Irina and Ryan Feldman have a very special and unique bond, besides being mother and son. They are both recipients of college scholarships from the JVS Scholarship Program.
This marks the first time, along with father and son Richard and Michael Oelberger, that the program has had multigenerational recipients.
For Irina, a 1997 scholarship recipient, a friend recommended the JVS Scholarship Program. The award she received helped her cover tuition fees as she worked on her master’s degree in physical therapy at California State University, Northridge (CSUN). Attaining her graduate degree led to her establishing a successful orthopedic practice. For the last nine years, she has held a position at UCLA’s Motion Pictures Physical Therapy Department.
“I needed some support because it was a master’s program,” remembers Irina. “I didn’t have any financial aid and no other means because my family emigrated from Belarus, and we were very much low income and struggling.”
Ryan is following in his mother’s footsteps at CSUN – although his major is Business Administration with a focus on Management. The young scholar has been working nights and weekends at a restaurant and saving all he can because he is studying abroad his final year at the University of Birmingham in England.
“I’m really honored and it’s a privilege to be part of this amazing group of young Jewish people,” said Ryan at the 2023 Scholarship Awards Ceremony which took place in July at Sinai Temple. “The financial support will be extremely beneficial. I’ll be able to focus on my studies and not worry about whether I have enough money to live or what I’m going to do.”
Irina says, “I’m very sentimental and touched. I’m very happy that my son was able to receive some help, as I did, to support his academic pursuits. I know he is going to put the money to good use.”
Ryan is already thinking ahead to the day when he starts his own family. He hopes his children will have the same opportunity as he and his mother. “I would definitely love to carry on the JVS Scholarship legacy with my kids” concludes Ryan.
If you’re inspired by Irina and Ryan’s story and would like to help someone else achieve their dream, please donate today.