Award Recipients 2018
EVANGELOS MILES BOURTIS
a senior at St. John Fisher College, is pursuing a double major in media & communications and biology. He has interned with News 8 CBS affiliate and NPR affiliate WXXI, both in Rochester, NY; written for The Cardinal Courier since freshman year and appeared both on and off camera for Cardinal TV. Evan would like to combine his passion for journalism with his passion for science and the environment to become a science journalist. He is the son of Eftihia and Spiro Bourtis of Webster, NY and the grandson of Evangelos and Athena Bourtis of Webster, NY and the late Dimitri and Katina Dardaganis.
ELENI MARIA MITCHELL
a senior at York College of Pennsylvania, is pursuing a major in mass communications with a concentration in media and a minor in business administration. As current Public Affairs Director for WVYC Radio, she also hosts a weekly entertainment show and was recently appointed to WVYC Program Director. She has received awards for academics from AHEPA and GOARCH for creating a documentary short about the St. Nicholas Shrine at Ground Zero. As an active Orthodox Christian, Eleni is a member of the choir and volunteers her time at York County Food Bank as social media content creator. She is the daughter of Robert and Vanessa Mitchell of Upper Saddle River, NJ and the granddaughter of Stelios and Helene Juvelis of Chatham, NJ and the late Peter and Ann Mitchell of Bernardsville, NJ.
ALEXANDER ARMSTRONG MORELLI
is pursuing an MFA in experimental and documentary arts at Duke University. After earning his BA in visual and environmental studies from Harvard, he worked in documentary production at HBO before returning to Boston as a teaching assistant alongside filmmakers Ross McElwee and Alfred Guzzetti. His practice draws from personal documentary, cinéma vérité and experimental film traditions. Alex is the son of Alan and Marietta Morelli of Stamford, CT and the grandson of Sophie Caloutas of Stamford, CT and the late John Caloutas of New Haven, CT and the late Allen and Barbara Morelli of Plymouth, MA.
VALERIE YIANNA NIKOLAS
is attending Northwestern University’s Medill Graduate School of Journalism in the health, science and environment track. She is a summa cum laude graduate of DePaul University in Chicago. Valerie has worked in communications for a hospice agency and, as a proponent of improving global health, she has been on three global mission trips. She is the daughter of Louis and Effie Nikolas of Prospect Heights, IL and the granddaughter of Vasiliki Floutsis and the late Dimitri Floutsis and the late Evans and Stavroula Nikolas.
ALEXA MARIA SPIROFF
is a senior at Brigham Young University, where she is majoring in communications. Her passion for social advocacy and international development have led her to intern with Ashoka, a global organization investing in entrepreneurs with innovative ideas for social problem solving; prepare mission statements for Quit Trip’n, whose teen clients confront mental health challenges; and her work volunteering on a film documentary by Operation Underground Railroad to combat global human trafficking. She is the daughter of Thomas Spiroff of Dearborn, MI and Teresa Spiroff of Dayton, OH and the granddaughter of the late Boris and Luba Spiroff of Dearborn, MI, and Eloise Loechinger and the late Richard Loechinger of Dayton, OH.
JOHN THEOPHILUS TOULOUPIS
is a junior at the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College at the University of Mississippi, where he is majoring in broadcast journalism and economics. A former intern at a popular blog in Oxford, news editor of the daily student newspaper, and philanthropy chair for his fraternity, John hopes to pursue a career in the two areas of study he loves: journalism and economics. He has been a member of the Birmingham Hellenic dance troupe and has participated in Ionian Village and CrossRoads at Hellenic College. He led a 4-day home build for Project Mexico and St. Innocent Orphanage, where he put his journalism skills to work writing, taking pictures and shooting videos to help promote Project Mexico’s story. He is the son of Anastasios and Kiriaki Touloupis Birmingham, AL and the grandson of John and Maria Touloupis of Thessaloniki, Greece and Theo and Katerinoula Mangos of Freeport, Bahamas.