Last year, among all other matters that were on the table of the AFCEA Student Club, the prospect of creating an AFCEA Scholarship which would be awarded to one of us, the Students / AFCEA Student Club members of DEREE – The American College of Greece.
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In December of 2010,
the President of AFCEA Student Club, Gerasimos Papandrikopoulos announced that AFCEA had agreed to discuss the matter and thus, along with the AFCEA Education Foundation we began setting the criteria for the scholarship for the members of the club. The strange thing is that while I was in the Governing Body of the AFCEA Student Club (Academic Year 2010-2011) , I never imagined I could be considered as a candidate. My mind was focused on latest or future members of the club, since it was considered to be a long term plan.
When Gerasimos announced that I was going to be the recipient of the first AFCEA Scholarship, in June 2011, I was stunned!
To be honest, at the time I had forgoten that I had even applied for it.
My reaction was not only based on the fact that I did not expect receiving the AFCEA Scholarship, but also because the timing could not have been any better for me.
In the previous weeks I had started to worry about the years to come. My brother just finished school and my family faces the decisions about funding his college studies. My plan was to start taking fewer classes per semester and/or find a job to support my everyday expenses. Imagine my parents’ relief when I told them they only had to worry about one child’s payment for this year!
I have been a member of AFCEA Student Club and AFCEA for something less than 2 years and I must admit it has been one of the best Eras of my life! Only the fact that we are welcome to attend the TechNet Conferences, have access to all this knowledge and innovation, and talk to so many highly established individuals is more than what a Tech-Freak like me could ask for! I don’t regret any of the choices I made due to my involvement with AFCEA, and I hope to be able to remain a member for many years to come.
I know that for the donor, a scholarship is a gift; a gesture of kindness and grace.
For me though it’s an Investment.
AFCEA invested in me and I plan to pay it off!
Thank you once again!
Panos Rokkas, DEREE – The American College of Greece
Junior , School of Arts and Sciences, Information Technology
President, AFCEA Student Club
Hi all together and congratulations. As an “old” AFCEAN you have to be proud of “young” AFCEANS like you at DEREE. I do hope that there will be chance to visit “the club” next year. I´m really looking forward and do wish you and all members of the AFCEA Student Club members of DEREE all the success you deserve, Peter
[…] the TechNet’s pools of knowledge, we came out with internship opportunities. This, along with the AFCEA Scholarship that the Club awards annually to one of its members, is what the club has to offer to the Students […]