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Elios Sends Three Greek-American Students to Greece

Elios Heritage Greece Recipients

Elios Charitable Foundation partnered with the National Hellenic Society, for the first time, to award three university students with the Elios Grants for Heritage Greece. The 2014 recipients are Jenna Douvikas and Kendra Scruggs from the University of San Francisco and Paulina Dudunakis from Santa Barbara City College.

Because of the awards, the three recipients had an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to explore Greek heritage, culture and identity with peer groups of students from the United States and Greece. They travelled to Greece for two weeks, where they learned Modern Greek and visited important archaeological sites, facilitating strong connections with their own Greek roots and identity.

During their two weeks in Greece, Jenna, Kendra and Paulina found themselves completely immersed in the culture. The group attended Greek courses at The American College of Greece, and visited historical sites like the Acropolis, the Temple of Poseidon, the Benaki Museum, the American Embassy in Greece, Nafphilo, the Corith Canal and the Olympic Stadium in Athens. Some of their favorite moments included attending a Greek cooking class, trying out different restaurants, visiting local wineries, sailing to Poros and jumping off a boat into the salty Mediterranean Sea in Angistri.

The 2014 awardees have returned home to the San Francisco Bay Area with an even deeper understanding of what it means to be Greek.

Inspired to participate by her Yia Yia, Jenna saw her grandmother’s stories come to life as her experiences taught her about the importance of family – not just immediate family but the family within the Greek culture. On the unforgettable trip, Kendra became even more connected with her Greek heritage, which she seeks to celebrate on a daily basis after her bags are unpacked. Paulina’s most memorable moments are now ones she shares with her relatives, granting her insight to their lives and expanding her knowledge of Greek culture.

Students interested in the program must be enrolled undergraduate college students of Greek-American descent (one or more parents, grandparents, great grandparents born in Greece), must be 18-26 years old, have never or seldom been to Greece, and must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Future applicants can learn more here.

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