Evelyn Agbesi grew up in Ghana, where caring for the elderly is a strong community norm. She graduated from New York University and is now in her final year at the Hunter School of Social Work, where her concentration is gerontological social work. She has considerable undergraduate debt and now faces more debt in order to complete her graduate studies.

Arlenis Almonte is entering her senior year at Bentley College, where she is majoring in marketing. She chose Bentley because she has always wanted to go into business, the primary focus of the school. Arlenis has maintained a 3.65 GPA while holding down two part-time jobs. This summer she will participate in JFEW's Mentor Program. Her mother is a widowed factory worker.

Rachel Friedman graduated summa cum laude from Brooklyn College in 2003 and currently is pursuing a Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Yeshiva University. She has three college-age siblings. Although she is working part time, she has accumulated significant debt during this long and costly program. Her JFEW scholarship will reduce the total amount of debt she is carrying when she completes the program.

Esmira Yusufova came to the United States from Azerbaijan less than five years ago. She worked very hard at Hunter College these past two years and was just accepted into their highly competitive nursing program. She has a younger sister in college and another in high school. Esmira's mother is studying to become a medical technician and hopes to finish her program soon.