The Peter Agris Memorial Awards for Greek Americans pursuing careers in Journalism & Communications

FOTINI ANASTOPOULOS is an MBA candidate at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management with a focus on communications. A graduate of Harvard University, Fotini holds a degree in Psychology with a secondary field in Modern Greek. Recognized as a Harvard Convocation Speaker, Silver Congressional Award recipient, and President’s Volunteer Award recipient, she also served as Editor-in-Chief of the Harvard Yearbook, President of the Hellenic Society, Chair of Winthrop House, Director of Hasty Pudding Theatricals, Chair of An Evening with Champions, Director of the Modern Dance Company, and Outreach Director for Harvard Women in Business. She also worked at Digital4Startups, a digital media agency in Chicago, and currently serves as Director of Communications for the PanHellenic Scholarship Foundation. From Norridge, IL, Fotini is a first-generation student and the daughter of Andromachi Anastopoulos of Athens, Greece, and the late Panagiotis Anastopoulos of Doxa, Greece.

CHRISTIAN ANDRIOLAS is a senior at the University of Maryland, majoring in journalism with a minor in business. Christian has worked for the award-winning student newspaper The Diamondback, covering several sports teams on UMD’s campus, and interned at amNewYork last summer. He covered local sports teams through print and video content while operating the newspaper’s social media accounts. He also serves as Editor-in-Chief of another sports-focused student newspaper at UMD. Christian is the son of Antonios and Daria Andriolas of Milford, CT.

TYLER DAVIS is a recent graduate from Boston University, earning a degree in journalism, with a special interest in sports broadcasting. Throughout his time at BU, he served as the poetry editor for The BU Buzz, a soccer beat writer for WTBU, and co-producer of Terrier Nation, which recently won a Student Production Award for best “College/University Sports Program” from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, Boston/New England Chapter. He also has worked as a broadcast production assistant for BU sports broadcasts and as a marketing intern for Mass Poetry and D50 Media, which provides critical resource information for compromised communities. Tyler is the son of Scott and Lisa Davis of East Hartford, CT.

MARIA MANOUSAKIS is a senior at the University of Utah, pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Communication with an emphasis in Science, Health, Environment and Risk Communication. A member of the John R. Park Debate Society, she represented Team USA in the Committee for International Dialogue and the Debate of the National Communication Association and has competed nationally in forensics as an Octafinalist in Extemporaneous and Impromptu Speaking. Maria has served as a Communication Intern with the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, contributing to public health communication and media projects, and with Tunlaw Strategies, conducting research and communications work. She is also involved with the Daughters of Penelope and the Minotavros Chapter of the Pancretan Youth of America, promoting Hellenic culture, education, and community engagement. Maria is the daughter of George and Katherine Manousakis of Salt Lake City, Utah.

CALISTA SYBRANT is a senior at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism pursuing a degree in Journalism with a minor in Law and Society. She has served as a legal intern at the Appellate Court of Maryland and at Baltimore Witness, reporting on Baltimore’s criminal justice system by covering court proceedings and writing stories on homicides and non-fatal shooting cases. She has been a Teaching Assistant for courses in American Government and Politics and Citizenship and Naturalization in America, and is a member of Alpha Phi and Phi Alpha Delta. Calista is also the Philip Merrill College of Journalism Representative for the University Senate for the 2026-27 year. Calista is the daughter of Tom and Vasileah Kyros Sybrant of Mount Airy, MD.

THEODORA TSEVAS is completing a Master of Arts in Media and Public Relations at the University of Leicester, UK. She is a correspondent for Kathimerini, covering the Greek American diaspora in Boston and New York; and a contributor to Estiator Magazine, the national magazine for the Greek-American food industry, where she also writes her own column, Made in Greece, highlighting Greek companies that have found their way to the US market. Her bylines have appeared in To Vima, HuffPost Greece, Atlas Obscura, the Greek National Tourism Organization, The LuxxeMag, and her reporting has been cited in Boston Magazine. Theodora is based between Athens, Greece, and Boston, MA, and is the daughter of John Tsevas of Athens, Greece, and Vasso Tsaniklides of Dedham, MA.

ZACHARY BALCOFF is a senior at Michigan State University, majoring in Journalism with a concentration in Media Design and minors in Graphic Design, Animation, Comics Storytelling in Media, and Theatre. Zachary has served as an intern at The Washington Post, managing editor of The State News, and president of MSU’s Society for News Design (SND). He is also a social media assistant for MSU’s School of Journalism, a member of VIM Magazine’s art team, and the social chair of Gamma Epsilon Tau, MSU’s first art and design fraternity. Involved in journalism since seventh grade, he has won more than 50 journalistic awards at the state and national level, including for SND’s 46th Creative Competition. Zachary is the son of Brian and Maria Pervolarakis Balcoff of Troy, MI.

KAELYN BENOIT is a senior at Florida Southern College, pursuing a double major in Media Strategies & Production, as well as Multimedia Journalism. Taking an active role in her freshman year as a member of FSCTV, Florida Southern College’s broadcast television station, she has served as producer for FSCTV’s weekly news show, “The Weekly Report,” and currently serves as Station Manager. Beyond the cameras and television programs, Kaelyn also works as the Online Media Editor for The Southern, Florida Southern’s on campus newspaper, in print since 1918. Working in tandem with the print editors, she manages both the Instagram and the website for the publication. Her work can be found across various on-campus publications, including The Southern and Interlaken. With a passion for storytelling and feature stories, she hopes to work for a broadcast/film production company. Formerly a Massachusetts resident, Kaelyn is the daughter of John and Amy Vlastos Benoit of Minneola, FL.

JOHN KONSTANTINE CHRONOPOULOS is a junior at Northeastern University, majoring in Journalism with minors in Psychology, International Affairs, and History. He has served as the culture editor for The Avenue Magazine—Northeastern’s premier fashion and culture publication and spent a semester in France at the American University of Paris. John is currently in Athens, Greece, interning at TO BHMA International Edition as a writer and editorial assistant, and hopes to pursue a career in magazine or long-form feature writing, exploring various facets of culture and their interactions. John is the son of Konstantinos and Eleni Chronopoulos of Boston, MA.

ANASTASIOS JOSEPH MARCOPULOS is a recent graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara, with a degree in Communication. He interned in Prague with the Czech marketing agency 7-Stones, where he gained international experience in sales, publicity, and brand strategy. Taso has dedicated considerable time to youth-focused service, including supporting children affected by cancer at Kesem, volunteering at Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Camp, and coaching youth sports and leadership programs across Los Angeles. He also founded UCSB’s first Greek Orthodox Association and later established the first nationally competitive Greek folk dance group in Santa Barbara. Returning recently to mainland Greece as a grant recipient through the Folk Dance Festival (FDF), he researched regional Greek folk dances and traditions and has presented his findings through a cultural seminar. Currently working with ADP, a global leader in human capital management, he is the son of Evie and George Marcopulos of Hollywood, CA.

MARY CAROLYN MARKIS is a junior at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, pursuing a major in Social Anthropology and Art History, with a concentration in Ethnographic Journalism. Mary is a board member and writer for Her Campus International, a female-led newsletter; photographer for the school newspaper, The Saint, and the social media manager for the Photography Society. She has worked at the Greek Consulate in Boston for two summers, perfecting her Greek language skills and assisting members of the Greek community. She also interned for two years as a photojournalist for The National Parks Service, advocating for land and animal conservation, and earned her Girl Scout Gold Award for creating Girls’ Got Grit, promoting confidence in sports and nutrition in young women. Mary has been dancing Greek since age five and continues to perform in Cretan cultural events in both the United States and Greece. Passionate about human rights and travel, her goal is to pursue a career in photojournalism. Mary is the daughter of Emanuel and Donna Markis of Wellesley, MA.

AVA TSAPATSARIS is a graduate of New York University, where she completed a bachelor’s degree in three years with a concentration in the Public Understanding of Science, Medicine, and Health, and is currently a graduate student at Harvard University in the Master’s in Media, Medicine, and Health program. Ava is an Emmy Award–winning reporter for WWOR-TV’s Teen Kids News and has also authored multiple peer-reviewed journal articles in the field of medicine. She hopes to pursue a career that blends her passions for medicine and broadcast journalism. Ava is the daughter of Peter and Giovanna Tsapatsaris of Eastchester, NY.