Katrina Alspaugh (2004) graduated with a BA in History of Art and Minor in Modern Greek. She will be getting married and entering the workforce, then possibly attending Law or Graduate School.

Chris Apostoleris, B.A. Modern Greek (Summer 2004), has been admitted to the M.A. in Divinity program at Hellenic College-Holy Cross in Brookline, MA.

Christina Bakalis, B.A. Modern Greek (Spring 2005), has been accepted to the University of Southern California School of Medicine.

Alexandra Berk (2006) currently works at Macy's North Corporate Headquarters in Minneapolis as an Assistant Buyer, helping to determine the products sold in the Petites section at 62 Macy's (formerly Marshall Field's) stores in the Midwest.

Nancy Chinonis (2004) graduated with a BA in History. She was a strong presence in the Hellenic Student Association and worked in the office of the Modern Greek Program during the 2003-2004 academic year. She is currently attending Michigan State University College of Law.

Eleni Eleftheriou, B.A. Political Science and Philosophy (1990), will hold a position at the Center for International Development and Conflict Management at the University of Maryland in College Park, beginning in January, 2006.

John Kaiafas (2004) graduated with a BA in Political Science and Minor in Modern Greek. He will be attending Law School.

Dr. Veronica Kalas, B.A. Art History, was awarded a Mary Seeger O'Boyle post-doctoral research fellowhip by the Program in Hellenic Studies at Princeton University.

Joanne Martino, B.A. Comparative Literature with a Minor in Modern Greek (Spring 2003), is currently living in Lucerne, Switzerland working for EF Cultural Tours, in quality control for their Greek tours.

Democritos Mavrellis (2002) will be attending Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs in Fall ’06.

Erin Mays, B.A. History with a Minor in Modern Greek (Spring 2002), joined Franco Public Relations Group, Detroit, as an account executive.  Mayes provides day-to-day public relations services and support to the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center, International Transmission Co., Solutia Automotive, The Salvation Army and Yazaki North America.  About her studies in Modern Greek she says, "I enjoyed taking courses in the Modern Greek Program because they are necessarily interdisciplinary. Not only does Modern Greek Studies examine contemporary Greece, it also considers the three millennia of international history, literature, and thought by which Greece and the rest of the world have been so deeply affected. History plays an integral part--to read the poetry of Cavafy, one must understand the history of Greece from Classical through Byzantine times. Modern Greek literature often alludes to the works of archaic and classical Greece; for example, 'The Dead House' by Yiannis Ritsos requires knowledge of Aeschylus's Oresteia. In addition, 19th and 20th century political and social thought comes to play in that many of the ideas behind the War for Greek Independence were based upon an interpretation of ancient Greece by intellectuals of Western states during the Enlightenment. Modern Greek Studies encompasses many fields of interest, making it an enriching supplement to a liberal arts."

Dr. Kostalena Michelaki, Ph.D. Anthropology, who taught Modern Greek as Graduate Student Instructor and Visting Assistant Professor of Modern Greek, has accepted a tenure track position as Assistant Professor of Archaeology in the Department of Anthropology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Anna Moniodis is currently attending the University of Virginia Medical School.

Dr. Penelope Papailias, Ph.D. Anthropology/History, has been appointed Lecturer of Anthropology and History at the University of Thessaly (Volos).  She will be teaching in the Department of Philology.  She won the 2001 Rackham Graduate School Distinguished Dissertation Award and MGSA Dissertation Award for her work, "Genres of Recollection: History, Testimony, and Archive in Contemporary Greece."

Kristina Poulos (2004) graduated with a BSE in Computer Science and Minor in Mathematics (Computer Science) and Modern Greek. She is currently enrolled in the Masters of Engineering Program in Computer Science, and in 2005 with an  MSE in Computer Science. She currently works at Goldman, Sachs & Co. in New York City as a Database Administrator.

Jim Roumanis is a partner of McKinley Commercial Brokerage Services, a full-service real estate firm focused on brokerage and sales of commercial properties.

Steve Sinas (MG Minor ’04) is currently in his second year of law school at Wayne State University and law clerking part-time at Sach Waldman P.C. in downtown Detroit.

Sotiria Tzakas, who graduated with a Minor in Modern Greek in Spring 2002, is working towards a Master's Degree in Exercise Physiology and Nutrition at Columbia University. She will be starting her dietetic internship in 2005 in order to become a practicing Registered Dietitian. She wishes "the best of luck to all the students who are taking courses in Modern Greek. Furthermore," she writes, "I hope they all appreciate the value of their studies of Modern Greece as much as I do. I enjoyed the classes so much, that I continue to read contemporary Greek literature."

Please send Alumni News to Artemis Leontis.