2020 Success Stories: Andrew Palrao

WARWICK, R.I. -- The Community College of Rhode Island’s Cybersecurity Club is riding high after succeeding on a national scale during the spring. Thanks to a strong showing at the National Cyber League (NCL) spring competition, CCRI placed 27^th nationally out of 510 colleges and universities in the final Cyber Power Rankings for the spring season. The performance was commended by David Ziechick, commissioner of the NCL, which has students perform real-world cybersecurity tasks that translate to the workforce.

Johnny Villella needs to clear more space in his trophy case. Villella, a CCRI alum, won an Emmy at the 2025 New England Emmy Awards in the category of News Feature: Serious Feature (Multiple Reports). The award is one of many for Villella, who’s enjoyed a long, decorated career at WPRI-TV (Channel 12 in Rhode Island).

The Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) is pleased to announce that it has joined the network of Achieving the Dream (ATD), a national organization committed to advancing community colleges as accessible hubs of learning, credentialing, and economic mobility.

On February 24, 2025, the International Astronomical Union Working Group for Small Body Nomenclature (WGSBN) recognized CCRI alumni Francine Jackson’s contributions to astronomy education and outreach by naming an asteroid in her honor.The designation was announced in WGSBN Bulletin 5, No. 3, under new names of Minor Planets.