"Do not give up! Having the career of one's dreams compensates for the struggle and length of time it takes to get there."

A Love of Teaching
Erica Jones graduated from UCLA with a bachelor's degree in Liberal Studies and a master's degree in Education. She found her calling to become a teacher for young children, while doing volunteer work in elementary schools in Texas. "I felt great satisfaction knowing that I helped a child read and understand a curriculum that was confusing."

Erica is currently a certified educator in the Los Angeles Unified School District teaching grade school. "I enjoy teaching very much, except for the disciplinary aspect." She plans on teaching grade school for at least five more years, but is interested in working at an education company that focuses on developing and improving early literacy programs. She hopes to get board certified soon, as it will help her understand more early literacy development.

A Rewarding Path
"My life is where I want it to be. I have a career of choice and am blessed to have a parent that works in a company that helps support children in their educational and career dreams," she says. Erica also feels very accomplished in her personal life as well. She and her husband recently bought their first home. In the future, she hopes to have a family, work for an educational company, and continue the joys of marriage and home.

A Family First
Erica is very proud of her academic and professional achievements. She is the first in her family to be a college graduate with a bachelor's degree and a master's degrees and has successfully completed her first two years of teaching.

The Jefferies Family Scholarship is also helping her two younger siblings, Ninoska and Javier in their academic pursuits. Her father, Carlos Altamirano, is very grateful to the program for absorbing some of the costs of tuition. "Means of paying for college is not a worry anymore for him," she says. Carlos has been working in copy services at Jefferies' Los Angeles office for 18 years. "He enjoys his job, and provides a very valuable service for the company."

Erica credits the scholarship for allowing her to have the privilege to work as an educator for young children. "The program is a true blessing for those that have difficulties with the financial burden brought by tuition fees or other fees necessary for a successful experience in higher education."

"Set goals for yourself, and put them somewhere you can see them so that you do not lose sight of them as life changes."

Embracing Challenge
Ninoska Altimiranos, is a current recipient of the Jefferies Family Scholarship and a Junior at Brigham University. She is a French major with a minor in Editing. Her interest in French began as a freshman in high school when she actually had difficulty learning the language. "I struggled with French in the beginning, but I was determined to learn, and I got better and better at reading and writing," she recalls. In her senior year of high school she received an award for her excellence in the language from the French Society. Her interest in editing came later, while taking summer classes at Brigham in desktop publishing and editing. "There were a lot of fun projects to work on as part of the program and I found I really enjoyed it," she says. Outside of schoolwork, Ninoska loves to run, scrapbook, read, play the piano and watercolor. "I like to dabble in a lot of different things," says Ninoska.

An Aspiring Editor
A native of Los Angeles, she plans to return to the West Coast to be closer to her family after she graduates from school. Ninoska would like to apply the editing skills she's gained while in school to pursue a career in publishing. She would love to work on the editorial staff of a magazine or book publishing company and hopes one day to be a senior editor. She also hopes to have a happy and healthy family.

A Real Family scholarship
The scholarship has been a great help to Ninoska and her family. Ninoska's sister, Erica, is a former JFS recipient and graduate of UCLA with a bachelor's degree in Liberal Studies and a master's degree in Education. She is currently teaching Los Angeles Unified School District. Ninoska's brother and fellow JFS recipient, Javier, is currently finishing up his undergraduate degree at California State while working part time at Jefferies in the Los Angeles office, with their father, Carlos Altimiranos. Carlos has worked in copy services in Jefferies' Los Angeles office for 18 years. Ninoska is thankful for the help she has received from the JFS. "I've used it to help cover the overall costs of tuition, housing, and books," says Ninoska. "It has been really valuable for me."