NEW YORK – FAITH: An Endowment for Orthodoxy & Hellenism is proud to announce that 84 young Greek-American leaders were awarded the prestigious 2022 FAITH Scholarship for Academic Excellence and 67 college students qualified to receive their FAITH Scholarship for Excellence in STEM continuation award – bringing the grand total of scholarships FAITH awarded in September 2022 to 151.

Statistically, the 2022 FAITH Scholars rank well above their peers in the classroom, with most graduating in the top 10% of their classes and maintaining an ‘A’ grade point average while enrolled in AP, IB, Honors, or Dual-Credit level courses. Balancing rigorous coursework with diverse schedule of extracurricular activities, the 2022 FAITH Scholars earned high praise from teachers, coaches, mentors, and peers for their roles as club leaders and founders, student-athletes, mentors, parish youth group leaders and more.

“Maintaining close ties with the Greek community is very important to me, and I am very excited to join a network of scholars who are dedicated students like myself. The FAITH Endowment is admirable in its dedication to supporting the academic pursuits of young Greek Americans, and it is an honor to be bestowed such an award by such prominent Greek Americans in our community. I am deeply impressed by the commitment of the Founders of FAITH to uniting the Greek American community and innovatively contributing to various professions from healthcare to business,” shares Adamantia Metaxas, a 2022 FAITH Scholar majoring in chemical engineering at Princeton University.

This year’s recipients join a network of over 700 FAITH Scholars from across the United States who reflect academic excellence and the spirit of volunteerism and philanthropic-minded leadership heralded by the Founders of FAITH. Founded in 2004 to celebrate and inspire excellence within the next generation, this series of special merit-based scholarships are awarded to graduating high school seniors who demonstrate exceptional achievements in education and extracurricular activities and are driven by their desire to make a difference in their communities and build a better world.

Each of the 2022 FAITH Scholars averaged over 350 hours of community service, engaged as leaders within the Greek and Hellenic community, and used their skillsets to provide solutions to leading issues within their communities. For example, Helena Douveas, a high school valedictorian now studying human and organizational development at Vanderbilt University, worked with her local congresswoman to start a ‘Community Closet’ to ensure people in need had access to basic household supplies during the pandemic lockdown.

Yanni Kouloumbis, a computer science major at Cornell University, received his Eagle Scout for outfitting five parishes in Southern California with live-streaming systems during the COVID lockdowns. Rafaella Lambrinos, who is studying sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, founded the ‘Adopt a Yiayia and Pappou’ program early in the pandemic where she paired youth with senior citizens for weekly check-ins and chats – the program soon expanded from her hometown in Freehold, NJ to the entire state.

Additionally, FAITH Scholars who major in STEM are eligible to receive support their sophomore, junior, and senior years if they maintain a 3.6 GPA and remain active in Hellenic and Greek Orthodox organizations.

Since the program was established in 2012, FAITH has recognized over 300 FAITH-STEM Scholars, many of whom have gone on to make meaningful impacts in their fields – from developing prosthetics for those living with neuromuscular conditions to developing drones to monitor toxin levels in rivers.

Eighteen years since its inception and with support from its members, FAITH has proudly awarded over 1,950 grants and scholarships to date to the most promising young leaders of the Hellenic American and Greek Orthodox community. FAITH Scholars have gone on to work in a range of career sectors and companies, including NASA, research labs, biotech, education, the arts, Congress and medical school.

FAITH Founder and Scholarship Review Committee Chair Dr. P. Roy Vagelos spoke on behalf of the FAITH Founders saying, “the Founders of FAITH are proud to support this important initiative to inspire the best and brightest young people to become future leaders within our community and their professional fields.”

For more information about FAITH scholarships and other FAITH programs, please visit www.thefaithendowment.org.