And they’re off! (p. 4)

WINTER 2010

Eleftheriades Library A Charitable ACT Study Abroad Turns 20 Institution Hits New Heights ➤ Page 3 ➤ Pages 4-5 ➤ Page 6 Anatolia Launches Green Initiative

A view of the Anatolia and ACT campus showing the main entrance to the upper campus and the Bissell Library (left, background), Ladas and Compton Halls, Stephens Hall, and (at far right) Macedonia Hall. “ natolia has a wonderful legacy in its practices. The Board approved the plan, which sents one of the ways we can contribute to the and they earn badges. We’ve started with 3rd A campus, an oasis of beautifully land- is now in the initial stages of implementation. betterment of Greek society.” and 4th graders, using the so-called ‘flexible scaped trees and other plantings in an increas- The plan calls for no less than uniting all divi- At the elementary school the program is off zones’ in the elementary curriculum for green ingly urbanized Thessaloniki. But the truth is, sions of the school, from Anatolia Elementary to to a flying start, thanks largely to the work of activities an hour or two each week. Toss your we are nowhere near as environmentally the MBA program, behind the idea of environ- Eleni Andreadi ’96 of Planet Agents, a local en- soda can in the trash at your own risk. Our friendly as we ought to be.” So noted President mental awareness and action. “We want to cre- vironmental NGO, and the combined efforts of agents are everywhere.” Hans Giesecke to the Board of Trustees at its fall ate a community ethos that is both more envi- teachers and school leaders. “The idea is to Thanks to work done by the Ecology Club in meeting in Boston before presenting a plan of ronmentally aware and makes improved use of make our students agents in the movement for the past decade, the junior and senior high green initiatives to make Anatolia a regional campus resources,” says President Giesecke. “It a better environment,” says Manos Agrodimos, school division of Anatolia was designated by leader and role model both in its ecological ed- should be one of things that defines what it Anatolia Elementary Director of Administration. the Eco-Schools Program as a green school. A ucational programs and in its management means to be an Anatolian these days. It repre- “They make a pledge, they carry out missions, surge of activity also accompanied the Lindsay Environmental Project several years ago, involv- ing tree-planting and clean-up activities. Now, chemistry teacher Ilias Kalambokis is leading Niarchos Foundation Challenge Met the effort to take the school to the next level. He is himself a longtime proponent of “green he Summer 2009 issue of the Anatolian re- leading the way, Anatolia surpassed its goal by brary. The Foundation asked that a plaque be chemistry,” which involves the responsible use of T ported the terms of a major grant awarded almost 25%. The Class of ’57 and Thessaloniki’s placed in Raphael Hall recognizing President solvents and other chemicals. Besides instituting to Anatolia by the Stavros S. Niarchos Founda- Jewish Community also made major pledges to Jackon’s contributions to education in Greece. better recycling practices, from aluminum to tion in May of last year. The grant was made to the total. “This was a textbook example of the It was appropriate that the substantial sum batteries to electronic devices, Kalambokis fore- help defray the cost of major renovations to way a foundation can both support a school raised at the June 18 fundraising dance to sees student construction of a solar oven, and, Raphael Hall, the principal phases of which and inspire support,” comments Maria Tsekou, honor Jackson was applied to meeting the if that turns out well, of a windmill. were completed in the spring of 2007. This was Director of European Development. “And this is terms of the Niarchos Challenge. At the International Baccalaureate Program, a challenge grant, however, and the main con- the first time Greek donors have been so specif- Besides a newly energized Greek con- the approach is deliberately student-centered. dition that the Foundation imposed upon Ana- ically targeted. The results speak for themselves.” stituency, Anatolia is bestowed with a state- “We could impose certain practices,” comments tolia was that a matching amount be raised In making the grant, the Foundation also of-the-art Raphael Hall that sees intensive use chemistry teacher Eleni Antonakou, “but that from alumni and friends of Anatolia who live wanted to honor former Anatolia President for performances, conferences, and special pre- would defeat half the purpose. We need to lead and work in Greece. Jackson, with whom it had developed a close sentations. Maria Tsekou: “We’re grateful both to students to discover solutions themselves. The school had one year to meet the chal- relationship over a decade in which it sup- the Niarchos Foundation and to all who helped They’re the ones making presentations at our lenge. Such was the response from Anatolia’s ported Anatolia in a variety of ways, beginning us meet this Challenge. It was a great experi- morning assemblies and creating the materials supporters in Greece that it needed only six with a major gift to build and equip the Stavros ence for Anatolia. Fortunately, other challenges for an awareness campaign.” months. Not only that: with its Greek trustees S. Niarchos Technology Center in the Bissell Li- lie ahead.” continued on p. 2

Page 1 • The Anatolian • Winter 2010 Boston gets together wo events brought Boston-area Anatolians out and to- a Michael S. Dukakis Fellow at The American College of Thessa- T gether this past fall. The first, on September 20, was an loniki (ACT), the university division of Anatolia. The lecture took Alumni Garden Barbeque hosted for the second year in a row place at the headquarters of the National Association for Ar- at the Milton home of Anatolia alumni Anna Greka ’93 and and menian Studies and Research (NAASR) in Belmont, Mass. Dr. Stathis Antoniades ’92. Fifty people attended, all with Anatolia Marsoobian drew upon family memoirs, letters, and missionary stories to share. Trustees Peter Allen and George Antoniadis accounts to trace his family’s history from its early days in Sivas were present as guests of honor, and both spoke feelingly to their relocation to Marsovan, where his grandfather Tsolag about their love for the school. The Honorable John M. Xifaras Dildilian and his great uncle Aram Dildilian opened a photog- and Mrs. Marde Xifaras, Anatolia parents and supporters, also raphy studio and became official photographers for Anatolia spoke to the gathering about their times in Greece and the spe- College (see the Summer 2009 Anatolian for the full story.). The cial place that Anatolia has in their hearts. event drew an overflow crowd of more than 100. Anatolia Then, on November 3, Anatolia’s Boston office and Project President Hans Giesecke was in attendance and introduced the SAVE Armenian Photograph Archives, Inc. presented a lecture speaker, while speaking himself about Anatolia’s strong and by Dr. Armen Marsoobian, Professor of Philosophy at Southern continuing ties to the Armenian community, both in Greece Hosts Stathis Antoniades ’92 and Anna Greka ’93 are third from left and right, Connecticut State University, who this past spring semester was and the United States.” respectively. The Harvard MUN 2010 -- this year with a taste of Venezuela Seeing the World the MUN Way odel UNs are exercises in role play. Typi- place in Paris, Athens, Istanbul, the Hague, and M cally student-run, they offer opportunities at the Farm School in Thessaloniki. Past confer- to teenagers to transform themselves into diplo- ence destinations have included Dublin, St. Pe- mats for a few days and to tackle some of the tersburg, Vienna, and Halleybury (England). A lit- world’s toughest problems and disputes tle tourism is typically included around the through dialogue and negotiation. Because stu- edges. And of course there is always Harvard, dents don’t represent their native countries, one of the world’s oldest and most distin- they also come to see the world from fresh per- guished conferences. spectives. And because the language of MUNs For students coming from fifteen schools in is English, second language students get a real Greece and six foreign countries, Thessaloniki workout in the global language. and Anatolia will be the destination in mid- For Anatolia, whose history and identity are March when our school hosts its 5th annual both international, MUNs are a natural, and in Model UN. Many Anatolians cut their diplomatic the past decade they have become one of the teeth at the school’s own conference, then work (from left) Katerina Stamatiou, Ioanna Soteriou, school’s most popular extracurricular activities, to be selected for international MUNs in the fol- Constantinos Orphanides, Consul General for Greece in Boston, Marialena Rizou, Antigoni Bokoridou. with more than a hundred students participat- lowing years. Anatolia’s policy is to make partic- ing as delegates and officers every year, and ipation as broad as possible. or more than ten years Anatolia has been not to mention visits to the Harvard and North- still more helping out with Anatolia’s own an- What it all comes to is that many Anatolia F sending a delegation (literally) of some of its eastern campuses and skating on the Frog Pond nual MUN session. MUNs have two phases: the graduates can claim a global outlook and inter- top students to Boston to participate in the on Boston Common. The week was rounded off study phase supervised by faculty advisers at national experience, as well as the knowledge prestigious Harvard Model United Nations Con- with a reception at the Harvard Club of Boston, Anatolia (the rehearsal, in other words), and the that they come from a school with international ference. The conference is organized and run by where Peter Canellos, editor of the Boston Globe sessions themselves, which this year have taken roots and a bi-cultural emphasis. Harvard undergraduates and annually attracts editorial pages, was guest speaker. nearly 3,000 students from around the world for Konstantinos Reppas, a junior in the Anatolia a simulation of the activities of the real UN. Stu- I.B. Program, says: “After so much preparation, Anatolia Launches Green Initiative dents represent not their home countries but our trip to the United States was exciting, eye- Continued from Page 1 the ones assigned to them by HMUN staff. This opening, and rewarding. We met students from IB Director Theodore Filaretos notes that an social responsibility policies. year Anatolia drew Venezuela, a state which all around the world, saw Boston’s well-known “environmental option” is available as a part of “The reality is that it’s not easy being green, likes to make its voice heard, perfect for such a tourist sites, and got to present our hard work at the IB’s biology and chemistry courses and has especially on the pocket-book,” comments Ya- conference. such a prestigious event.” proven so popular that a new Environmental nis Tsorbatzoglou, Acting VP for Administra- The conference itself lasted three days, but Marialena Rizou, a junior from the 1st Lyceum, Science course is now under consideration. tion and institutional coordinator of the initia- the Anatolians sojourned for eight. The rest of adds, “Coming to America for the first time after At ACT, students are mounting an environ- tive. “I’ll give you an example. Right now we their time was spent in a whirlwind of visits and being at an American school for six years and mental awareness campaign with the slogan burn diesel fuel to heat our buildings. Natural activities organized by the school’s Boston of- seeing how my education translates in an Amer- “Don’t Throw It, Show It.” The idea is to stage an gas is available, but conversion will require a fice. Faneuil Hall and the Museum of Science; ican setting was very stimulating. I loved Boston, art exhibition later this spring in Thessaloniki’s sizable initial investment. To justify the invest- the Prudential Center and the Museum of Fine and the Harvard Model UN was a great chal- Aristotle Square of constructions made up ex- ment, we have to insulate our buildings better Arts; a tour of the State House, dinner with the lenge that will stay with me. I’m so glad I go to clusively of recyclable materials. The campaign and target our energy use, and that means Trustees, and a Celtics game (where they even Anatolia and am able to have experiences like will also involve activities in local schools, includ- new windows in many buildings and new made the JumboTron) were all on the docket, these!” ing Anatolia’s own high school, and features a zone-controlled plumbing. Certain other character called the Recycle Monster. things we are already changing, the amount (from left) Thomas Michaelides, Trustee Bill Galatis, Eleni In the ACT Business Department, all instruc- and kind of paper we use, for instance. What- Bikou, Patricia Korfa, Leonidas Konstantopoulos tors have been asked to develop sustainable ever the hurdles, we are committed to making business development modules for all courses. progress.” In addition, this year the Pappajohn Entrepre- President Giesecke adds: “We want to adopt The Anatolian is published twice neurship and Innovation Fund, which will green practices not only for their own sake but award $10,000 in seed money to the best pro- to set an example to the students whom we’re a year by the Office of the Board posals, will have a special Green Business focus. educating, and to involve them in the process. of Trustees of Anatolia College, MBA students have been invited to develop That’s where the opportunity for greatest im- 130 Bowdoin Street, Suite 1201, real-world research projects that integrate pact lies. I know it will take time and money, Boston MA 02108 green business strategies with innovation and but the Board of Trustees and I are determined It is written and edited by Phil Holland management perspectives, including the cre- to take this opportunity to have an enduring and designed and printed in Greece ation of new enterprises with a green focus influence over the physical appearance of the by M. Diamantidi S.A. and/or assessing the environmental impact of campus and the way it uses its resources for various businesses and their relevant corporate decades to come.”

Page 2 • The Anatolian • Winter 2010 High School News Eleftheriades Library Celebrates 20 Years n October 12, the high school library had Executive VP and COO Panos Kanellis ’66 spoke the value of the library to you personally and to O a birthday party. There were balloons, first, recalling his own experiences with the Ana- the school. Phil Holland, Chair of the English speeches, awards, and a beautiful big birthday tolia Library when it was housed in what is now Department, announced the six winners and cake much appreciated by the many Anatolia Tsipos Hall. Nowhere else in Thessaloniki was treated the audience to brief excerpts. “I cannot students who attended the mid-day celebra- Sports Illustrated to be found, he related, and as imagine Anatolia without this particular li- tion. There was a touch of fall in the air, and the magazine was in English, “I was moved to brary…We are blessed to have such a library on more than a touch of history. learn English.” this campus…The place is strangely peaceful; It seems that wherever missionary schools President Hans Giesecke spoke next, con- the mind relaxes in it…I have sung with the were established in the 19th century, libraries trasting the classical model of libraries as repos- Chorale in the basement and met with my fel- were established too. Anatolia College had a li- itories of knowledge with the contemporary low members of the ACMUN India delegation brary in Asia Minor, and its book collection idea of their being at the nexus of “swirls of in- around a table on the upper level…For those moved with the school to Thessaloniki in the formation” retrievable on demand. He also em- who are newbies and don’t know their way 1920s. When Anatolia settled into its current phasized the role of libraries in building enlight- around, there are always our great librarians, campus in 1934, it was a young refugee gradu- ened communities. VP for Secondary Education ready to help any lost soul find their way to ate of the class of 1930, Socrates Eleftheriades, George Lysarides spoke of the many uses to knowledge.” 8th grader Alex Scragg read a win- who set up its new library in Macedonia Hall which the Eleftheriades Library is put on a daily ning poem, concluding, “Twenty years have and became its Librarian; he had to set it up a basis and the degree to which it lies physically passed since its creation, the Eleftheriades Li- second time following the German occupation and educationally at the center of the school. brary, offering to everyone love and motivation.” of campus during World War II. His wife, Olga Two more alumni of the 1960s, Christos And then, to cap it all off, there was cake. Mavrophoridou-Eleftheriades, taught Greek Anatolia Libraries Director Teresa Grenot with writing contest Plousios and Yannis Lalatsis, both of the class of philology at Anatolia during this period. winner Alex Scragg ‘14 1967, now the Deans of Anatolia’s two lyceums, The Eleftheriades moved to California in 1954, evoked the idea of the particular culture of li- where Socrates served as Librarian at the De- tion of the Friends of Anatolia, was named in braries, and they too endorsed the ethic of com- fense Language Institute in Monterey and Olga their honor in 1995. Socrates Eleftheriades, then munity that libraries create, even when not a taught Greek and published books for learners in his 80s, was present at the dedication cere- word is being spoken by the users. Libraries of Modern Greek. They did not forget Anatolia, mony. were rare in the Greece of that period, Plousios however, and arranged to leave an estate to The value and meaning of the Eleftheriades remarked, and Anatolia graduates were a privi- the school worth one million dollars for the Library to the school was the theme of the an- leged group when they went on to university support of the library and for scholarships. The niversary celebration. Anatolia Libraries Director and had to do research. new high school library, constructed in 1989 Teresa Grenot introduced the speakers to an Then it was time for the results of the library with funds from the American government’s audience of students and teachers seated in essay (or poem) contest, in which all students in USAID Program and equipped by the Associa- the library’s spacious central square study area. 8th to 10th grade had participated. The theme:

Science and Tech Club Visits CERN The Once and Future Summer ome people said that when they switched ergy collisions is similar to the collision energy he Winter issue of the Anatolian has to look with S on the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, of particles in the early universe, less than a T the face of Janus at Anatolia’s burgeoning sum- Switzerland, which is the world’s largest and thousandth of a billionth of a second after the mer programs. The summer of 2009 broke records highest-energy particle accelerator, it might Big Bang. Examination of the debits of these once again, with 149 students and nine faculty and suck the world as we know it down into a black collisions reveals information about fundamen- staff members taking part in programs on US college hole. It didn’t. It did, however, attract a group of tal particle processes. and university campuses. The programs were diverse: 19 Anatolians and their faculty advisers in the There are thousands of people at CERN – from drama to science, from urban to pastoral settings, Science and Tech- from universities and from Mississippi to Michigan and Maine to California, nology Club, Eleni collaborating institu- for junior and senior high school students. The strong Chatzimavroudi tions around the euro helps; so does the tireless work of the US College and Maria Karagou- globe – who have Counseling and Summer Programs Office in identify- ni, to visit CERN (the been working on ing opportunities, supervising the application process, European Organiza- the LHC project over Anatolians Daniel Efraimidis, Theodosis Fabrikis and and arranging for scholarships. The result is that a siz- tion for Nuclear Re- the past two de- Spyros Baltsavias participated in a summer program able portion of Anatolia students have now had direct at Indiana’s prestigious Rose Hulman Institute of Tech- search, home of the cades, many Greek nology and took first prize in an engineering competition experience of the United States in culture, learning, Collider) in early Oc- researchers among by constructing a model hovercraft. and language. Many students write in their reports of tober. them. After the gui- life-changing experiences. Another summer awaits. Al- The Anatolians ded tour the stu- ready 150 applications have been received. At Anatolia students are writing application essays and were treated to dents had the soliciting recommendations from their teachers. And thinking in mid-winter of summer. tours and a close- chance to visit Mi- up view of ongoing crocosm, an interac- Hold onto your hats, those particles move fast…Anatolians spent t’s a different kind of class, and not only because it experiments like part of their time at CERN underground, wearing safety gear. tive multimedia dis- takes place for four hours on a Saturday morning. It’s the ALICE and AT- play that explains I hands-on, experimental science, and the topics are cut- LAS experiments. The latter is a basic research CERN’s diverse activities. ting edge: Robotics, CSI (Crime Scene Investigation) and Forensic Science, Nanotechnology, project that uses state-of-the-art instruments to There was tourism too, in Geneva and nearby Biotechnology, and Green Science. It’s the brainchild of Anatolia chemistry teacher Ilias explore the fundamental nature of matter and Lausanne. The medieval old town in Lausanne Kalambokis, who has seen what kind of subjects and methods excite Anatolians on summer the basic forces that shape our universe. Protons gave many students their first look at Gothic ar- science programs in the US. He and Robotics specialist Antonis Kanouras are the teachers, are accelerated in the Large Hadron Collider chitecture. They also discovered that the Swiss and students from Anatolia Elementary and the junior and high school are the students. The (LHC), an underground accelerator ring 27 kilo- insist on French in that part of their country. former have been building robots with specially designed Legos, the latter doing everything meters in circumference. The particle beams Such experiences build camaraderie. As one from solving mock-crimes to performing experiments that the brochure describes as never are steered to collide in the middle of the ATLAS student said, “We came to Geneva in small having been attempted before in Greece. One thing is certain: it beats watching cartoons. detector. The energy density in these high en- groups, but we are leaving as a large one.”

Page 3 • The Anatolian • Winter 2010 A Charitable Institution…

natolia is a charitable institution, that is, a A non-profit organization whose mission is to serve a community broader than its student body. That already makes it a rarity among Greek private schools and colleges, most of which are run as for-profit institutions. But Ana- tolia goes one step further: it raises money not only to support its own programs, chiefly its scholarship program, but also for other chari- ties in Greece. Many of its major annual public events, like the Christmas Bazaar and the Christmas Concert, raise funds for such pur- poses. So do certain special events, and the philan- thropic season kicked off at Anatolia with one of the latter, a Three-Kilometer Run in support of the Thessaloniki branch of the Make-a-Wish Foundation, a worldwide, non-profit organi- zation that grants wishes to terminally ill chil- dren. The run was organized at the initiative of Christa Giesecke ’11, a first-year IB student fresh After the 3k race, a group portrait with President Hans Giesecke and daughter Christa ’11 at center. from the US, where such events are not un- common. But at Anatolia, nothing quite like it had been attempted before. Would Greek stu- dents lay out 10 euros (about $15) for the priv- ilege of running around campus on a track laid out by the organizers (official t-shirt in- cluded)? After some persistent and creative campaigning, on race day 220 students, faculty, and staff, including President and Susan Giesecke, took off at the appointed hour on November 18. Guides were posted along the route to keep the runners on track. The result: a lot of fun and more than $2,000 raised for the Foundation. Next, Thanksgiving arrived. It is an Anatolia tradition at morning assemblies on this day for students to make contributions to aid those V.P. for Secondary Education George Lysarides (right) with honored guests from “The High school faculty, staff, and students ready to serve guests Source of Life” at the Thanksgiving Dinner. at the Christmas Bazaar. less fortunate. Representatives of a Greek non- profit, the Source of Life, which promotes blood donation, spoke at one of the assem- blies, and their organization was also honored at the school’s traditional turkey dinner in the evening, where faculty and staff were invited to make their own contributions. Working with their Deans, the Anatolia student councils themselves decide which worthy causes should receive the money, an activity that in- troduces them to the culture of philanthropy. Christmas brings another traditional Anatolia charitable occasion, two of them, in fact. The

Lifting their voices in song at the Christmas Concert, Anatolia Elementary students, members of the Alumni Chorale, and singers from the High School.

Page 4 • The Anatolian • Winter 2010 Profile: Vangelis Papatolis ’09

irst in his graduating class in Anatolia’s 1st ... He says that it F Lyceum and one of the top scorers in Greece on the rigorous Panhellenic university was particularly the entrance exams, Vangelis Papatolis ’09 began his Anatolia career by taking scholarship ex- habit of his Anatolia ams in Greek and Math in the northern Greek teachers of going city of Kastoria as a 12-year-old almost seven years ago. He received high scores on both beyond the text- parts of the exam, and as is the usual practice, book content of an Anatolia team of three teachers visited him at his home, located in the village of their lessons to ex- Vissinia (population about 100) on the road to Florina, to get to know him and his family. plore “the general Vangelis and his parents in a photo shot at their home English teacher John Gateley reported to during the visit by members of the faculty scholarship team construction of the the Scholarship Committee back at Anatolia in May 2003. that, “Vangelis attends the village elementary world” that he val- school where the sole teacher instructs nine ued most about his Scenes from the Drama Club’s production of “Grease” (top) children aged 6 to 12…His parents are farm- and the Greek Theater Club’s staging of Dario Fo’s “Claxons, that he valued most about his school. Besides school... Trumpets, and Raspberries.” ers...he has two elder sisters, one now study- his Greek classes, he mentions studying ing in the U.S…There is an air of commitment Shakespeare and an elective in Psychology in about this boy. However, he is not a grind the Anatolia English program as broadening annual Christmas Bazaar, held on Sunday De- and loves playing with the few friends he can experiences. cember 13 in Ingle Hall, attracted a record 1500 find in the village…He speaks his basic Eng- It’s too soon to think about what might fol- paying visitors to coffee served by seniors and lish with confidence and is well-read for his low medical school, he says. Suffice it to say stands manned by faculty, students, and volun- age.” Vangelis was offered a full scholarship to that Vangelis hasn’t lost that “air of commit- teers where one could buy everything from attend Anatolia and spent the next six years ment” he had on the day that the team from cakes and cookies made by junior high stu- boarding at Anatolia’s dormitory. “It was hard Anatolia arrived at his door. dents (and their mothers) to a new puppy. The at first to be away from my family and friends, following day was the Christmas Concert, held but I adapted. And the students and advisers at the Aristotle University Performance Hall in the dorm became a second family to me,” downtown. In recent years this has grown into he says. a multi-school and even multi-generational He excelled as a student right from the event, with participation by Anatolia Elemen- start, but it was only last year that he decided tary, students and faculty from the junior and what course of life he wished to pursue. It senior high school, and the Alumni Chorale. will be medicine, and he is now enrolled as a Proceeds go to the school’s scholarship fund. first-year medical student at Aristotle Univer- The mood was festive, and the hall was filled. sity in Thessaloniki. Besides a love of biology, Meanwhile, a clothes, toys, and books drive it was the opportunity to help others that initiated by two eighth-grade students was made up his mind for him. He displayed that reaching its climax. For two months, the stu- same quality in the dorm, helping younger dents and a growing group of faculty, staff and scholarship holders make the tough social student volunteers in the elementary school, and academic transition to Anatolia, and was the junior and senior high, and the I.B. program chosen to receive the Pat Kastritsis Award at had been collecting items to be given to Thes- graduation “for his outstanding contribution saloniki refugee families, principally from to dormitory life.” Afghanistan, Somalia, and Iran. An impressive To be among the top national Panhellenic number of bags and bundles was presented to scorers, you have to be good in all subjects, the refugees at a Christmas gathering on De- from the hard sciences to history and compo- cember 18. Santa would have been proud. sition. It was his score in the latter that Vange- The giving season was not limited to Thessa- lis is proudest of, as reflecting the greatest loniki. The Alumni Chorale and two busloads of challenge to his ability to think and write on its fans travelled to Athens at the invitation of his feet. He says that it was particularly the the Anatolia Athens Alumni Association to sing habit of his Anatolia teachers of going beyond carols and other songs at the “Megaron Musikis,” the textbook content of their lessons to ex- At Commencement, from left, Vangelis displaying the Kastritsis Award, Trustee Petros Apostolides Athens’ most prestigious concert hall. The funds plore “the general construction of the world” ’53, and Tereza Platidou, physical education teacher and Director of the Boarding Department. raised went to support the annual scholarship offered by the Athens alumni to the school. Lastly, as it has been doing since 1985, the Greek Theater Club donated the proceeds of one of its performances (this year, of Dario Fo’s satire “Claxons, Trumpets, and Raspberries”) to Feeling Charitable? the St. Demetrios Children’s Hospital, which he funds that enabled Vangelis Papatolis to attend Anatolia The school’s scholarship funds, permanent and current, are one overlooks the Anatolia campus. Children from T came from the school’s general scholarship endowment. Other of the elements that give Anatolia its character and exemplify its the hospital were also guests at the perform- students attend on named or geographically restricted scholarship purposes. They are the result of many individual decisions to sup- ance. In addition, the revenue from one per- endowments. Still others have their fees paid by annual donations port the education of outstanding students who would not other- formance of the Drama Club’s presentation of made by individuals or groups. When the school accepts (or a wise be able to afford Anatolia. The school welcomes, or more the American musical “Grease” was donated as donor pledges to support) a scholarship student, the school and properly, depends on the support of people like the readers of the a cash gift to relief work in response to the dev- the donor undertake a six-year financial commitment – which may Anatolian. Feeling charitable? Make a contribution to the Anatolia astating earthquake in Haiti. also be thought of as an investment with returns paid out over a Scholarship Fund today. And that is what is meant by the phrase “Ana- human lifetime. It’s as easy as visiting www.anatolia.edu.gr/giving. tolia is a charitable institution.”

Page 5 • The Anatolian • Winter 2010 ACT News Study Abroad Attracts Record Numbers study at the school’s Thessaloniki campus. English to immigrants at the ARSIS Center for un- Study abroad at ACT is best described as a “hy- derprivileged youth; cooking in the soup kitchen brid” experience in which students receive the of the Pylea church; volunteering at the Thessa- instruction and support services they are accus- loniki International Film Festival; and collaborat- tomed to from a North American university ing with A21 in an effort to raise consciousness while at the same time living in a dynamic and of sex trafficking in Greece. Most ACT study- cosmopolitan southeastern European city with abroad students have volunteered before in a distinctly Mediterranean flair. The program is America and are able to use their experience and not only growing by the numbers but in the English language skills in Greek settings, where range of what it provides to students. Besides of- they also interact with local people and get an fering small classes, personal contact with fac- insider’s view of Thessaloniki. ulty, and top-notch information services, and In addition to the regular study-abroad contin- besides sponsoring excursions and activities that gent, the spring term will welcome three other bring American students into closer contact groups of visiting students, from Columbia Uni- with Greek culture and their Greek and interna- versity, Brown University, and the University of tional classmates, study abroad now includes a Mississippi, for brief periods. They’ll spend time growing service component. on campus and stay with other study-abroad A Service Learning program was begun last students in ACT’s residence halls in downtown year as part of the Northeasterners’ Global Expe- Thessaloniki. Volunteer activities are planned rience course, which requires students to com- with the Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival plete thirty hours of service while at ACT. About in March and in helping organize the Alexia half of the students work on the greater Anatolia Foundation photojournalism exhibit and two- A group of ACT study abroad students visiting the monasteries of Meteora under the guidance of Stepan Partemian, Coordinator of Athletics and Student Activities, at left. campus, teaching English reading, writing, and day, on-campus workshop, which is expected to speaking skills at Anatolia Elementary, assisting also be one of the Festival’s major parallel cul- ews travels fast in this digital age, and the pendence and personal guidance and support. in the US Counseling Office, helping high school tural events. The digital storytelling workshop of N word is out on the ACT study-abroad expe- The result: a record-breaking 145 study-abroad seniors with SAT preparation and college appli- the fall term proved so popular that it will lead rience. It provides an excellent opportunity for ac- students from 33 US colleges and universities cations, and writing for the ACT study abroad to further work in digital media in the spring. ademic work, individual growth, cultural immer- came to ACT this past fall, 66 of them through newsletter. The other half have done exciting And that will no doubt spread the word about sion and travel in an accredited program that Northeastern University’s freshman program. An- work off campus: creating digital storytelling the special qualities of ACT study abroad still gives students just the right balance of inde- other 80 have now begun second semester videos based on their experience here; teaching further.

Storytelling Goes Digital

t was bound to happen: a generation brought up on media Studies, all spoke. It became clear as the evening I multimedia would want to express itself by combin- went on that the storytelling format that has devel- ing the written and spoken word with still and moving oped involves the democratization of movie-making images. The challenge to educators: to harness the (though moving images are not required – a succes- new possibilities for storytelling afforded by new digital sion of stills will do). Part documentary, part personal technologies and the student skills that have evolved narrative of discovery, the typical digital story is a “mul- along with them. timedia tale told from the heart,” as one expert put it. On December 7, 2009, in The format is surprisingly intimate. As for where Raphael Hall, ACT hosted an such stories get published: the Internet, of evening-long conference, course. "Digital Storytelling in Ad- The digital stories presented during the con- vanced Education," to address ference, generally running from two to five this opportunity. An audience minutes, involved a combination of voice- of teachers, students, and overs, sketches, animations, live video, stills, ACT MBA Graduates 30 guests listened to and spoke video clips, titles or subtitles, and music im- The ACT MBA program held with speakers from ACT, ported from various sources. The mode of pres- graduation ceremonies in Raphael Hall on October 10, 2009. The Northeastern University, and entation was informal, but the multimedia so- Commencement speaker was northern Greece in Raphael phistication required to mix all these elements Dimitris Daskalopoulos (above and others via videoconfer- seamlessly into a narrative was considerable. at right), Chairman of the SEV Hellenic Federation of Enterprises, ence at locations as remote as The ACT students shone in the mode. Be- who advised the graduates never London, Utrecht, Cardiff, and sides living in an on-line world and exchanging to lack the courage to innovate. Berkeley, California. The highlight of the evening came video, pictures, and music with friends on a daily basis, He is pictured with three other last: the showing of a series of short digital stories by the 18 ACT digital storytellers had benefited from a captains of Greek industry also in attendance: Giorgos Mylonas, ACT students and teachers. three-day workshop earlier in the term. Their stories, all former President of the Federation President Hans Giesecke and Catherine Kay, US Con- different in style and delivered in a variety of American of Industries of Northern Greece, sul General for Thessaloniki, opened the proceedings, and foreign accents, often recounted the effects of Spyros Papaspiropoulos, and Vas- both evoking the power of stories to shape human ex- encountering different cultures, including the one stu- silis Takas, another past President of the Federation of Industries of perience and cross cultural boundaries. Panel discus- dents have discovered in Thessaloniki. In addition to Northern Greece. The next gen- sions and the videoconferences followed, with sample being shown on the screen in Raphael, the stories eration may look different: 21 of digital stories interspersed. Among others, ACT event were distributed to members of the audience in the the 30 MBA graduates were women, including the two at right, organizers Arian Kotsi, Director of International Pro- form of complimentary CDs. Olympia Argyropoulou and Vasilia grams, Evi Papatheodorou, who led the ACT training Want to have a look for yourself? Go to the YouTube Kalemkeri. workshops, Bissell Library Director Teresa Grenot, and channel on the ACT website (www.act.edu) or direct to Manolis Maou, Professor of Mathematics and Multi- http://goo.gl/NfHd.

Page 6 • The Anatolian • Winter 2010 And After ACT… Transitions

hat do the Fletcher School of Interna- ton, DC, respectively. Chris Sfetsios, who took ongratulations to Dr. Panos Kanellis ’66, W tional Law and Diplomacy (Tufts Univer- a job at the US Institute of Peace in 2006 after C until Dec.1 Anatolia’s Executive Vice Pres- sity), the Walsh School of Foreign Service (at completing a BA in International Relations as ident and COO, on his appointment as the Georgetown), The Nitze School of Advanced a transfer student, recently gained admission first Greek President of the American Farm International Studies (Johns Hopkins), the to the Fletcher School, the Walsh School, and School, Anatolia’s cross-town neighbor. Dr. Graduate Institute of International and Devel- SAIS, among others. Kanellis’ first job at Anatolia was working on opment Studies (Geneva), the European Uni- To what does ACT owe this success? Ac- an Anatolia summer construction crew dur- versity Institute (Florence), the School of Inter- cording to Joseph Gratale, Professor of History, ing his student days. After an academic and national Relations (St. Andrews), and the it’s “dedicated faculty who are passionate business career in the US and Greece, he be- Department of War Studies (King's College about their work in the classroom and in aca- came a professor of chemistry at ACT, and for London), have in common? Yes, they are demia.” On the recruitment end, the recent the last twelve years had worked as the Exec- home to the world's most prestigious post- advent of a Merit Aid policy for academically utive Vice President of Anatolia overseeing all graduate programs in international relations talented students has also played a role. Nikos aspects of administration. Among other and diplomacy. And yes, in the past few years, Kourkoumelis, Chair of ACT's Division of Busi- things, he oversaw the annual budget and Panos ACT graduates have both applied – and been ness, touts the progressively evolving quality the extensive renovations to Anatolia’s facil- Kanellis ’66 admitted – to these and other institutions of of ACT's academic programs and reports that ities carried out in recent years, supervised (anatolia.edu.gr) under “Employment Oppor- similar caliber. the best ACT students in business have tended the academic programs at ACT, and was the tunities.” “Fifteen years ago, when a graduate applied to stay on to do ACT's MBA, another indication driving force behind the establishment of Retired Anatolia President Richard Jackson to LSE (the London School of Economics and of the school's strength. Anatolia Elementary, now the most sought- is now President Emeritus, the title having Political Science),” recounts David Wisner, Chair Vice President for Academic Affairs Panos after elementary school in Thessaloniki. been bestowed on him by Anatolia’s Board of of the Division of Humanities and Social Sci- Vlachos has the gratifying task of overseeing It is not surprising that more than one per- Trustees at its November 7, 2009, meeting in ences, “I got the distinct impression that her this surge in post-graduate success: “We are all son has been appointed to fill his shoes. Yanis Boston. President Jackson has relocated to application was not given much attention. proud of the accomplishments of our stu- Tsorbatzoglou ’86 is the new Acting Vice- Florida, near Palm Beach, the home of a thriv- Now, all that has changed. In one recent year, dents. The good news is that there is more to President for Administration, Panos Vlachos ing Anatolia community he had visited last nearly 10% of the graduating class undertook come.” Indeed, a plan for new directions in ac- the new Acting VP for Academic Affairs, and March. post-graduate study there.” ademic offerings at ACT envisions an Interna- Pavlos Floros the new Acting V.P. for Finance, One transition is physical: the lower divi- LSE is not the only destination of choice. tional Relations major morphing into an even all appointed from within Anatolia’s ranks sion (grades 1-3) of Anatolia Elementary is Within the space of three years Alvis Matlija more comprehensive program called “Global and bringing years of on-campus experience moving to new and larger quarters not far (business), Ilda Zhulali (international relations), Governance.” Within this new structure, the to their jobs. Anatolia is also presently re- from the rest of campus on the grounds of and Biljana Meskovska (also IR) earned full sub-fields of civil society, e-government, hu- cruiting for a VP for Institutional Advance- the former Leonidas School. The new site of- scholarships to study at the Harvard Business manitarian studies, and world affairs are likely ment; the job description for this new posi- fers some 5½ acres of space and plenty of School, Oxford University, and SAIS Washing- to be emphasized. tion may be found at the Anatolia website room for physical expansion.

In Memoriam Bill Drakos and John Jessup, Trustees Former Anatolia Presidents Pay Tribute

lumnus, trustee and generous donor, Bill Drakos ’38 was the central meeting area of the college, today known, at his Karen, and eight grandchildren, all of whom Bill has person- A truly a man in full. Like Ulysses, whom he admired, he ex- request, simply as the “Effie Commons.” In the category of wis- ally escorted to campus and introduced firsthand to the emplified the roles in turn of father, dom, both I and Bill McGrew before school of which he was so proud. To them, Anatolia offers its husband, son, Hellene, warrior, leader me learned so much from him in long sympathy, and shares deeply in their loss. of men, businessman, sailor, strategic conversations about Anatolia at sea thinker and more. His interests were on his boat, around the kitchen table -- Richard Jackson, President 1999-2009 global, spanning many countries and at his horse farm or at his beloved causes, yet linked by love of family, Watch Hill Yacht Club. As for work, Bill Anatolia lost a close and devoted friend when John K. Jes- Hellenism, the sea, and life itself. was always alert to opportunities for sup left this world in early December. John was a confirmed Among the causes that he most loved Anatolia, bringing speakers to campus Philhellene who served our school as Trustee and adviser for and devoted himself to were Anatolia like noted TV personality Hugh Downs many years. College and the Mystic Aquarium near or, direct from the seabed off Santorini, After graduating from Harvard with honors, and preparing his home in Connecticut. His dream, the marine explorer Robert Ballard. further at Yale for international service, John passed the de- which he realized in his last year, was Returning from Anatolia to the U.S., manding examinations to enter the U. S. Diplomatic Corps. to make possible a dynamic partner- Bill studied at Wesleyan University and There he opted for Greek language training, followed by as- ship between the two institutions joined the Marine Corps, serving with signment to Thessaloniki (1964-66). While serving here John with a focus on protecting the envi- distinction as an officer during World developed a great attachment to this city and to its out- ronment and through education Anatolia students getting some hand-on War II. He completed university at Yale standing school, Anatolia. bringing the peoples of Greece and experience of marine life on a Project after the war, showing independence After returning to Washington, D.C., John accepted ap- Oceanology cruise during a 2009 summer the United States closer together. program in Connecticut hosted by the Mystic as an exchange student at the Univer- pointment to Anatolia’s Board of Trustees and for many years Bill Drakos was born in Hartford, Aquarium & Institute for Exploration. The sity of Havana before most had even was an active supporter of the College. He and his wife Pam Connecticut, in 1921, but as a boy re- opportunity was created by Trustee Bill Drakos heard of study abroad. He went on to frequently hosted dinners to cultivate new donors for Anato- and the Anatolia Summer Programs office. turned to Greece with his parents and a brilliant business career and, at his lia. John lost no opportunity to travel to campus, on one oc- studied at Anatolia from 1935-1938. death, was Chairman of Tri-Continental casion joining the annual senior climb up Mt. Olympus. He As an adult, he returned each year to Corporation, which he had founded in was proudly among those who reached the summit. cruise the wine-dark Aegean and with his family to nourish 1960. Along the way, he became one of the nation’s most re- After leaving the diplomatic service for further study, ob- roots in Lesvos. Anatolia too was a constant thread and link spected shipping operators with deep civic and philan- taining a Doctorate in Education from the University of Mas- to a heritage that he prized. They say trustees should bring thropic commitments such as serving as a trustee of UNICEF, sachusetts, Dr. Jessup pursued his later career as educational to Anatolia the three W’s: work, wisdom and wealth, and Bill trustee and one of only two emeritus trustees of the Sea Re- adviser to the U.S. Agency for International Development. He gave generously of each. He opened doors for me as Presi- search Foundation, founding member of the North American continued for years to return to Greece and to Anatolia and dent and went with me to speak with magnates such as the Marine Environmental Protection Association and long-time actively assisted the school. John will be sorely missed by all Chairman of General Maritime, Peter Georgopoulos, about trustee of both Anatolia College and the Mystic Aquarium. those who admired his youthful charm, his educational val- the needs of his alma mater in Thessaloniki. In memory of his Bill leaves behind his wife and partner of 62 years, Photine ues, and his loyal attachment to Anatolia College. beloved sister, Effie Drakos Reilly, Bill gave a state-of-the-art or “Teeny,” as she is affectionately known, and his sons Peter, computer laboratory at ACT, which he later expanded into Andrew, and James, daughters-in-law Shonah, Debra, and --Bill McGrew, President 1974-1999

Page 7 • The Anatolian • Winter 2010 Our American Cousins Anatolia has close and continuing ties to some of America’s top liberal arts colleges

he ideal of liberal education – a general Williams, both in curriculum and architecture. Chapin Hall T education emphasizing the development It was not only in foreign parts that Protes- at Williams of habits of rational thought and intellectual tant colleges were being founded. The Mid- College inquiry over the acquisition of practical skills – west was fertile ground for new institutions comes from Greece via Rome, and nowhere where religion and the liberal arts went hand did it take firmer root in the modern era than in hand, institutions like Grinnell College in in American colleges. Anatolia’s connection Iowa, Carleton in Minnesota, and Oberlin in to American liberal arts colleges has been a Ohio, all of which graduated men and women major and continuing influence in its history. who were to play key roles in Anatolia’s future For Anatolia, in the beginning there was development. Williams College, founded in 1793 as the 21st The most important of these connections institution of higher education in America (at for Anatolia was Grinnell. In 1890 Grinnell a time when England still had only two). It alumni George E. White and his wife Esther was at Williams that the American missionary Robbins White (daughter of one of Grinnell’s movement was born in 1806, which led in the founders) joined the staff of Anatolia in Asia course of the 19th century to the creation of Minor. Grinnell was animated then, as it still is, schools and colleges worldwide. In Hawaii by the ideal of service to one’s fellow man. there was Punahou Academy, the future Pres- That ideal was exemplified in the lives of the ident Obama’s high school alma next Grinnell couple to join Anatolia, mater, and in Merzifon, in the middle its future President Carl Compton of the Ottoman Empire, there was and his wife Ruth McGavren, who Photo courtesy of Williams Anatolia, founded in 1886 as a four- came to the school not long after College Dept. year liberal arts college by Williams White succeeded Tracy in 1913. It of Public Affairs graduate Charles Tracy of the class of was when Anatolia moved to Thessa- 1864. loniki, though, that the tide of Grin- Williams I sought, and found, a sense of com- larger than ACT itself. That’s part of the attrac- Both Williams and Tracy himself nellians reached its peak. Their munity in a setting of academic excellence, tion for these visitors: here they can study in had been shaped by the vision of Mark Hopkins names can be found in Appendix B and I am charged with cultivating the same the more intimate environment typical of US liberal education articulated and put into of Compton’s recently re-issued memoir, The kind of environment here. I don’t see my con- liberal arts colleges, with small classes and per- practice by Williams President Mark Hopkins, Morning Cometh (available on-line at http: nection to Charles Tracy as coincidence at all, sonal contact with faculty. who also served as the President of the Amer- //www.anatolia.edu.gr/user_files /carlcomp- but rather as evidence of the continuity of When they go to study at liberal arts col- ican Board of Commissioners of Foreign Mis- tonbook.pdf). the core values of American education across leges in the US, Anatolians of all ages find sions at the time of Anatolia’s founding. In his Two more recent developments have kept time and place, as exemplified and incubated themselves in educational settings whose inaugural address of 1836, Hopkins Grinnell and Anatolia close. One was by the alma mater I share with Anatolia’s first ethos is familiar to them from their experi- said "We are to regard the mind not the creation in 1976 by Grinnell of President.” ences here. As it should be: in the long view, as a piece of iron to be laid upon the the George E. White Scholarship, In recent years the tide of Anatolians pursu- it’s the Greek model of education, as trans- anvil and hammered into any shape, which supports up to one new Ana- ing higher education in the States has in- formed by a North American context where nor as a block of marble in which we tolian per year at Grinnell for four creased, and lib- student involvement and engagement in the are to find the statue by removing years. More than 20 Anatolians have eral arts colleges learning process is paramount. the rubbish, nor as a receptacle into held this Scholarship since its incep- and universities which knowledge may be poured; tion, two of whom, Manolis Maou are the favored but as a flame that is to be fed, as an Charles C. Tracy ’82 (Grinnell ’86) and Georgia choices. Yale and active being that must be strengthened to Proestopoulos ’01 (Grinnell ’05), now work at Princeton are the think and to feel -- and to dare, to do, and to ACT and Anatolia, respectively. current favorites, suffer." It is fair to say that Hopkins pioneered When the Anatolia Board of Trustees adver- but Anatolians are the idea of student-centered higher education tised last year for a new President who would now studying at in America. When the largely self-taught embody the “missionary spirit” of the founders, many other top George E. and liberal arts col- Charles Tracy came to Williams as a 21-year- a member of the Williams College Class of Esther Robbins White old junior in 1862, straight off a farm in Penn- 1978 recognized the allusion. He is now Ana- leges, too, such as sylvania, Hopkins recognized his talents and tolia’s 10th President, Dr. Hans Giesecke. (in alphabetical order) Albion, Bard, Bates, Ben- took him under his wing. Not surprisingly, the Giesecke comments: “What took me to nington, Bowdoin, Brandeis, Clark, Columbia, early Anatolia bore resemblances to Tracy’s Williams also brought me to Anatolia. At Davidson, Dickinson, Georgetown, Grinnell, Hampshire, Harvard, Haverford, Knox, Lafayette, Lehigh, Luther, Mt. Holyoke, Smith, and the College of Wooster. Anatolians are also attending more techni- cally-oriented colleges like M.I.T., Rose-Hulman, and the Florida Institute of Technology, as well as a number of leading US universities, including Northeastern, with which the Anatolia’s tertiary division, the American College of Thessa- loniki (ACT), has established such close ties. ASHLAND MA U.S. POSTAGE

At ACT, the flow is mostly in PERMIT NO.7 the other direction. The major- PRST STD PAID ity of ACT’s study-abroad stu- dents come from US universi- A winter sunrise at Gates Hall, Grinnell College. Photo copyright David Kennedy / www.david-kennedy.com ties, all of which are many times

Page 8 • The Anatolian • Winter 2010