At the Baruch Young Alumni Network (BYAN) event on May 19, the College honored Stathis Antonakopoulos (’04) with its first BYAN Appreciation Award. Antonakopoulos, who is director of operations for Kellari Hospitality Group, has been extremely generous in hosting and organizing venues for past BYAN events. Antonakopoulos returned the compliment in his acceptance speech (below). Stathis’s message: Baruch College alumni are truly a global community that should support one another in every way possible.
Last summer my wife and I visited the Greek Islands. We were on Kos in the village of Zia. We learned of a restaurant, Oromedon, atop the island’s main mountain with outstanding food and the most amazing balcony—the sunsets breathless. We arrived at 8:20 pm and were told, “No Reservations, no table.” In the middle of nowhere? I thought. Thankfully they accommodated us after a brief wait. The catch: we were offered a table in the back corner with almost no view.
Even without the optimal experience, I was deeply impressed by how very professionally run the restaurant was. I said to my wife, “The owner must have worked in America; all the clues are here.” So after I finished dinner, I went down to the kitchen to meet the chef or the owner. On my way there, I saw a wall of photos of many famous people with the same gentleman. There were Bill Clinton, Barbara Streisand, Greek Prime Ministers Papandreou Sr. and Jr., the Turkish prime minister, and many more. In the kitchen, I saw a state-of-the-art facility producing gourmet cuisine and a guy in a suit expediting each order. Speaking to him in Greek, I asked if I could watch the running of the kitchen. Given his okay, I watched for 10 minutes. What I saw was a very organized, experienced individual with a team of five cooking for 180 people. Very impressive!
Then I left and went back to my table. On our way out, he came to greet my wife and me. I took the opportunity to ask him how many years he spent in America. His answer: 10. Finding out he had been in New York, I turned our conversation to which restaurants he worked for and people we might know in common. He had been back in Greece for 20 years though. Finally, I asked if he missed New York. He missed only one thing: “My years at Baruch College,” he said. I was shocked! He was an alumnus too. His name is Nikolaos Papacostantinou, Class of 1980. We posed for a photo together, which he put on his wall of fame—next to the photo of himself and Bill Clinton!
It’s a great story, right? But my point is this: There are a lot more Baruch alumni than we might think. We should be proud of our Baruch College degree and always support each other. In this way, we all make our degrees stronger and more respected.
—Stathis Antonakopoulos (’04)