The strong efforts from La Trobe University’s students were celebrated in its annual Student Prize Ceremony, with numerous pupils honoured for their work in Greek Studies.
The ceremony was held on 29 April as they recognised high achievers in Greek studies.
Among the award recipients for last year, 2024, were five Greek language students.
Four of them received the Vassilogianis Awards for Excellence in Greek Studies: Angelina Pino (first year Beginner), Tilly Snowdon (second year Intermediate), Michaela Tosouni (first year Advanced) and Sophia Kiriakidis (second year Advanced).
The Zangalis Award for Excellence in Greek Studies (for subject Greek 6) was received by Elena Simopoulos,
Dr Stavroula Nikoloudis, the Greek Studies Program Coordinator at La Trobe, noted that these students, from a range of backgrounds, demonstrated a unique commitment to their studies as reflected in their high results for Greek.
“It was wonderful to celebrate the occasion with our students and their families,” she said in an official statement on the ceremony.
“It was also very special for myself and colleague Dr Dimitri Gonis to have with us our PhD student, Panagiotis Pantazis, who has been an integral part of the program for many years, most recently assisting with conversation classes and research into Greek language and identity in Melbourne.”
Dr Nikouloudis highlighted that Panagiotis Pantazis has now completed his thesis ‘Manifestations of Neo-Ottomanism and the Blue Homeland during the era of the Justice and Development Party’ and will soon be awarded his doctorate.
“We express our warmest congratulations to all our students and sincerely thank our award donors, whose generosity makes such a positive impact on them,” she said.
“We hope that this news also encourages other students, whether or not they have studied Greek at primary or secondary school, to consider taking up Greek at La Trobe University, the only university offering Greek language studies in Victoria.”
