Five recent high school graduates from the Santa Barbara area received scholarships to help defray college costs when Cox Charities hosted its annual Cox Scholars celebration June 11 at Glenn Annie Golf Club in Goleta.

In celebration of its 20th anniversary this year, Cox Charities awarded a total of $11,000 in scholarships to the five 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.

In Santa Barbara, more than 65 percent of Cox employees are Cox Charities members, meaning they donate a self-determined amount per paycheck to support the community.

Additionally, in the Santa Barbara region, Cox Charities has awarded more than $120,000 in college 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 Kirsten McLaughlin, market vice president in Santa Barbara

“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,” she said.

At the event, McLaughlin recognized elected representatives including Goleta Mayor Paula Perotte; Goleta Council member Roger Aceves,;Jesse Ebadi of Congressman Salud Carbajal’s office; Hannah Sullivan, representative of state Sen. Hannah Beth Jackson; Stephani Ramirez Zarate of Assemblymember Monique Limon’s office; and Ashley Kruzel attending on behalf County Supervisors Gregg Hart and Das Williams.

The officials also provided certificates for the scholars.

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 2019 Cox Scholars for Santa Barbara are:

Arman Banan, recently graduated from San Marcos High School, will be attending the University of Southern California in the fall. In high school, Banan co-founded a student-led volunteer organization called Teens on the Scene working with several philanthropies across the city.

Banan is an accomplished volleyball player and worked as class treasurer of San Marcos High which is good practice for his goal of becoming an investment manager. She credits his mom with inspiring him to pursue this career path.

Santa Barbara High School graduate Jaqueline (Jackie) Heras Mejia will be attending UC Berkeley in the fall. She is interested in pursuing a career as a pediatrician. She was inspired by her mom who wanted to pursue a career in nursing.

Her mother couldn’t accomplish her goal since college was a luxury she couldn’t afford at the time. Mejia’s parents left Oaxaca, Mexico, so she could have opportunity at life in the United States.

In college, she said she is most looking forward to meeting new people, living in a new city and expanding her knowledge of the world. She is inspired to volunteer in the community because she has seen how important it is to give back.

Jennifer Quito Alvarez, also a recent graduate from Santa Barbara High School, will be attending the University of Southern California. She will pursue a bachelors degree and license in architecture at USC’s School of Architecture’s five-year bachelors program.

She hopes to combine her love for the arts with her love for environmental science with focus on sustainable design. She said she hopes to gain the knowledge necessary to fight housing issues in the U.S. and abroad.

She is an accomplished musician, performing on the flute, vibraphone and marimba. She plans to join USC’s marching band The Spirt of Troy.

Dos Pueblos High School graduate Michael Diaz will be attending UC Berkeley to study political science. He is most passionate about social justice issues, which has inspired his volunteer work in the community.

As secretary for the Santa Barbara Youth Council, he helped resolve pressing issues affecting local youth. Diaz plans to pursue a career with the United Nations and is interested in becoming a political pcience professor.

He said he looks forward to making new friends and exploring internships to help his career goals.

Tiffany Garcia recently graduated from San Marcos High School. She will be attending George Washington University in political communications major. She is interested in in becoming a campaign manager.

Garcia first became interested in politics while helping her grandmother study to gain her citizenship. She believes it is important to provide a voice and representative to those who are forgotten.

She is most excited about joining college programs like the campus newspaper. She also plans to be involved in the Civic House, which is an academic residential community for political communication students.

— Charla Batey for Cox Charities.