Staff Interview with Vanessa Constantinidis

What inspired you to work for the American College of Thessaloniki (ACT)?

During a site visit to ACT, I walked around campus to put myself in the student perspective and imagine how a prospective student would feel walking around the campus for the first time. I was instantly enamored with the campus, especially after noticing a few banners with ACT's values on them: "Academic Excellence; Critical Thinking; Personal Enrichment." Immediately, I knew I wanted to work for a place with values that aligned so deeply with my own values.

Tell us more about ACT’s mission and how you contribute to it in your role.

ACT provides to a diverse student body, a high quality, tertiary level multidisciplinary, student-centered educational experience in an innovative learning environment. Drawing on the principles of the American liberal Arts educational philosophy we foster depth and breadth of knowledge, grounded on theory, scholarly research, and intellectual freedom. Our faculty members are passionate about teaching, value close relationships with our students, and strive to instill in them the desire to pursuit academic and professional excellence and personal enrichment. Paramount to our mission is our institution’s contribution to society by cultivating students’ democratic and civic awareness, enhancing a sense of individual and social responsibility, and creating a spirit of esteem for others, social institutions, and the environment.

Personally, I keep our mission in mind with everything I do, and think about how I can continue to support this mission in my everyday tasks. A large part of my role includes recruitment; therefore, I strive to be present at as many fairs as possible and build rapports with students and advisors/counselors. Bringing more students to ACT would allow them to experience our strong liberal arts curriculum first hand, while being immersed in an exceptional city and community. I am devoted to working with students from all over North America and hope to inspire students who may not think studying abroad is a possibility. It comes down to access and knowledge of our institution, and I hope we can continue to provide opportunities for all types of students.

Additionally, I continue to collaborate with our partner institutions and discuss ways to better serve our students—while also striving to foster new partnerships. Overall, I believe that ACT has the resources needed to cultivate our students’ civic awareness, global perspective, and ensure that they meet their academic and personal needs, so I strive to make the process easier for students.

Describe a typical day at work for you.

That's the best part about my job-- there is no typical day! My position combines study abroad advising, recruitment, and enrollment management, so, each time of the year calls for different duties. Right now it’s December, so we are in the planning and preparing phase for the upcoming semester. Most of my days consist of planning spring travel to high schools and colleges all over North America for information sessions, fairs, and one-on-one visits for prospective students, as well as answering pre-departure questions from enrolled students, their parents, and their advisors. Additionally, our ambassador hiring process has just begun, so I'm working to decide what alumni will be joining our team as representatives.

How does ACT help support students throughout their ACT journey, from applicant to ambassador?

In my role, I work with students from the initial stages when they inquire about ACT to when they are alumni. In the inquiry stage, I inform students about all of our opportunities at ACT and keep them in the loop about our application deadlines. During the application process, I work with them and their advisors/counselors to ensure that they’ve submitted all of the necessary requirements for an experience abroad. After they’ve been accepted, it’s time to make sure that they have everything they need prior to departure to include information and support with: academic course registration, on-campus orientation, scholarship questions, housing services, course syllabi requests, packing lists, and the visa process.

While on campus, the International Programs Office and Student Services welcome our students with open arms and help them during the transitional period, and throughout their trip duration which include, but are not limited to: airport welcome services, on-campus orientation, housing requests, service learning placements, counseling services, health support services, academic support, shuttle buses to and from campus (from housing), IT support, and visa and residence permit support. When students return from their semester abroad, I work with them to determine if they’d like to serve as ACT ambassadors and help them use their experience abroad to continue to grow intellectually, personally, and professionally.

Why do you do what you do?

Like most international education professionals, my study abroad excursion was a life-changing experience. Gaining a global perspective was essential not only to my intellectual and professional growth, but my personal growth as well. So, of course, I work in international education to be a resource to other prospective students and provide opportunities for growth; however, I specifically love working for an institution with an "off the beaten path" destination. 

Studying in Thessaloniki is ideal for a student who wants a full cultural immersion and I love seeing how this program can affect these distinct students. If I was to do it all over again, I’d stay an extra semester abroad and study in Thessaloniki. It’s a city that I fall in love with more and more each time I go back, so I am easily excited to help students study here.

What do you love most about your job?

I'm lucky to say that I have several favorite parts of my job, but I’ll focus on three major parts.

First, I love working with students throughout the entire process, from inquiry to attendee to alumni. It is so exciting to be able to work with students who have very little knowledge of our program and how studying abroad will affect them, to then seeing them in Thessaloniki when I visit, to then working with them as alumni ambassadors and seeing them light up when they talk about their experience. It reminds you that what you do matters.

Second, I love traveling all over the U.S. and meeting students and faculty/staff at different colleges for fairs and program meetings. In some ways, it allows me to have a similar experience to students—as I am also traveling with a purpose, while being immersed in different city cultures.

Lastly, I love the people I work with.  As I am the only U.S. employee to work in study abroad enrollment for American College of Thessaloniki, I am beyond grateful for my colleagues in both the Enrollment and International Programs offices abroad. When I first started, I thought that having a seven hour time difference could be challenging; however, I’m lucky that my colleagues and I are in constant communication and keep each other in the loop—which allows us to reach our goals together.

Why should someone ACT over other institutions in Greece?

Students should always pick the organization that best aligns with their personal and academic goals. I think in comparison to our competitors, we attract a variety of students based on our location, size, and distinctive academic and service learning opportunities. ACT is a great fit for a student who:

• Thrives in a small classroom setting with personalized attention
  
• Has interest in experiential and service learning
  
• Values academic excellence, personal enrichment, critical thinking, respect, and diversity
  
• Wants to be immersed in Greece’s largest college city
  
• Desires to live in a city with rich history and a vibrant social life
  
• Wants to truly be immersed in Greek culture without extensive tourism
  
• Desires to build friendships with individuals all over the U.S. and Europe
  
• Seeks to gain the highest level of personal, intellectual, and personal attainment
  

If you could become an ACT student, what program would you choose and what would you study?

If I was able to be a participant at ACT, I would definitely partake in at least a semester abroad. During my semester abroad, I would be sure to take some courses that I wouldn’t find elsewhere, such as “Introduction to Sea Sailing,” where I’d not only learn the basics of sailing and work with a team to sail our boat, but also be certified to sail after the course; or “Understanding Greek Life and Culture,” where I’d gain an understanding of contemporary Greek life and develop intercultural and communicative competency, and “Writing for Social Change,” where I’d have the ability to write creatively and persuasively about social change through a better understanding of rhetoric, the language of politics, and citizen journalism.

Wow, I wish I was a student right now! I’d also be sure to join each and every field trip offered through ACT, so I could visit Vergina, Kavala, Meteora, Athens, Delphi, and other exceptional cities that I likely wouldn’t go to on my own (or at little to no additional cost). Also, I’d take every opportunity to get to know the faculty and staff, as well as my degree-seeking peers and other student abroad students; ACT is a small-knit community and I know the connections I’d make would last a lifetime.

How important do you think it is for students to learn the local language while studying abroad?

The best way for me to answer this question is to use a quote from German philosopher, Wittgenstein, “The limit of my language is the limit of my world.” To me, this means we only can truly process and reflect on what we understand. Learning a new language opens up an abundance of new opportunities for us, including connections with other individuals. I believe that, in the U.S., we are used to everyone speaking English and that can somewhat limit our abilities to connect when English is not the primary language. It is a very humbling experience to go abroad and to maybe for once-- not understand, as it makes us think about how essential language truly is.

Learning a new language can truly open up an entirely new world.

While Greek is not a requirement for many of our students at ACT, I know that the students who take these courses and/or use their language skills while in Thessaloniki value this opportunity to further connect with individuals.

What does meaningful travel mean to you?

Meaningful travel is more than just a vacation, but rather the ability to connect with the city, people, and community in a deeper sense through shared experience with locals. In regards to education abroad, students truly gain a global perspective and have meaningful travel because this new country becomes their home. Their study abroad experience becomes less about the Instagram photos (hopefully) and more about how to embrace this new identity.

Additionally, meaningful travel should push you to see the world differently. Often, we live in our own little bubbles of what we know; meaningful travel should change you and maybe even make you uncomfortable. When we break out of our comfort zones and embrace different cultures, we have the ability to become globally minded citizens.