Mary Joy is thirteen years old. She is top nine in her class. She loves to read, especially fairytales. She rent many books from the school library. In the future, she dreams of becoming a nurse or a flight attendant. Receiving a scholarship is important to her because an education will help her become successful in life. In return, she will be able to help her mother and her family, as well as others who need a good education too. She studies hard, and is a good example to other young learners. Her personal goal is "To finish my studies and to become a successful in life and to help my family especially my mother."

Arjun's father died when he was young. His mother is in the village.

He is a partial orphan currently living with his mother. The father died in 2008. The mother is a peasant farmer who is increasingly finding it difficult to support her family and also to keep her three other children in secondary school. Alloyce has many times been sent out of school for lack of school fees. His dream is to become a neurologist.

Marilyn is sweet, outgoing, and enthusiastic. She enjoys singing and dancing, and dreams of becoming an artist. She chose computer science as her career so that she can give workshops to children and youth in her district on basic science and computer knowledge, so that they can gain an "understanding of problems and propose solutions that are creative and efficient." Marilyn's family has been integral to providing her with support to attend high school and post-secondary school. Although they face difficult financial circumstances, they have been very generous to Mosqoy volunteers. When Mosqoy representatives recently visited her family in Ollantaytambo, they were provided with a home-cooked meal. Marilyn was raised in a campesino (rural indigenous) Quechua family on a farm outside Ollantaytambo, with two other siblings. Her family owns a farm alongside the Urubamba River and sells corn at the local market. Unfortunately, this means her family's farm has been impacted detrimentally by flooding from the river this year. Marilyn was one of the strongest graduates of her high school class from "Collegio Ollantay," and was the first of her family to graduate high school. Hey family has been very supportive of her education and is very proud of her decision to go to school. Marilyn's mother was unable to attend high school, and although she has found it challenging to send Marilyn to Cusco to attend classes, she is incredibly proud and excited about the opportunity. In order to attend post-secondary school, many students from rural highland communities in Peru must move to the city for the first time. In order to maintain stability and a sense of community, Mosqoy provides students with a home to stay in together in Cusco called "Casa Mosqoy." Marilyn has just moved into "Casa Mosqoy," and is settling in well to her life in Cusco. She has made a new family with her peers and is very excited about her upcoming classes.

Raul is from a traditional Quechua community, Huilloc, in the highland region of the Patakancha Valley. This valley is home to some of the most famous indigenous textiles of the region and stems from a long line of rich Incan history. It is a three-hour walk uphill from Ollantaytambo, the location of the nearest high school. Raul chose to study tourism so that he can bring more tourists to his community, to educate about how "we live, work with crafts and agriculture, and raise our animals." Through his efforts, he hopes to teach his fellow community members how to generate sustainable income, selling their products to tourists and operating sustainability tours. Because of this income, writes Raul, "they can provide education and good nutrition to their small children and be good citizens by keeping our culture and Quechua language." He also hopes to learn English, and teach English to vendors, so that weavers can better sell their crafts.

Emmanuel lost his entire family in the earthquake. Haiti's version of Child Protective Services, IBESR, asked if he could stay at our home while they located relatives. Family members have not been found and we have gladly welcomed him as a permanent member of our orphanage. Emmanuel is a ball of energy who loves to tumble and try thrilling new tricks on the skateboard. He is very goofy and loves to dance or act silly to make others to laugh. Please pray for Emmanuel, that he will come to know the love and hope of his Savior. Emmanuel's exact date of birth is unknown.

Viviene is proud of herself for having accomplished a good academic standing this school year. Starting high school this coming school year excites her because this will lead her closer to her dream of becoming a teacher. She will be able to help her parents when she finds a permanent teaching job in the future. For Viviene, finishing an education means success. Her personal goal is "To finish my studies; to help my parents; to have a beautiful and successful life." In 2012, Vivienne finished in the top 3 in her class.

Olivia is bright young woman who is very proud of her Ngobe heritage. This pride was the theme of her application essay. "I want to fight and say that in our comarca (reservation) we can do many things if we try to reach our goals," she wrote. Olivia plans to help her community by becoming a health official and she understands that she must work very hard and focus on her studies to achieve her dream. Her teacher described her as positive, responsible, and observant, a quality which was apparent throughout her essay, but especially in her response regarding one of her favorite subjects in school. "One of my favorite subjects is informatica (technology) because it helps me to connect to the globalizing world in which we live and it will help me achieve my goal of being a health official."

I was born in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. I am the first child in my family. My parents were both born in Haiti but they both came to the Dominican Republic to search for work, which is where they met. In this country, public schools don't always accept Haitians, and although they did accept me, they do not give a very high quality of education. Private schools give a much higher quality of education, but my family didn't have the possibility to send me. Then I got the chance to go to the Change My Stars English camp where I met many foreign counselors who were teaching us English, and teaching us about successful practices. They liked me and congratulated my work ethic and started tuition for me to go to private school. At first I missed my friends and wanted to return to public school, but then came to see the reason that they were sending me to private school. I am very happy and grateful for this privilege and I am working hard to get good grades and graduate. Thank you.