Birthright Program

For the second summer in a row, the Birthright Program that is run by the Panhellenic Scholarship Foundation, based in Chicago, allocated 20 full scholarships, to Greek Heritage students of high academic standing, giving them the opportunity to study for 5weeks in Thessaloniki at ACT.These students took part in the Pella Projcet, a study abroad program which offers a combination of studies and intensive travel. For the majority of the students this was their first time traveling to Greece and for a few it was the first time that any member of their immediate family was to return to the home country from which their grandparents had left more than two generations ago. A number of them declared that they felt "at home" the minute they set foot on Greek soil; for others "coming home" was a gradual realization. The impact of this experience was immense on each one of the students as anyone can grasp by reading the weekly blogs that students kept while in Greece.   

Enrolled in a course on the World of Alexander the Great students literally followed in Alexander's footsteps as the young prince went from being a lad to becoming the king of Macedonia. Within their short stay, the group visited Vergina, Dion, Delphi, Athens, Pella, Olynthos, Philippi and Troy. During their trip to Constantinople they also  had a chance to see Agia Sophia, the Bosporus as well as meet the Archbishop Bartholomeus in person at the Greek Patriarchy. The warm reception at ACT and their integration in the life of the campus and the life of Thessaloniki was more than they had dreamed of when setting out for this grand summer voyage. Tears and a promises to return with other Greek members of their family were shared with friends as they boarded the airplane back to the U.S., this time with a much stronger sense of who they were and with pride for their Greek heritage.