Washington, DC, October 19, 2023 — The Washington Oxi Day Foundation is pleased to announce the winners of the 2023 Philotimo Scholarship Competition. Once again, the Foundation received competitive submissions from Greek-American students across the country.
Students were asked to watch the Foundation’s “Greek Secret” video on the subject of philotimo and answer one of the following questions:
▪ What does philotimo mean to you?
▪ What are some extraordinary examples of philotimo that you have seen?
▪ What are the things you can do in your daily life to exhibit philotimo?
▪ How can philotimo improve your life?
The first-place essay was submitted by John Shalhoub a high school sophomore in Peabody, MA. He will receive a $4,000 scholarship and be featured as part of the Foundation’s 13th Annual Oxi Courage Awards on October 23. Chloe Lambrinidou of Libra Philanthropies will present the scholarship at the awards program.
He wrote, “So, while “Oxi day” is a loud cry of refusal against what is wrong, Philotimo can be considered its reciprocal by standing up with a resounding voice offering en emphatic “Yes”. Either way, both words are grounded in the notion of living good lives as individuals. Philotimo is our deep moral guidance from within to focus on living good lives and to strive continuously to do right for people by our actions, both large and small.”
The two second place winners, each of whom will receive a $2,000 scholarship are Christos Pazartzis a high school freshman in Rockville, Maryland, and Anna Dhima a high school junior in Edgewater, Maryland.
The two third place winners, each of whom will receive a $1,000 scholarship are Helene Burwell a high school freshman in Washington D.C. and Zachary Louizos a high school sophomore in Stamford, CT.
Congratulations to all of the winners and thank you to all who participated in the 2023 Philotimo Scholarship Competition. The Foundation thoroughly enjoyed reading each essay.