Scholarship Recipient Eirini Voutsadaki, EHS ’22, Updates EHSA

EHSA Scholarship Recipient Update

“Thank you so much to English High School” from Eirini Voutsadaki, EHS ’22

Θέλω να ευχαριστήσω πολύ το Ίνγλις Χάι Σκούλ! Σας αγαπώ όλους.
(“Thelon na euharistiso poly to English High School! Sas agapo olous!”)

About 98% of English High students are Black or Hispanic, many of whom are first- or second-generation immigrant children from Caribbean and Pacific islands, Asia and beyond. One recent graduate was born in Greece!

Eirini Voutsadaki ’22 credits English High School teachers and staff with helping her to more easily become acculturated in Boston after her family emigrated from Greece in 2018.

“I was born and raised in Athens but my family is from the island of Crete. My mom was a journalist and author there and my dad was an economist with a Greek company. They decided to move to America with me and my little sister in 2018 due to the changing situation. They believed we would have no future in Greece and were destined for a very difficult life because of the economic crisis and the danger of being a girl there.”

A Smooth Adjustment to Life in Boston
Now a freshman at UMass Boston, Eirini reflects: “Attending English High did not feel like other high schools I had attended before coming to Boston. The teachers and advisors were always so eager to help students succeed, and so passionate towards their purpose. The college preparation process was smooth and anxiety-free with the help of Mr. Santos and Mrs. Calderon.”

“Sage Marsters, Director of the EHS Alumni & Friends Tutoring Center, was always at my side. Not only did she help me perfect my writing skills, but she cared a lot for me and helped me grow throughout my senior year, understood me, and made me believe I can make it far in life. She had a huge impact. Any time I doubt myself, I think about her and how she always believed in me. She feels like family. I am extremely thankful for her — and I love her.”

Now adjusted to college and to life in America, Eirini is majoring in Criminology and Criminal Justice, minoring in Political Science. She’s also focusing on Sociology and studying Italian so she can be trilingual. She says, “The justice system is unfair. I want to save innocent people from being convicted because of skin color, religion, gender or sexual orientation.” She hopes to go to law school and become a defense attorney.

Eirini at the 2022 EHS Commencement ceremony held at Fenway Park

Grateful to English High Teachers – A Whole Different Level
Eirini is grateful to many EHS teachers: “I am deeply thankful and I will always remember them with love and appreciation. I hope they all know what a big effect they had on me.” She thanks Mr. Green, Criminal Justice Pathway teacher, “who taught me everything I am doing in my CJ class at UMass. I am so far ahead thanks to him. He was so devoted. He always wanted to challenge me in order for me work harder and have clearer focus on my goal. During my junior year, when we were quarantined and remote, I had completely lost motivation and focus on my goal. Mr. Green not only noticed it, but made sure I never let myself get like this again.”

She adds, “I cannot think of one teacher who did not care for me on a level beyond grades and assignments. I cannot think of one teacher that did not do everything in their power to give me the tools I needed to transition from high school to college and real life. Everything they did, they did with love and devotion: Ms. DeGuzmán, who also wanted to challenge me help me grow; Mr. Hayes who made everyone’s day with his energy; Ms. Howard who was always understanding of my limited math abilities; Ms. Silas who still believed in me and cared for me even though I had so much trouble waking up and getting to her 7 a.m. class; Mr. Caprigno, my volleyball coach, who still cheered me on no matter how many times I missed a serve; and Ms. Cusack who was more of a best friend than a debate coach and history teacher”

Last year, Eirini had an opportunity to meet George Mavridis who is the son of a 1926 English High alumus. George graduated from Tufts University, and worked for 40 years as a registered professional structural engineer in six states. He also earned a commission in the U. S. Naval Reserve. Eirini was impressed to learn that George is giving back big time. He formed a foundation to serve profoundly intellectually disabled citizens and their guardians, and at English High, established the Stella and Emmanuel Mavridis Scholarship, named for his parents. It is managed by EHSA’s Alumni & Friends Tutoring Center.

And what about school in general? She smiles, “I like schools better here. They’re focused on helping kids grow academically and socially whereas in Greece, you are your grades – nothing more, nothing less. For that, I am very grateful. However, the food here is one of the things I am not exactly grateful for!”

Eirini’s advice to current EHS students: “Don’t let yourself or lose focus on your goals. Find a source of motivation that keeps you on track. Take advantage of every resource you are introduced to and know that EHS teachers truly care about you and want to see you succeed –especially when they are hard on you.”