The PanHellenic Scholarship Foundation transformed its annual Gala into a virtual gathering on June 13 this year to celebrate the awarding of forty scholarships to students of Hellenic descent.
The event, streamed live on YouTube and Facebook, included videos from 2020 scholarship recipients, as well as PHSF donors, board members and supporters.
“Despite these difficult times, I am pleased to report that the PanHellenic Board of Directors unanimously voted to move forward with awarding $250,000 in scholarships, as well as properly honoring our 2020 Scholars with a virtual PanHellenic Weekend,” Chairman of the Board of Directors, Robert A. Buhler said.
The virtual awards gala kicked off with an introduction by the emcee, WFLD Sports Anchor Lou Canellis, and a blessing by His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America.
“The PHSF has been on a relentless mission these last 18 years … while it’s true that we’ve traditionally gathered together live in big ballrooms to honor our scholars, today, given the unique challenges of our time, we have to show our appreciation and love in a different way,” Canellis said.
“You don’t have to be Greek to appreciate these ideals: philotimo, excellence, civic responsibility and the pursuit of knowledge.”
Founded in 2002 by successful Greek-American businessman and philanthropist Chris Tomaras, the foundation has provided over 500 scholarships to Greek-American students during the past 18 years.
The purpose of the foundation, according to its mission statement, is… “to promote education by providing scholarships and educational programs to Greek American college students who, guided by the values of their Hellenic upbringing, have the potential to become life-long significant achievers and contribute meaningfully to society.”
Each year, the foundation awards $250,000 in scholarships. The monies are distributed among students throughout the country. In 2020, eight were granted to students from the midwest, 25 from the northeast, five from the south, and two from the west.
PanHellenic Scholars for the Year 2020
Angelica Alexopoulos – Biology, Oakland University
Constantine Athanitis – Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University
Flora Boardman – Political Science, Fordham University
Marios Bourtzonis – Economics Computer Science, Trinity College
Kyriakos Chatzis – Biology/Pre-Med, Stevens Institute of Technology
Nicholas Chatzitsakos – Performance Jazz Composition, Berklee College of Music
George Dalianis – Government, Harvard University
Katerina Dorian – Political Science & Global Studies, University of Virginia
Christo Fosse – Philosophy, Politics & Economics, Xavier University
Peter Georginis – Business Administration, University of Michigan
Vassi Gianitsos – Computer Science, University of Texas at Austin
Nicholas Ioannou – Radio, Film & Television, Rowan University
Maria Kalogeromitros – Biology, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Ioanna Karageorge – Environmental Analysis & Policy, Boston University
Alexia Kovatsis – Elementary Education Applied Psychology & Human Development, Boston College
Dimitrios Kyridis – Organismal Biology, Barton College
Sophia Kyrou – Political Science & Human Rights, Trinity College
Eleftheria Lambropoulos – Engineering, Harvard College
Maria Lysandrou – Neuroscience, University of Chicago
Matthew Macrides – Honors Accounting & Information Systems, The Ohio State
Joanna Maniadaki – Clinical Diagnostic Sciences, Oakland University
Panagiota Megagiannis – Biology Pre-Med, Long Island University
Alexandra Nichols – Piano Performance Violin Performance, Rhode Island College
Irene Pantekidis – Biology Child Studies & Human Development, Tufts University
Katerina Papanikolopoulos – Art History, University of California
Mauretta Patitsas – Marketing, The Ohio State University
Evangelia Pelidis – Biology, Seton Hall University
Timothy Proctor – English & Philosophy, Drew University
Ilia Qato – Astronomy & Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Christoforos Panagiotis Sassaris – English Literature, West Chester University
Jason Souvaliotis – Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University
Giorgos Stylianou – Economics, Philosophy, Indiana University Bloomington
Yiorgos Takoudis – Finance Management, University of Miami
Ekaterini Tsampas – Mathematics Teacher Education, Adelphi University
Demetrios Tsitsios – Biomedical Engineering, Drexel University
John Tsortos – Chemical Engineering, University of California Berkeley
Alexa Vaghenas – Psychology, Yale University
Ioannis Vandris – Political Science, Columbia University
Aristotle Vainikos – Joint Major Government and Computer Science, Harvard University
Dionisia Vassos – Pharmacy, Butler University
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