Yesenia Olazabal missed her husband. As the owner of a produce business in Upland, Calif., Ozzie worked all the time – evenings, weekends, holidays. "I worked every single day," Ozzie says.

After first arriving in the United States from communist Czechoslovakia, Paul Hajek earned $3.15 an hour washing dishes at a Fred Meyer bakery in Lansing, Mich. "Actually, I'm glad I did that," Paul says now, reflecting on the job that helped him learn English – and simultaneously encouraged him to go to Michigan State University and earn a degree in physics.