The Stella and Emmanuel Mavridis Scholarship
Left to right: George Mavridis; Sarge Marsters, EHS Alumni & Friends Tutoring Center Director; Mike Thomas, EHSA President & CEO
In 2018 EHSA received it’s the largest single gift ever from Mr. George Mavridis, the proud son of an English High School alumnus. This gift establishes the Stella and Emmanuel Mavridis Scholarship, an ongoing program to assist English High School graduates with college expenses.
This generous gift has been made in the name of Stella and Emmanuel Mavridis, the parents of George. In the early 20th century at the age of 12 Emmanuel came to the United States from Crete with his brother John.
After John and Emmanuel both received their US Citizenship, John returned to Crete to raise a family. This left young Emmanuel on his own in Boston, living with a Lebanese family, working at Hayes & Bickford’s restaurant and attending Boston English High School where he graduated in about 1926. Emmanuel continued working at the Hayes & Bickfords restaurant for many decades as he married and raised a family of his own. He became a well-known and well-loved member of the restaurant staff.
Because Emmanuel had struggled with the English language while at school, he was determined to raise his only son, George, to learn to read and write in preparation for college. George graduated Tufts University in 1961 with a degree in structural engineering and a commission in the United States Naval Reserves. The next 40 years he was a structural engineer designing buildings and heavy equipment foundations for clients.
“My dad did not have an opportunity to go to college but I am sure he would have graduated. I created this scholarship tohonor my Dad by helping students with some of their tuition and college expenses, “ said George Mavridis.
