Philo4Thought Hellenic Professional Mentoring Initiative is pleased to present our December 2016 Young Professional of the Month! The goal of our publications is to provide positive, successful role models who will inspire the next generation of young professionals. Preliminary criteria for YPM candidates is that they are actively engaged in an entrepreneurial initiative or have made a successful career for themselves, thereby serving as strong role models to the next generation of young professionals. Candidates are typically of Hellenic origin and part of a humanitarian (educational, sociological, scientific, etc.) or environmentally-­‐conscious field. Given the gradual expansion of our readership, we currently interview candidates who embrace a specific Hellenic philosophy best described in a word… Philotimo (φιλότιμο). The most important qualifications all our candidates share are the spirit and compassion to persevere, and the heart to share their knowledge and experience with others.

We had the pleasure of meeting month’s YPM, Tamika Maria Tompoulidis, through her proactive participation in the National Hellenic Students Association (NHSA). Her amazing energy and thoughtfulness is dedicated to helping and educating others as a mentor and instructor. She is a remarkable example of a proactive young Hellenic whose story we are honored to share with you today.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE (FALL 2016): Those Who Care…Teach!

FLASH FORWARD (FALL 2017): Tamika was recently appointed to the Office of Student Affairs as a Career Coach and College Recruiter on addition to her ongoing responsibilities as an Adjunct Lecturer in the Department of Communication at the University of Kentucky. She is also currently a Humanities Faculty Advisor and member of the Executive Board for Philo4Thought, which allows her to serve the Hellenic youth and young professional community in a philanthropic advisory and instructional capacity; she is also a member of the Executive Board for the National Hellenic Students Association of North America (NHSA), helping to prepare events and assist in community outreach and member/resource recruitment.

CREDIT & RECOGNITION: Many thanks to Tamika Tompoulidis for sharing her story with us and to all those who contributed to this story, including Konstantine Ouranitsas, the National Hellenic Students Association of North America and the Federation of Hellenic Societies for Greater New York!