One of my favorite moments was entering the ancient Greek theater of Epidaurus with my summer program students one July day at sunset.
We sat on the same seats where ancient spectators used to sit and watched an ancient Greek tragedy. Students were prepared in advance about the plot and one of them recited a monologue from the play as we were waiting.
At the end, another student commented that the way she perceives the art of acting had changed forever.
During my years at the American College of Thessaloniki (ACT), I grew in multiple ways: as a professor, a researcher and as an administrator.
I teach a wide range of classes to a great number of students with different cultural backgrounds and this enriches my multicultural understanding.
My administrative position as the Chair of the Division of Humanities and Social Sciences gives me the opportunity to create new partnerships and a variety of programs in my fields of interest and work closely with amazing students and professors from diverse areas of the USA and Canada.
There are a lot of great stories and I keep in touch with most of my students after their return to their home institutions.
A recent one is that of a student who took one of my ancient Greek history classes at ACT and wrote back to me after a few years to ask for my advice and bibliography on an ancient Greek figure.
She needed my help because she has found a job in the film production industry in Los Angeles and was writing the plot for a children’s movie.
As one visitor to ACT once told me all employees at the institution (administrators, professors, and staff) think of ACT as their home. We all have a special tie to our professional environment and to each other and what characterizes us all, is collegiality and efficiency.
Most of us have worked at the college for many years and we are quite committed to it, but we are also able to make newcomers feel at home.
Small class size helps in many ways and especially in the enrichment of the teaching and learning experience.
Planning ahead and building a strong team spirit are key factors towards the success of our programs.