Greek Orthodox Archdiocese Announces Scholarship Recipients

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America is pleased to announce the awarding of scholarships for the 2009-10 academic year from three scholarship programs administered by the Chancellor’s Office of the Archdiocese. In spite of the current economic conditions, these scholarship funds managed to award scholarships to a variety of students from all over the United States.

The “George and Naouma Gioles Scholarship Fund” awarded scholarships to the following students: John Buscemi (Glenview, Ill.), Matthew Hyps (Seminole, Fla.), Eleftheria Lekkas (Oradell, NJ), Spyridon Mitches (Garrison, NY), Jeffrey Pedersen (Sandy, Utah), Kelly Sklavounas (North Canton, Ohio), and Peter Stultz (Grand Rapids, Mich.). This Fund was established in 1997 with a generous gift from Marian Gioles in memory of her beloved parents, to honor their commitment to their Orthodox Faith, their love of their Hellenic heritage, and their desire to help youth who are orphaned or in need. Scholarships are awarded annually to Greek Orthodox students committed to serious study in degree-earning, undergraduate programs at accredited colleges or universities in the United States, with at least one award reserved for a student pursuing a degree in journalism.  This year, the journalism award went to John Buscemi from Glenview, Ill.

The “Katina John Malta Scholarship Fund” awarded scholarships to the following students:  Charles Blougouras (Rochester, NH), John Buscemi (Glenview, Ill.), Eleni Cade (Des Moines, Iowa), Milan Devetak (Las Vegas, Nev.), Eleftheria Lekkas (Oradell, NJ), Spyridon Mitches (Garrison, NY), Jeffrey Pedersen (Sandy, Utah), Elizabeth Pettygrove (Pomona, Calif.), Alyssa Marie Robidoux (Natick, Mass.), Kelly Sklavounas (North Canton, Ohio), and Peter Stultz (Grand Rapids, Mich.). This Scholarship Fund was established in 2002 by Peter and Elli Paleologos through a generous gift from the estate of Katina John Malta, in recognition of the love she had for the Church and to honor her desire to help others, especially children and youth of the Orthodox Christian Faith. The scholarship is open to students from all jurisdictions of the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in America (SCOBA), reflecting the pan-Orthodox nature of this scholarship program.  This year, in addition to recipients from the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, one of the recipients, Milan Devetak, is from the Serbian Orthodox Church and one student, Elizabeth Pettygrove, is from the Antiochian Orthodox Church.

The final set of scholarships, awarded from the “Paleologos Graduate Scholarship Fund”, marks the third year that awards were granted from this new scholarship fund, established in 2007 by Peter and Elli Paleologos. This fund assists students enrolled in graduate studies leading to advanced degrees in academic fields other than theology. Like the Malta Scholarships, this award is open to all students of SCOBA-affiliated churches.  This year, Elli Paleologos awarded six scholarships in memory of her late husband Peter, co-founder of this scholarship, who passed away in late May 2009. The recipients of the 2009-2010 Paleologos Graduate Scholarships are:  Angela Glaros (Urbana, Ill.), Meredith Hutchinson (Bethlehem, Pa.), Christiana Limniatis (Albany, NY), Constandinos Tsourakis (New York, NY) and Stephanie Varvitsiotes (Danville, Calif.) all from the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, and Lillian Kishek (W. Bloomfield, Mich.) from the Antiochian Orthodox Church.

The Archdiocese and the Scholarship Committees offer congratulations to all of these scholarship winners and to the many other worthy students who applied. Gratitude and appreciation is expressed to the donors for their continuing generosity and commitment to higher education, and to the Scholarship Committee members for their invaluable assistance.

It is anticipated that all three of these scholarships will be awarded next year for the 2010-2011 academic year. Applications and guidelines for next year’s scholarships will be available at the beginning of 2010 from the Office of the Chancellor, 8 East 79 ^th Street, New York, NY 10075 or on-line on the website of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.

(press release)