I was an ISEF scholar for 6 years and for me, ISEF is more than just a scholarship. It is a family. You know that if you have a problem, they will help. This includes academic and personal problems as well as financial. In the U.S., ISEF's support was even more important. Firstly, because studies and life there are so much more expensive and secondly because, being Israeli, it was hard for me to be away from friends and family.
ISEF enables me to pursue a Ph.D. degree focusing on my studies, personal and career development and to become a leader in my community.
I am Andrew. In my Ph.D. I am looking forward to improving the well-being of advanced Parkinson’s Disease patients. Although am the first generation in my family with a degree, I believe in the importance of high education, and I concentrate all my efforts and free time on my studies.
ISEF foundation is an important part of my personal development. It gives me the financial freedom to devote myself to my degree and to get an excellent education. Moreover, ISEF consists of people who have the same background as me. People, who care about me, my friends who believe in my success, and push me forward.
By awarding me the ISEF scholarship they lightened my financial burden which allows me to focus more on the most important aspect of my Ph.D. research. ISEF generosity has inspired me to help others and give back to the community. I hope one day I will be able to help students achieve their goals just as ISEF helped me.
I am proud to be a member of the International Program of the ISEF Foundation. I have earned my Ph.D., M.Sc., and B.Sc. degrees from Technion — Israel Institute of Technology. I am currently a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford University. ISEF gives me the ability to concentrate on research by providing financial and professional support to me and my family.
I see ISEF support as fuel for excellence,
Yaniv Romano
ISEF is an amazing organization that helps students and post-docs across the globe. Their help enabled me to pursue my life's dream and conduct research in one of the world's best universities. They have an amazing group of people working tirelessly to ensure that each individual under their wing achieves their goal.
It's my first year as an ISEF scholar and i can honestly say that for me it has been a life changing experience.
The ISEF foundation provided me a peer group and i look forward everytime for our gatherings which are full of significant activities and empowerment.
Whenever i faced a difficulty or an obstacle they provided me support, adviced me well and reminded me who i am and what are my capabilities.
I am aware that ISEF foundation seeks for my well being and success and are willing to make efforts in order for me to be excellent.
For all these reasons ISEF foundation for me it more than a scholarship - it's home and a family.
I have been an ISEF International Fellow for three years. For me, ISEF is beyond a scholarship--it is a family--and I am very proud to have the opportunity to be part of it! I am a Doctoral Candidate at Harvard Law School, conducting research on the intersection of bioethics and law. Studying at Harvard Law School has been a long-life dream and I could not have fulfilled it without ISEF's help and support. I grew up in Kiryat Gat and later on in Ashqelon, Israel. The journey from the periphery to an advanced law degree at Harvard Law School has been challenging. When you come from a family in which the parents did not even finish high school and from places where hardly anyone around you ever went to college, you really need someone to take you under their wing. I am privileged and grateful to have ISEF by my side, helping me immensely throughout my journey.
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Coming from a less privileged background in Israel has posed financial challenges in fulfilling my academic aspirations throughout the years. My parents, descendants of Sephardic Jews who have less than a High School diploma, could not provide me with financial assistance. By awarding me a scholarship, ISEF has lightened my financial burden, and without a doubt, it plays a key role in achieving my educational dreams. I am forever grateful for that. Currently, I am a PhD Candidate in law at Harvard Law School, researching about one of the greatest challenges facing humanity today. A technology called "CRISPR" has produced great interest globally due to the insights it would yield regarding fundamental biological processes and its potential impact on human health and well-being. However, with these opportunities come significant legal and ethical challenges. My research dissertation will be a starting point for addressing some of the fundamental challenges the topic raises. As a first-generation student in higher education in my family, I have now the privilege to pursue a position that can make a groundbreaking contribution in the future and all thanks to ISEF’s help and faith in me.
My name is Oded Mcdossi and I am an ISEF Foundation International Fellow. I am a sociologist of education, completed my PhD at Tel Aviv University, and currently, a post-doctoral Fellow at The Ohio State University. My research centers on educational mobility and stratification in higher education, with a particular focus on the wellbeing of first-generation college students (i.e., those for whom neither parent possesses a bachelor's degree or higher). I am particularly interested in integrational barriers, and difficulties of first-generation students compared with their more advantaged peers. Thus, my personal background as a Mizrahi first-generation student, my research, and ISEF mission overlap. In a perfect world, ISEF’s activities were unnecessary, but our world is not perfect…yet. ISEF’s support of students of disadvantaged backgrounds in their educational mobility and clearing the path for academic career seekers is something that will change Israel’s future.
ISEF’s support is not only in terms of financial help, which is very important and gives the opportunity to concentrate on research, but it is also even more important for the building of a sense of belonging to the academic milieu and overcoming the imposter syndrome. They personally know each of their fellows and their entire life story. This allows them to tailor personal academic advising and mentoring and to form a supportive professional network.
This review is being written in times of great uncertainty for me. The postdoc period is very stressful as future employment opportunities rely on personal research productivity. The global pandemic changed the original plans of my postdoc to a great deal and effort put into research has gone down the drain. Despite these times of unrest ISEF family was always listening, advising, and encouraging. They were always thinking about my needs and did everything to ensure that I stay on the academic track.
I am grateful for their support and proud to be a member of this organization!
The scholarship from ISEF gave me a financial security and motivation to focus in my research and also the ability to continue volunteering.
Being in ISEF allowed me to meet people from similar background and to expand my academic network.
I am very grateful for ISEF’s amazing support and I am honored to be an ISEF international fellow. Receiving the ISEF scholarship makes a huge impact on my ability to continue and excel in my studies.
ISEF is more than just a scholarship, it is a second family that supports and helps you throughout the difficult times.
Mobilizing social and economic change is a challenging task. ISEF is the one that truly makes a difference and makes Israel stronger and better.
I want to thank ISEF and its amazing donors for supporting me in my doctoral journey.
The ISEF foundation accompanies me for my Ph.D. studies, and with time I am increasingly thankful for being a part of it. In ISEF I met colleagues who are going through the same challenges as me, as postgraduate students who are the first in their families to go for higher education. Through activity with the community we also have the privilege of giving back to the next generation. I wish that we will maintain these connections and activities and continue to help closing social-economic gaps in the Israeli society.
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I am currently a Ph.D student in my first year supported by the ISEF foundation. The financial support is generous and allows me to focus on my research. The opportunity to meet fellow students coming from similar backgrounds is invaluable. The activity and dialog ISEF exposes me to truly motivates me in my progress and I'm grateful to be a part of this group.
As a doctoral candidate of Ethiopian origin, isef for me is a good family. I am a first generation in academy like many others and I get tools for my academic development, social networking, a model from amazing people who have been able to do that and are inspirational. Good friends who keep in touch and help each other. Isef is the knowledge that I have a back, that I have to address with almost every question and request, both personal and academic. In isef, I am valued by my abilities and achievements and do not underestimate me because of the origin or the stereotypes about the origin. At Isef I am sure that knowing how easy it is to succeed in the conditions we live in today and where we came from. A stranger would not understand it. And of course, the ongoing scholarship, quite obviously, is a significant financial anchor for me. Thank you isef!!!
This is my first year at ISEF as a Ph.D. student in psychology.
ISEF encourages me to help others and myself to succeed and excel in my studies.
I always feel welcome and they are very open and ready to support us for whatever we need.
I am happy to be part of an organization that does not apologize for being Jewish and Israeli.
As a doctoral candidate of Ethiopian origin, isef for me is a good family. I am a first generation in academy like many others and I get tools for my academic development, social networking, a model from amazing people who have been able to do that and are inspirational. Good friends who keep in touch and help each other. Isef is the knowledge that I have a back, that I have to address with almost every question and request, both personal and academic. In iseg, I am valued by my abilities and achievements and do not underestimate me because of the origin or the stereotypes about the origin. At Isef I am sure that knowing how easy it is to succeed in the conditions we live in today and where we came from. A stranger would not understand it. And of course, the ongoing scholarship, quite obviously, is a significant financial anchor for me. Thank you isef!!!
Ph.D. candidate in mechanical engineering at the Technion.
I am an ISEF fellow for the last three years which in this short period ISEF has become my second family. The organization boosted my academic excellence in every aspect. However, academic excellence is always in parallel with making our society and world a better place for everyone. In ISEF I learn to put the other in the first place and at the same time don't let any of my dreams get lost on the way.
I am grateful for the scholarship and for everything I got there and I know for sure that ISEF makes Israel a better place.
In these lines I would like to describe the wonderful fund - ISEF. This is not only the generous grant that let me focus on the academic studies and my social and journalistic activities, but also to the special human and social resources that the fund make available to its members.
At the fund meetings, I was impressed from the young people around me. Brilliant academics who touch on every vital and influential center in Israeli society. Brainstorming with these talented people makes every activity more quality and effective. We have raised a discussion of the issue I am dealing with and that proposed methods of action included people who came from the legal, parliamentary and even cinematic spheres, who expressed full solidarity with the importance of this activity, It will be correct to act in light of the legal and social barriers and constraints.
ISEF has the ability to fill meetings with rich and useful content that is fit exactly to the needs of senior academics. In addition, its members have succeeded in creating a group of people from similar backgrounds, who are trying to help each other and Israel's society.
I became a member of ISEF in the last 4 years, immediately upon the beginning of my PhD. When I applied to receive ISEF scholarship I was yet to realize the value of this possibility and just how much it could contribute to my development, both in terms of carrier and personal growth.
Before joining ISEF I had a view of myself as a critical and socially aware scientist, but in ISEF I learned some humility as I was exposed to the best activists and thinkers of this country. Coming from a unique background within my peers, in ISEF I found the home I could not find in academia otherwise. In every meeting of ISEF PhD group I am amazed to find people that grew up in circumstances not different from my own, crowding the first raw of the Israeli's political, social and scientific spheres.
I am honored (and financially relieved) to be an ISEF fellow.
ISEF has become a home for me, a place that loves me, accepts me as I am and helps me grow while encouraging me to support the Jewish state and strive for excellence.
ISEF provides me a meaningful support system - financial, academical and emotional. This assistance is of great help to me and it allows me to concentrate more of my time and efforts on my research and to worry less about financial problems
I first met the ISEF foundation for education as a Ph.D. candidate three years ago, and ever since I'm proud to be a member in such an organization. The workers that responsible for taking care of hundreds of students doing their mission lots of love, compassion and an amazingly authentic and deep sense of vocation and devotion. Alongside the warmth and personal caring, the ISEF organization people do great professional work taking care of every small detail in order to assist the member's students to be the best they can. I feel blessed being part of such organization.
ISEF has become family. The organization boosted my academic excellence, enabling me to succeed intensive al studies and encouraged me to create social change.
ISEF is a home that loves you, accepts you as you are and is a place that is always gratifying to come back to, while also encourages you to support the Jewish state and strive for excellence.
ISEF really helped me to concentration on my research without thinking on working.
It encourages excellency and volunteering.
A very important foundation that helped me and many other students to access higher education in Israel.
ISEF has become family. The organization boosted my academic excellence and encouraged me to create social change.
ISEF is a home that loves you, accepts you as you are and is a place that is always gratifying to come back to, while also encourages you to support the Jewish state and strive for excellence.
Lior Levy
Technion- Israel Institute of Technology
Pursuing a PhD in Biotechnology Engineering
ISEF has become family. The organization boosted my academic excellence, enabling me to succeed in intensive PhD. studies and encouraged me to create social change.
ISEF is a home that loves you, accepts you as you are and is a place that is always gratifying to come back to, while also encourages you to support the Jewish state and strive for excellence.
Isef foundation was a home for me in academic years and a personal & social empowerment during this years. It helped me achieving my goals with extinction and helped me improve my academic skills.
I am a Ph.D. student supported my second year by ISEF foundation. ISEF is home to me and to many other talented young people from a challenging background. ISEF gives great opportunities for education, an insight into academic and postgraduate future as well as great opportunities for gaining leadership experience and an understanding of the complicated Israeli society.
As a PhD student ISEF has given me the opportunity to learn in depth about the Israeli community, a thing that is very hard to do when you are a full time research student. ISEF's support is unique and much appreciated. Being an ISEF member is a great honor.
ISEF accompanies me from the second degree to the doctorate and hopefully even afterwards. I feel that ISEF is like my family. The organization boosted my academic excellence, enabling me to succeed in intensive law studies and encouraged me to create social change.
ISEF is a home that loves you, accepts you as you are and is a place that is always gratifying to come back to, while also encourages you to support the Jewish state and strive for excellence.
During the past three years, I've been supported by the ISEF foundation. I find this support very helpful both to cope with the ongoing family tasks as a Phd student, as well as the great input I receive regarding my professional education development as part of this program. I'm greatful and happy to be part of it.
ISEF has become family. The organization boosted my academic excellence, enabling me to succeed in intensive studies and encouraged me to create social change.
ISEF is a home that loves you, accepts you as you are and is a place that is always gratifying to come back to, while also encourages you to support the Jewish state and strive for excellence.
ISEF organization boosted my academic excellence, enabling me to succeed in intensive studies and encouraged me to create social change. ISEF is a home that loves you, accepts you as you are and is a place that is always gratifying to come back to, while also encourages you to support the Jewish state and strive for excellence.
ISEF has become family. The organization boosted my academic excellence, enabling me to succeed in intensive PhD studies and encouraged me to create social change.
ISEF is a home that loves you, accepts you as you are and is a place that is always gratifying to come back to, while also encourages you to support the Jewish state and strive for excellence.
The ISEF scholarship assists me enormously and I am thankful for that. I hope one day I will be able to give back to society what I received, with full faith in the cause of socially supporting people who were not fortunate enough to acquire academic education. I would like to do so by setting an example to a girl who came from a similar background, by an active involvement in society and by making a contribution to the research field and by raising Israel's image in the international research community.
A amazing life changing fund, that enables so many opportunities for talented people who just need someone to believe in them.
I got to experience a few educational leadership program during my studies and Israel is truly blessed with wonderful programs as such. I see ISEF as the top one. The professional support is carried with excellence and it really feels as ISEF personnel truly wants you to succeed and excel your studies. I like it that ISEF also have strong connection to social actions and is a great platform for us be involved in the community.
ISEF is a foundation that is a home to all students who are the first generation to higher education. In this foundation I found support, advice, and a family within Academia. Being an ISEF fellow is a privilege that allows for academic support, financial support, professional advice and mentoring, and leadership development. The foundation opens a world of possibilities to us students who are starting our way in Academia.
ISEF Foundation helped me reach my goal and become the first academic in my family.
ISEF has become family. The organization boosted my academic excellence, enabling me to succeed in intensive medical studies and encouraged me to create social change.
Thanks to the ISEF Foundation I hold a Bachelor's and Master's degree, and I know that the sky is the limit for me and for people who came from backgrounds similar to mine.
ISEF's generous support has enabled me to fulfill a dream and a professional aspiration. Thanks to ISEF I was able to commit my post-doctoral research in one of world's most prestigious institutes in my field, Material Science. As a mother for a beautiful three year old girl, it was a significant financial challenge to move to California but ISEF's support made this dream possible. It is also very important to mention that throughout the post-doc period the ISEF team provided me outstanding assistance and support, and I am truly thankful to for that.
I feel a great debt of gratitude to the ISEF family and the incredible Nina Weiner for the unimaginable support. ISEF supported me through my studies abroad. Without their generous support, I could not make my dreams come true.
One of the most challenging aspects of raising scholarships for studies has been the need to justify my choices(to study cinema abroad) to many funders who seem to believe that culture and creativity are the prerogatives only of those who can afford it.
I can only say what I believe, which is that those for whom culture and creativity are seen as unessential luxuries, those whose voices thus go unheard and unheeded, are precisely those for whom the chance to speak is nothing short of an essential necessity.
When I got to ISEF I didn't need to explain any of this, it was clear from day one, that I matter. Beyond the financial support, the most important thing ISEF staff(highlighting the extremely kind and supportive director of student affairs- Adi Helfer), ISEF board(in particular: Nina Weiner, Carlos Benaim, Avi Abergel) and my fellow students gave me is much-needed encouragement in this journey,they've been for me my home away from home. I'm grateful to have all of them in my life.
I've been with ISEF since my undergraduate studies through my postdoc now. It is a warm and welcoming family! They literally do an amazing job without a lot of hype and PR.
I learn so many things about myself, my country, social justice and so on in their rich programs. I defiantly recommend other to be involved with this organization.
This is my 2nd year at ISEF's scholarship abroad program, this foundation has made a tremendous impact on my life as a student, giving me the assistance i need in order to complete my studies as a MD. I'm proud to be a part of this program and foundation which represents a vision that i totally believe in and identify with.
This is the story of how ISEF created a new future for me and my family. The support if ISEF has been life changing for me. I was the first in my family to reach higher education, as both of my parents come from poor Jewish religious Mizrahi families. My family also had to deal with my brother serious injury and mental trauma while protecting families near Gaza. When I was offered to leave the master program and start direct track to PhD, I was so confused having on one hand a dreamy opportunity but in the other huge fear that I wouldn't be able to pay and to finance myself. The period of my PhD was a long economic struggle that made my husband I wait and wait until we were able to start a family. At certain point of my PhD, I had no money to collect the data and then ISEF reached out, and saved my doctoral dissertation by supporting me financially for three months to get the data together. Three years later I won a competitive scholarship to proceed to post doc at UC Berkeley. At some point, and while packing our lives to move to the US, the university officials postponed our arrival since I had to come with a certain amount of funding, and the awards wasn’t enough. At the same time I also applied for ISEF post doc program, and ISEF actually saved my post doc by adding the exact amount of funding needed. This funding also helps us with enrolling our baby daughter to preschool, making it much more effective for me to work with the best scholars in my field here at UCB. Without ISEF support I just wouldn’t have completed my PhD nor would I start my post doc. This foundation is the most important and life influential for young hard working students who wish to make this world a better place for the other young people who encounter similar barriers. I will never be able to thank ISEF enough for their support exactly at the time needed. Yours, Talia Tayri
My name is Nofar Edri, I graduated from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel, with a degree in emergency medicine.
I am currently pursuing a medical degree at the Medical University of Silesia in Poland.
Recently I have been granted a doctorate scholarship from the ISEF foundation thus covering my tuition fees.
Isef has become an important part of my life. Without Isef's help, everything would have been so much harder and my dream would have stayed far away.
I'm very honored to be a member of the “Isef” family, looking forward to help others pursuing their dreams, as Isef just did to me.
Yamit Cohen
University of Haifa
Studying Law
ISEF has allowed me to realize my dream and finish law school with honors. I think that without the foundation, I would not be able to withstand the economic pressure to be able to complete my studies satisfactorily.
Beyond the foundation’s financial support, which I am forever grateful for, the organization has helped me shape my personality, allowed me to express and believe in myself and my abilities.
I have received a scholarship from ISEF. However, it didn't come just with money, but also with a supportive environment and amazing people to be involved with.
I recommend anyone who can to apply for this scholarship. Worth much more than the money it gives.
ISEF supported me through my very first steps in the university all the way to my post-doctoral research. Their support was incredibly valuable to me and helped me steer my life to fascinating fields of knowledge and science I could never dream of growing up. Thank you for believing in the young generation of Israel!
To me, ISEF is a place where we learn how to work toward creating a better world. The organization helped me reevaluate how I look at society and understand that all of our actions have meaning.
Etty Schirgauker
Sapir College
Management and Human Resources
When I began my ISEF journey, I never imagined I’d benefit so much from this foundation. In the last three years, I learned a lot about society, about giving and accepting those who are different. I met wonderful people and friends for life. In the past year, I became a coordinator for three amazing projects at ISEF, which developed my personal and professional career. I was able to do this in tandem with graduating cum laude, working and raising a child. I’m appreciative for every moment of my time with ISEF which allowed me to be part of something incredible.
The ISEF Foundation was for me a home in academia and a source of personal and social empowerment during my studies at the Hebrew University in the 1990s. In ISEF I met people from a background similar to mine, with whom I shared personal experiences and conducted discussions on social, economic and educational issues, I connected to my roots and to my identity and took part in a leadership and social involvement program that greatly empowered me and help my personal and professional development. The friendships and personal and professional networking that I have acquired in ISEF accompany me and help me till this very day.
I was an ISEF scholar for 6 years and for me, ISEF is more than just a scholarship. It is a family. You know that if you have a problem, they will help. This includes academic and personal problems as well as financial. In the U.S., ISEF's support was even more important. Firstly, because studies and life there are so much more expensive and secondly because, being Israeli, it was hard for me to be away from friends and family.
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My name is Eitan Yaakobi and I have been supported by ISEF for more than 5 years. On top of the financial support which helped me a lot during my studies, ISEF serves as a family for me. The tremendous help I received from ISEF for any tiny problem I had encountered with is hard to describe with just words. On top of everything, I always knew that ISEF believes in me and supports me to achieve my goals and dreams!
My Name is Menny and I have been supported by ISEF for 6 years in which I conducted my graduate and postdoctoral studies in pure mathematics.
I do not know any mathematician in Israel coming from Sephardic background. During my studies, something without noticing it, this fact made me feel that "you don't belong here", " this is not for you", "success in academia is for others".
ISEF support was a vote of confidence in me, in my way, in my deserved place in the academic world. It is like saying “keep going! You have the same rights and possibilities as your colleagues!”.
The gift ISEF gave me is a one that goes into my heart, my self-esteem and pride. But it manifests itself also in many day to day things… For example, we have enough money to give my 8 years old daughter, Alma, harp lessons! Art lessons for my 5 year’s old son, Amitai, and also for the well-being of my wife Dahlia, and our 3 years old Amalia. ISEF scholarship is exactly what bridges the gap between being stress about making hand meet, to feeling that we have enough money to anything that we would like do.
My dream is to become a scholar that can contribute to society in general and Israeli society in particular. ISEF has been helping me to achieve this goal. I would not have been able to pursue doctoral studies at Brandeis University without ISEF’s support. ISEF’s mission to enhance Israel’s well-being is a blessed and important one. It is a mission that I share whole-heartedly.
Hello, my name is Eytan Damari. I can only try to express my appreciation towards ISEF foundation by words, but I think what and who I am today, will express it far better. I 28 years old, six years ago I started my medical studies, which without the support of ISEF, I wouldn't be able to start nor will I be able to finish them. These day, I am proud to say I have finish my studies and I am now a medical doctor - only due to the support of ISEF along the year. ISEF is more than a simple organization, the people working in ISEF are truly helpful and understand that the whole is composed of individual persons, and so they act and treat accordingly. From all this huge organization, I have been treated like I am the only person there, always checking on you, supporting in ways beyond required. My degree I owe to ISEF.
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I am a 5th year student, studying abroad in Hungary. From my own experience with ISEF, ISEF is one of the most supporting non-profit organizations i came upon with. They have been there by my side in every aspect, willing to help in times of need keeping thier door always open for others. THANK YOU ISEF FOR EVERYTHING!
Dear all, my name is Liran Odeni. I am 30 yrs old and a 5th year medical student at Semmelweis University in Budapest. Ever since I can remember, I knew I wanted to become a doctor but unfortunately in Israel, the available places at the university are extremely limited to a few students every year. In order to study abroad, each year I had to pay a very high price that my parents couldnt afford themselves. ISEF has been supporting me economically and emotionally all the way from the beginning. Through ISEF, a guy with a very low socioeconomic background will graduate next year who plans to contribute to our society by giving proper and equal medical care to all. Without ISEF, I could not do this and I want to say THANK you all for your contribution and support. Liran Odeni
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Hi my name is Liran Odeni a 28 years old from israel. Through ISEF I was able to realize my dream. Without ISEF’s support I would not be where I am today; a 3rd year medical student. Who could believe that someone with a lower socioeconomic background would be able to go to Medical School? To show my gratitude to ISEF, once I complete my studies and establish myself as a doctor I intend to help others achieve their dreams as well.
One of the burning issues in modern Israeli society is the inequality between those that come from strong socioeconomic backgrounds and those that do not. The one indisputable way of closing gaps within a society is to advance and enable equal opportunity for education for young men and women. This is the International Sepharadic Education Foundation's (ISEF) main goal. Furthermore, ISEF is unique in that it enhances equal opportunity throughout all educational levels, from school to post-doctoral training.
Education is the key to Israel's future and supporting ISEF is supporting the age old vision of an enlightened and just modern Israeli society, a beacon onto the nations. ISEF has played a key role for myself and many others in being able to dedicate oneself to learning and research despite the heavy financial burden of paying for tuition and living expenses on one's own.
My name is Tamir Arviv. For me, ISEF is a place of belonging and empowerment. ISEF has supported me for the past 10 years. From my first steps through the gate of Tel Aviv University to my current PhD studies in the University of Toronto.
I am the first in my family to attend University and I can’t imagine going through my studies without the warm support that I have been receiving from ISEF.
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My name is Tamir Arviv. For me, ISEF is more than just any other scholarship program – It’s a family – a place of belonging and empowerment. ISEF has supported me for the past 8 years. From my first steps through the gate of Tel Aviv University to my current PhD studies in the University of Toronto. I am the first in my family to attend University and I can’t imagine going through my studies without the warm support that I have been receiving from ISEF.
my name is Hilla Zafrani Werner and i am a medical student in the "La Sapienza" university in Rome, Italy. i am supported by this rare and amazing organization: INTERNATIONAL SEPHARDIC EDUCATION FOUNDATION" and i say rare because this organization taought me how to trust and feel trusted…they taught me what is real generosity…what it truly means to be generous…but generous not only with your money, but also with your time, with your knowledge, with your strength… I learned how this chain (of people) of giving works and what are the amazingly very simple ways to keep it together… to keep it from breaking.. how to make this magical cycle of giving and receiving feed itself in a way that it will never run out of fuel…
other than supporting me in my studies financialy, and helping me feel worthy and believing in me.. which made all the difference.. they have been and are like a family to me.. after all.. isnt everything i wrote above describes what a family is....thank you ISEF!
My name is Moshe Elkabets and I am a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School supported by the INTERNATIONAL SEPHARDIC EDUCATION FOUNDATION-ISEF. My interest in the study of drug discovery and targeted therapy for breast cancer. My long term-goal is to receive the best training possible in order to establish my own laboratory and become a successful and independent researcher in the area of cancer research back in Israel.
My name is Refael, I am a post-doctoral researcher supported by ISEF. ISEF's support is not only in the financial level, but mainly in building the professional network that is so important in the industry and academy. As an ISEF fellow my social commitment had strengthened and I hope to be more involved in the community after finishing my postdoc and returning to Israel
Hallo, my name is Batel, a veterinary student in Italy and i am a part of the amazing family that is ISEF...family that gave me and so many other the golden opportunity to learn, to grow and to gain tools to make this world better. ISEF gave me hope and showed me how important it is to help and support one another...i can not express in words how great full i am to ISEF.
ISEF is my lifeguard, it is the family that adopted me six years ago and made my dream of becoming a doctor possible. In the ISEF meetings I attended along the years I was truly inspired by the people and the whole organization. I was exposed to the general ideas and goals, and I took upon myself to contribute in achieving them.
My name is Eitan Yaakobi and I'm an ISEF PhD student in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UCSD. ISEF has been a family for me for the last three and a half years. Besides the financial support I'm getting that helps me to complete my degree, I have a supporting family that helps and supports me in any aspect of my life. I would never be able to achieve and do my PhD without ISEF's support!
Isef is the most warm and helping home I ever had, these lines will never be enough to describe the way Isef take care and advance its students. For me it was a special place because there were always amazing people who were really interested in our opinions, suggestions, needs, and give us the sense that we are important. As a PHD student I've got fellowships from other organizations, but non of these organization really created in me this sense of identification and understanding of how this organization's targets are important as Isef. The yearly meeting were always very exciting and Isef head and staff always managed to make us feel excited about the organization and the urge to success.
ISEF's are my "future saviours"... its not only a foundatin.. its a family... a warm caring helpful stron family... when i was about to quit med school.. they are the ones who came to the rescue!! and they are doing it with all the love i could ever ask for... they are more than just financial support.. i constantly get moral and emotional support... the achievements by its students are amazing!!! and their work deffinatly shows!!!
ISEF's amazing work covers a wide range of students, women and men, from different communities in Israel, and a variety of fields of study. The support I receive as a PhD student in education, at the University Wisconsin-Madison, has greatly enabled my ability to pursue my studies. ISEF provides not only financial support, but also a warm community, and a network of support.
