Who is the Providence Journal Student of the Week? Your vote will decide

The Providence Journal begins a new feature this week to recognize academic achievements among the state's high school students.

Below you will find the nominations for The Providence Journal's Student of the Week initiative and it's time for you to pick the best of the best.

Voting is open until noon on Thursday, Feb. 1.

High schools across the state have been asked to submit nominations and a new round of nominees and voting will be made available every Monday and close the following Thursday.

Participating Rhode Island high school principals, teachers and guidance counselors nominated students they say have shown outstanding academic and school achievement and community service.

We will announce a winner Friday on providencejournal.com and in print in the Sunday Providence Journal.

Take a look at this week's nominees and cast your ballot below.

Valeria Rosado, Central Falls High School

Valeria is the winner of the ESU Shakespeare Oration Competition. Valeria’s ability to use the archaic language of William Shakespeare to perform the role of Isabella from the play "Measure for Measure" has been transformative for anyone fortunate enough to watch. Valeria will compete at the state level in February.

Adam Rattigan, East Providence High School

Resilient is a perfect adjective for Adam Rattigan. The transition from middle to high school is difficult for almost all incoming ninth graders, and for some, it can be a daily challenge. Adam meets this challenge head-on, but refuses to give up. He is the hardest worker, has great attendance, and cares deeply about his school work, grades and teachers. Adam makes us smile every day, and we feel like the luckiest teachers to have found him in our English classroom.

Adam T. Simone, Narragansett

Adam is a strong academic student who has been awarded the Harvard Book Award, is a member of the National Honor Society, and leader and varsity goalkeeper on our soccer team.

Keaney Bayha, Pilgrim High School

When I read the line, "Consider the student who is always going above and beyond to help out in class, in extracurricular activities, and/or within the Pilgrim community," Keaney immediately came to mind.

Keaney is the president of the Class of 2025. In addition to playing several sports throughout the school year, Keaney also is a member of the Academic Decathlon Team and the Unified Pilgrim Project. She and Alexandra Howlett have also taken on resurrecting the Student Council this year, with the help of a member of the Rhode Island Congress.

When her friend was diagnosed with a serious illness this year, Keaney and her father organized the "Milk Run" to help raise funds for her friend, to offset the cost of her treatment. For the past two years, Keaney has single-handedly made the shirts for Spirit Week for the Class of 2025, to keep the cost so low that nearly everyone can afford one.

Besides devoting her time and energy endlessly to Pilgrim's clubs, sports, and her class, she is just a really great person. Despite her many accomplishments in sports and academics, she is truly a humble soul, grateful for her gifts, never bragging or calling attention to herself.

Julian Diaz, Saint Raphael Academy

Julian Diaz was chosen by Saint Raphael Academy as our “Student of the Week” based on our ethos of "Faith, Service and Community." According to one of Julian’s teachers, "when a classmate was sick/in the hospital, Julian visited his classmate and then with the help of some faculty members, came up with the idea to have everyone in the senior class sign a poster, which was given to the student." This act of kindness, combined with his stellar academic record and state soccer championship clearly exhibits who we are as a Saints community.

Jenna Navoian, South Kingstown High School

Jenna Navoian is a member of the Class of 2024 at South Kingstown High School. She is an outstanding student and person. However, what particularly struck me about Jenna was her sincere dedication to our Senior Project and its connection to the Chris Collins Foundation. Some members of our school community have seen or even purchased a hoodie to support Jenna's project. I believe she has collected over $500 in donations. Many of our staff were Chris's teachers, I thought this would be a nice way to connect the loss of this incredible young man with inspiring a younger member in our community to further the commitment to supporting our students' mental health.

Robotics team, Toll Gate High School

The Robotics team won their qualifying tournament recently, which was held at North Kingstown High School. Toll Gate is the defending state champion in Robotics. The time and energy that these students and their teacher put in is tremendous.

Abigail Emery, Westerly High School

Abigal is the winner of the VFW "Voice of Democracy" essay for the state of R.I. She will be representing R.I. in Washington, D.C., as one of 54 national finalists.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Providence Journal Student of the Week voting now open