I grew up in Miami, Florida and went through the public school education system since kindergarten. My parents always tried to find a way for me to stay connected to Judaism. Though I did not like it very much, I attended Hebrew School in preparation for my Bar Mitzvah. Then, upon starting 10th grade, my parents and friends convinced me to try Maccabi Tzair Miami, a youth movement that develops leadership among Jewish teens. From the first week, I fell in love with this program. I became more and more involved with Maccabi and still participate at an international level.
When I was applying for college, I did not know where I wanted to go, or what I wanted to study. I visited many schools but one stood out over all the others – Georgia Tech in Atlanta was a perfect fit. Georgia Tech specializes in Industrial Engineering and this is what I have decided to study. When my parents told me that they would need help paying for college, I was very grateful to learn about JELF, as the idea of graduating with too much debt really worries me. JELF has helped turn my dream of studying Industrial Engineering at Georgia Tech into reality!
The average cost of college in the United States is $35K a year. This cost is only going to continue to grow.
31% of Jewish families have a household income of under $50K. The Jewish community is not immune to debt or hardship.
That's a problem! With student loan debt at an all time high, JELF is here to help!