Faces of JFS

Jefferies Family Scholarship has had the honor of assisting hundreds of students pursue their academic goals. It is with great pride that we are able to introduce some of our current recipients.

2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006

		Tiffany Ainsley Leynes Valenton University of California, Irvine Tiffany Ainsley Leynes Valenton, daughter of Giorgio Valenton, an analyst in Jefferies' Accounts Payable department in Los Angeles, is currently attending the University of California, Irvine and pursuing Chemistry as a major. Tiffany has enjoyed her experience and research with Professor Eric Potma in the Physical Sciences department, researching the CARS method of breast cancer tissue, skin samples, and hair. In short, CARS (Coherent Anti-stokes Raman Spectroscopy) is a method of chemically imaging biological and molecular systems. In addition to schoolwork and research, Tiffany enjoys her part time job at Hollister and working in a friendly and relaxing environment. Tiffany describes herself as a friendly and outgoing person who enjoys spending time with her family, working out, listening to music, and dancing.
		Kenneth Eddlestone, Jr. Southeastern Louisiana University Kenneth Eddlestone, Jr., son of Donna Eddlestone, an administrative assistant in investment banking in the New Orleans office, is a freshman at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana, and is pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering. While attending Northshore High School, he was a three-year varsity letterman on the basketball team and was selected as team captain senior year, achieving Academic-All State Outstanding Athlete honors. Outside of school, Ken has worked as a busser for a local restaurant and as a camp counselor for a local church summer camp. Ken was respected by his campers for his good nature, sense of humor, and his fairness in dealing with difficult situations. His fellow co-workers have often sought him out for advice and he has taken on a leadership role among his peers. Ken can be described as dedicated to his studies, fun-loving and free-spirited.
		Kristen Cucurullo College of Staten Island Kristen Cucurullo, daughter of Thomas Cucurullo, an AVP in the Operations group in Jefferies' Jersey City office, is a sophomore at the College of Staten Island. Upon graduation, she hopes to fulfill her life long aspiration of becoming an elementary school teacher. She has wanted to be a teacher for as long as she can remember and adores children. The College of Staten Island offers an American Sign Language course which she took last year and enjoyed. This skill opened another door for Kristen's future, providing her the opportunity to help hearing disabled children.
		Maria Economou St. John's University Maria Economou, daughter of Eva Economou, an administrative assistant in Jefferies' Leveraged Finance group in New York, is a freshman at St. John's University, pursuing a degree in Speech Language Pathology. Maria chose this discipline because she wanted to help children and adults achieve their goals in becoming better communicators. In high school, Maria participated in extracurricular activities such as The Greek club, The Animal Rights Club and G.O.Y.A. With a great passion for dance, she has taken dance lessons for 12 years in ballet, tap and jazz, in addition to playing competitive soccer for the last eight years. While in high school, Maria was employed part time at C-Town Supermarket as a cashier as well as working in their business office. Although her work and school schedule kept Maria busy, she still found time to spend with family and friends who describe her as friendly, humorous, and dedicated.
		Melissa Christine Galvin SUNY Geneseo Melissa Christine Galvin, daughter of Kevin Galvin, a Senior VP in Jefferies' Finance group in New York, is a senior at SUNY Geneseo studying Communicative Disorders and Sciences. In 2007, she was selected to receive the Alan Herrick Memorial Award. Melissa wishes to pursue a career in Speech Language Pathology so that she can reach out and help as many people as she possibly can. Melissa is active in her school community, where she participates in organizations such as Golden Key Honor Society, Kappa Delta Pi Honor Society, NSSLHA (National Student Speech Language Hearing Association), Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society, Orchesis Dance Club, and the Women's Ice Hockey Club. Along with her career in speech-language pathology, Melissa also has a passion for dance. Over the past four years she has participated in a week-long summer intensive program at Radio City Music Hall with the Rockettes and aspires to someday be in a Radio City Production. Melissa is a very hard-working and determined young woman who is focused on achieving her goals. Her life passions will undoubtedly aid her in her dream of improving the lives of all who surround her.
		Steve Careccia Rutgers University Steve is a senior at Rutgers Business School and will graduate in May. He plans to enter Law School after graduation to pursue a Tax Law Degree. Last summer he interned at Schering Plough in the firm's Global Finance Department. Steve belongs to Epsilon Phi fraternity and is a fitness nut and enjoys running. Steve's father Anthony is a Vice President in Jefferies' Management and Administration group in New York.
		Christopher Careccia St. Joseph's University Christopher is a freshman attending the Haub School of Business at St. Joseph's University. The 5-year program that he has entered is a rotation of full-time study and work experience, with two semesters of full-time internship experience in the Philadelphia area. In high school, Chris was an honor roll student and captain of the varsity baseball and football teams. He was first-team all conference in both sports, and was selected as conference defensive player of the year for his senior year. Last summer, Chris worked at a baseball camp for children ages 7 through 13. Christopher's father Anthony is a Vice President in Jefferies' Management and Administration group in New York.
		David Langer Bucknell University David Langer is a senior at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. He is double majoring in economics and history, and is a member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. Last semester, David was on the student committee to help select two visiting professors for the University's Economics department. He participated in an internship last summer at Investment Technology Group, Inc. in New York City. Throughout the program he worked on corporate tax returns, helped with the creation of a user manual for the new CRM program, and performed various other tasks. After graduation, David hopes to work for one of the "big four" accounting firms in New York City. David's father, Al, was a First Vice President of Finance in the accounting department of the Los Angeles Office for 22 years, prior to retiring in 2007.
		Karinne Colon Manhattan College Karinne Colon is currently in her junior year at Manhattan College, where she is working toward her B.A. in Developmental Psychology with a minor in Education. After graduation, she hopes to teach in an elementary school setting while working towards her Master's in Psychology. From there, she aspires to work towards a PhD in childhood and early adolescent psychology. Her career goals include teaching psychology at a university while also conducting research in the field. Karinne spends her extracurricular time working part time and exploring hobbies and interests such as writing, singing and going to the movies. Karinne's mother, Evelyn worked at Jefferies for 5 years as a sales associate on the Institutional Equity Trading Desk.
		Vikram Rajan Manalapan High School Vikram, son of Dayanand Rajan, a VP in the Equities Technology group in our New York office, is a senior at Manalapan High School in New Jersey. He is participating in an accelerated Science and Engineering program, in addition to serving as the co-founder and president of a successful and popular Stock Club at his school. Vikram also has a student pilot certificate, which allows him to fly solo in a plane, and by the end of this summer he plans on earning his private pilot license. Accomplishments like these and excellent grades earned Vikram the recognition of being selected to receive the Jefferies Award of Merit.
		Andrew Shum Massachusetts Institute of Technology Andrew, son of Kevin Shum, a VP in the Equities Technology group in our New York office, is a college freshman studying research and physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Prior to entering college he completed a project investigating the behavior of glass-forming liquids at very low temperatures and was named a semi-finalist in the Siemens Competition and the Intel Science Talent Search. He has also earned semi-finalist titles in the US Olympiads in biology, chemistry, and physics. While in high school, he served as the principal oboist of the NJ Symphony Youth Orchestra, vice-president of the NJ Technology Student Association Chapter, and the captain of his school's Science Bowl team that took first place at the state tournament. Aside from the sciences, Andrew enjoys learning such varied subjects as music theory, linguistics, and ancient world history. As a lover of all forms of art, his many hobbies include graphic design, photography, dancing, and beatboxing. He also takes interest in traveling, tutoring, and weight-lifting. Andrew has been described as friendly and caring towards people of all ages.