Above: Rethymno lighthouse, located on one of the largest sand beaches in Crete. Right: Papadakis carrying the Greek flag for Baylor’s CIE parade. Photos courtesy of Stelios Koundourakis.
He wants to be able to prevent disease, lower obesity and educate people on health benefits and how exercise and eating right can change a person’s life. “At Baylor, I am given the tools I need to succeed,” Papadakis explains. He wants to share the information he has learned from his research with others because, he feels if he doesn’t, he has failed. His plans are to find a job at a university in America after he graduates. Currently on a student visa, Papadakis has one year to find a job after receiving his doctorate, or he will have to return to Greece. “If you can’t get a job and you have a degree from the states, employers will believe there must be something wrong with you,” Papadakis said. But for him it’s not about the money, it’s all about the environment. He would rather be working at a job he loves more than anything else.
American dream. He wants a house with a loving Christian wife and children. He hopes that one day his mother will have the opportunity to visit him in America, and to see the new life he has created. While reflecting on his life in Greece and coming to America, Papdakis said, “It was like being in a relationship and becoming free and being yourself.” In Greece he didn’t get the appreciation and recognition he desired. But now America, Texas and specifically Baylor, with its Center for International Education, have given him that and much more.
Papadakis simply wants a chance to live the
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