Going from teaching adult Greek classes at a Greek Orthodox Church, Pagona Tsoutsounis will do it at the University of Utah now, the school resuming courses in the language after it was suspended in 2020, after being taught for 60 years.

“I love teaching young adults because when they sign up for classes, it’s because they want to learn, not because their parents make them,” Tsoutsounis told the Daily Utah Chronicle of her new venture.

Christopher Lewis, the department chair of World Languages and Cultures said  Modern Greek was stopped because the COVID-19 pandemic closed off and limited in-class courses and there was a lack of staffing.

“Our instructor at the time had been teaching it for some time and she was looking to retire anyway,” Lewis said. “It was very difficult to find somebody under the circumstances, so it was kind of put on hold for a couple of years. We were able to find a new instructor that we’re excited about.”

The William D. Cocorinis Scholarship is also back, with an emphasis in Greek, modern or ancient, the area rich with a Greek heritage.