Press Releases | Peter J. Economos Scholarship

Demetrios Andrikopoulos, John J. Strzelecki and Sevasti Tagaris Awarded Peter J. Economos Memorial Scholarships

Chicago, IL – July, 2008 -- On Sunday, May 25, Demetrios Andrikopoulos, John J. Strzelecki and Sevasti Tagaris became the second group of recipients of the Peter J. Economos Memorial Scholarship. Andrikopoulos, Strzelecki and Tagaris, are each well deserving students, and each received a $1,000.00 scholarship from Chicago Ahepa Chapter #260.

Mr. Nicholas P. Bobis, a member of the Chapter’s Scholarship Selection Committee, announced the names of the award recipients immediately following the Divine Liturgy at Sts. Constantine & Helen Church in Palos Hills, Illinois. The memorial Scholarships were presented in connection with the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago’s 27th Annual Junior Olympics, a program that Mr. Economos unselfishly served through his volunteer efforts for many years.

Demetrios Andrikopoulos graduated from Amos Alanzo Stagg High School in 2008, where he earned a grade point average of 3.647. He is very involved in Sts. Constantine and Helen Church as an altar boy captain and president. He has both participated and volunteered at the Junior Olympics, and has also given back to his community with over 75 hours of service. He will be attending The University of Illinois at Chicago pursuing a degree in Pharmacy.

John J. Strzelecki graduated from Parkway South High School, in Manchester, Missouri, in 2008, with a class rank of 25 out of 446 and an ACT score of 34. He has been very active in many school activities, Junior Olympics, Crossroad program at Hellenic College, Project Mexico and is learning to chant Byzantine music at Assumption Greek Orthodox Church in Town and Country Missouri. He will be attending Georgia Institute of Technology pursuing a degree in Engineering.

Sevasti Tagaris graduated from William Fremd High School in 2008, where she earned a weighted grade point average of 4.08 and scored 28 on her ACT. Her school activities include choir and the speech team. She has worked with her church youth group for the past six years and is kept busy working at a food chain after school each day. She will attend Illinois Wesleyan University pursuing a degree in mathematics and career in engineering.

The Peter J. Economos Memorial Scholarship was established in October 2006, by Chicago Chapter #260 of the Order of Ahepa to honor his memory and commemorate the one-year anniversary of his death. Peter, formerly the Director of Business Development and Training for Superior Coffee and Tea Products, a division of Sara Lee Foods, worked tirelessly to involve Hellenic youth in church related activities while at the same time giving of himself broadly to the community at large through his efforts on behalf various culinary schools and organizations. With tireless energy and extraordinary good humor, he made everyone feel special. His Ahepa Chapter hoped to capture his spirit and perpetuate those special qualities and promote them through this scholarship initiative. The Ahepa Chapter has established the goal of raising $100,000 in order to make the scholarship funds self-sustaining and to award annual scholarships totaling $5,000. In 2007, the Chicago Ahepa Chapter #260 awarded two $1000 scholarships to deserving students.

The scholarship is open to high school seniors who are graduating or undergraduate students who are pursuing or will pursue a post-secondary education by attending a vocational, trade or technical school or a college or university, and are one of the following:

1) A current or former participant in the Junior Olympics;

2) The applicant, or a parent of the applicant, must be a member in good standing of the 13th District (Illinois and Wisconsin) Ahepa family (Order of Ahepa, Daughters of Penelope, Sons of Pericles or Maids of Athena); or

3) The applicant, or a parent of the applicant, must be a member in good standing of a Greek Orthodox parish within the Metropolis of Chicago (Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin).

The Order of Ahepa (American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association) was founded in Atlanta, Georgia in 1922 in response to the evils of bigotry and racism that emerged in early 20th century American society. It also helped Greek immigrants assimilate into society. Today, AHEPA brings the ideals of ancient Greece, which includes philanthropy, education, civic responsibility, and family and individual excellence to the community.

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For additional information contact:

Jim Callas; telephone: 708-749-0474;
e-mail: JGCallas@hotmail.com