The FAITH Endowment welcomes 82 of the brightest and most accomplished graduating high school seniors within the Greek American community into the prestigious FAITH Scholarships for Academic Excellence program. Scholarship amounts ranging up to $12,000 were awarded to applicants displaying extraordinary academic achievement and a spirit of charity and community service. Part of the largest class to date, the 2021 FAITH Scholars join over 600 young Greek American leaders from across the country who are leading their campuses, career fields and communities with a diverse range of innovation, humanitarianism and civic-mindedness.
This year’s class of FAITH Scholars include young leaders whose impact was felt inside and outside of the classroom. Naomi Solomon, speech and debate team captain, traveled to Haiti to administer eye tests for children and then to Ethiopia to teach clean water safety and filtration. John Sarantou, a National Merit finalist and science museum volunteer, developed an algorithm for his internship that evaluated images to determine if surgery was needed for pancreatic tumors. Despina Anastasiou, Model UN president and congressional youth captain, started a nonprofit connecting high school students with nursing home residents during the COVID-19 pandemic. And, Peter Tsatalis, Spanish club president and class treasurer, volunteered in clinics to provide dental care for adults with disabilities.
“It is an incredible honor to join the prestigious FAITH Scholar network, which is full of inspiring leaders across all fields who give back to the Hellenic and Greek Orthodox communities in profound ways. I am committed to giving back just like those who joined the network before me. I am blessed to be a FAITH Scholar and I know this will help me profoundly as a young professional,” said Peter Bazianos, a 2021 FAITH Scholar majoring in physics and astronomy at the University of Pennsylvania. Peter, student class president and math team leader, conducted a two-year research project on reducing his community’s emissions through renewable energy and presented his findings to local government officials.
On average, the 2021 FAITH Scholars scored within the 90th percentile for the ACT and SAT tests and maintained a 3.83 average GPA while following rigorous course plans of AP, honors or dual credit courses. Graduating at the top of their classes and enrolling in highly competitive universities, they merited high praise from teachers, mentors and peers for their roles as club leaders and founders, tutors, church youth group leaders, student government officers, interns, scholastic team captains and more. Averaging 350 hours of community service, FAITH Scholars volunteered in food banks, community resource centers and hospitals, tackling a wide scope of issues such as social inequality, teen mental health, food insecurity and environmental sustainability.
“I am honored to be associated with the FAITH Endowment and its mission to connect Greek Americans and preserve our rich and united heritage by supporting and challenging the next generation of Greek Americans. Having an organization like FAITH that acknowledges these individuals and pushes students to work together to achieve their goals make a great difference with lasting results,” shared Despina Anastasiou. Despina is studying International Relations at Colgate University.
Additionally, 62 college students qualified to receive the FAITH Scholarship for Excellence in STEM continuation award, bringing the grand total of scholarships FAITH awarded in its seventeenth year to 144. Since its inception with additional support from its members, FAITH has proudly awarded over 1,800 grants and scholarships to the most promising young leaders of the Hellenic American and Greek Orthodox community.