What happens when young Greek Americans step out of the classroom and into Greece’s halls of power? For ten students from across the United States, the answer came this summer through a program that did more than show them monuments. It showed them what modern Greece actually is.
The trip was part of the American Hellenic Institute Foundation’s College Student Foreign Policy Program, a yearly journey that takes U.S. students to Washington, D.C., the Republic of Cyprus, and Greece. It’s part crash course, part homecoming. Between June 25 and July 4, the 2025 group found themselves sitting across from military commanders, members of parliament, and diplomats, the kinds of people they had only read about in international headlines.
On Crete, they watched an F-16 Viper take off just yards away at Souda Bay, a key NATO and U.S. operations hub in the Eastern Mediterranean. Students met with officers from the Hellenic Armed Forces, toured the NATO Missile Firing Installation, and heard briefings at the NATO Maritime Interdiction Operational Training Center. They also visited the Souda Bay War Cemetery and shared lunch with commanders at the base officers’ club.
From there, the delegation continued to Salamis Naval Base, where Vice Admiral Christos Sasiakos, Commander in Chief of the Hellenic Fleet, welcomed them aboard a submarine and a frigate. Later, in Alexandroupolis, they toured military sites along the Evros border and received briefings on Greece’s defense cooperation with the United States and NATO.
“The AHIF College Student Foreign Policy Trip was nothing short of life-changing,” said Ana Arzoumanidis, a sophomore at Dartmouth College. “It gave me an entirely new conception of Greece as a strong, modern nation.”
The program’s political meetings were equally eye-opening. In Athens, President Constantine Tassoulas of the Hellenic Republic welcomed the delegation to the Presidential Mansion for a private discussion and tour. The students also met Deputy Foreign Minister Giannis Loverdos, Secretary General for Greeks Abroad Maira Myrogianni, National Security Adviser Dr. Thanos Dokos, and other senior officials.
“These encounters didn’t just inform us,” said Louis Amurgis of Ohio State University. “They made me think about how people of our generation can actually be part of these conversations.”
Away from the government buildings, the group connected with business and civic leaders. Symeon Tsomokos, founder of the Delphi Economic Forum, hosted a luncheon and briefing. At Tsakos Shipping & Trading S.A., students met Nikolas Tsakos for an inside look at Greece’s maritime industry. They also visited Marina Martinou at Eastern Mediterranean Maritime Ltd. and met Athens Mayor Haris Doukas, who welcomed them at City Hall for a reception.
Cultural experiences rounded out the trip. Students toured the Acropolis Museum, visited the Presidential Guard Barracks, took an all-day boat trip to Aegina, and attended a dinner at Karaiskakis Stadium, home of Olympiacos F.C., hosted by executives from Capital Maritime & Trading Corp. and the football club. “From meeting officials to riding a navy patrol boat in Souda Bay, we were constantly reminded how deeply Greece is connected to the world,” said Isabella Marks, a junior at the University of Michigan.
For the added experience of speaking with the media, Mia Tzafolias and Alexander Owen joined AHI President Nick Larigakis for an interview with journalist Fanis Papathanasiou on ERT News, where they shared their impressions of the trip. MEGA TV also featured the group’s visit to Karaiskakis Stadium.
The program ended with a farewell dinner at the Hotel Grande Bretagne in Athens, attended by Deputy Foreign Minister Loverdos and many of the officials the students had met. The dinner was sponsored by the Saracakis Group of Companies, and each student spoke about what the journey meant to them.
“This year’s program showed the depth of our students’ engagement with leaders across defense, diplomacy, and business,” said Nick Larigakis, AHI President.
For many, the experience strengthened both their professional goals and their connection to their heritage. “This journey deepened my connection to my roots while inspiring me to contribute to the bonds between the United States, Greece, and Cyprus,” said Alexi Colettis, who graduates this year from the New School in New York.
Since its founding, the AHI Foundation Student Foreign Policy Trip has given hundreds of young Greek Americans the chance to see Greece up close, not as tourists, but as participants in its story. It’s a rare program where a student from Ohio or Boston can sit across from the president of Greece, walk through defense installations, and return home understanding that heritage is something you live, not something you inherit.