My name is Dimosthenis and I am from Greece. I am studying ‘BSc Environmental Policy with Economics’ and I have just finished my second year.
Introducing a few words about my background, firstly, regarding sports, I have been for six consecutive years in the Greek national sailing team; from the age of 13 until 18 when I moved to London. During those years I finished twice 1st in the Greek sailing championship, the first time with the ‘Optimist’ sailing boat (2004), and the second with ‘Laser’ (2006). Apart from that I have participated in four world sailing championships (USA, Canary Islands, Ecuador, France) where in ‘Laser’, in 2006 (Hourtin, France), I finished 8th out of 250 sailors. Also, I have participated in two European championships (Slovenia, France) where in 2005 I finished 4th out of 300 and in 2006 I finished 6th out 200. Also, in team racing my team finished 6th in the world championship of 2004. Regarding other interests, I have been playing the piano since I was 4 years old and I have played in 5 concerts, however when I was much younger (10 to 14); from then on I continued playing more improvised piano, yet studying sporadically classical pieces. These two are my main areas of interest as far as the non-academic fields are concerned.
Regarding the reasons for my decision to study Environmental Policy with Economics: Since I was first introduced in the field of Economics (about 15 years old) I immediately ‘fell in love’ with it. I understood that this was what I wanted to study and as the years passed this desire became stronger. However, when deciding the course to apply for, I evaluated the knowledge of Economics that I had until then and decided that to expertise this field could not be enough; I needed to combine it with something that would really have the potential to make me contribute in the society later on. I thought that the issue of sustainable development was more crucial to be studied, thus I decided that by combining Economics with Environmental Policy (which encompasses huge discussion concerning development issues) would suit my tastes at the greatest extent. Now, I can say with certainty that my prediction was correct. I am planning at the moment to apply for a postgraduate degree in International development, considering the option of a PhD in Sustainable Development later on. For me, this would be the far most tangible way to ‘give back’ not only for the next generation, but for all the following ones.
I think it is understood that I am not yet planning to work, as I feel strongly that continuing my studies is the best option. However, in order to question this belief I worked for six weeks in a shipping company in Greece last summer, where I concluded that the feeling of competition that was abundantly supplied, is really interesting, so I cannot provide a definite answer for my future plans.
Finally, I would like to ask Stelios what was the singe event, the most important one, the made him decide to give these scholarships. I am sure that it was a decision that gradually developed but there must be a crucial moment that led him to this conclusion.
What I would like Stelios to ask me is ‘do you want me to advise you about the first steps of your career
