her involvement in high school yearbook and the school's weekly news show, "Live from 205."

Another Palos Verdes High School graduate, Peter Chelebian is enrolled at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He is interested in pursuing a law because he wants to help people directly to the best of his ability. In his current volunteer activities he feels inspired by the people he helps directly. As such, he's received letters and updates from people thanking him for the difference he has made.

Patch staffer Ashley Ludwig contributed to this post