Josue Lajeunesse (Princeton University) "I'm a poor man but I'm proud of myself." Never late, even by a minute, Josue is often finished with much of his work before anyone even notices he's there. And like clockwork at 3 o'clock each day, he's on to his next job driving folks around Princeton, NJ in his taxi cab until the late hours of the evening. Though he never worked this hard in his native Haiti, he must maintain this intense schedule to support the 15 family members in New Jersey and Haiti that depend on him to get by.

Corby Baker (Cornish College of the Arts) "Life should be about doing what you love even if it's very difficult to do that. That's the only thing that makes life worth living." Corby works as a custodian at Cornish in order to immerse himself in the creative energy emanating from the workspaces of the college where students labor away on their masterpieces. Surrounding himself in this creative energy keeps Corby inspired and excited about returning to his passion of "bringing things into reality that have never existed before".

Jim Evener (Cornell University) "If you're miserable everyday, you're doing something wrong." Jim was only nineteen years old when he was sent to Vietnam. He was out with his squad when they came under sudden attack and Jim was shot in the back. The next day, he woke up to find himself alone in the middle of the jungle, unable to walk. Needing to get to safety, he dragged himself through the jungle for three days until finally passing out. He regained consciousness in a hospital in Japan where he was told he might never walk again.

Melinda Augustus (University of Florida) "My mom was the glue that held everything together and when that glue dissolved, everything fell apart." While Melinda's mother was in labor with her fifteenth child, an oversight among the hospital staff sent her into a deep coma that she would never wake from. At age 9, Melinda recalls the day her mother was delivered to their home in the bed that she would remain in for the next 11 years before her passing.

Oscar Dantzler (Duke University) "If you can't keep the house of God clean, you can't keep no house clean." As much an icon as the building he cleans, Oscar is not just the custodian of Duke Chapel but a caretaker of the hearts and souls of the Duke students who pass through it's majestic archways. A loyal friend and mentor to his "babies", as he calls them, Oscar acts as a guide of sorts through their years at the school.