DASNR
International
Student of the Week
Home Country: Greece
Greece officially the Hellenic Republic, it is a country in Southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula. It has borders with Albania, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the east. The Aegean Sea lies to the east and south of mainland Greece, while the Ionian Sea lies to the west. Both parts of the Eastern Mediterranean basin feature a vast number of islands.
Greece lies at the juncture of Europe, Asia, and Africa. It is heir to the heritages of ancient Greece, the Roman and Byzantine Empire, and nearly four centuries of Ottoman rule. Greece has a particularly long and eventful history with a diverse cultural heritage that both shaped and has been shaped by cultures throughout the Middle East, Northern Africa, and Europe. It is regarded as the birthplace of democracy, Western philosophy, the Olympic Games, Western literature, political science, major scientific and mathematic principles, and Western drama including both tragedy and comedy.
Today, Greece is a developed country, a member of the European Union since 1981, a member of the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union since 2001, NATO since 1952, the OECD since 1961, the WEU since 1995, and ESA since 2005. Athens is the capital; Thessaloniki, Patras, Heraklion, Volos and Larissa are some of the country's other major cities.
Greece operates a capitalist economy that produced a GDP of $305.595 billion in 2006. Its principal economic activities include tourism and shipping industries, banking and finance, manufacturing and construction and telecommunications. The country serves as the regional business hub for many of the world's largest multinational companies.
Agriculture in Greece is based on small-sized family-owned dispersed units, while the extent of cooperative organisation stays at low comparative levels, against all efforts that have been taken in the last 30 years, mainly under European Union supervision. Greek agriculture employs 528,000 farmers, 12% of the total labour force. It only produces 7% of the national GDP (about $16 billion annually). A large number of the country's immigrants are employed in the agricultural sector of the economy, as well as construction and public works. Major crops are, cereals (wheat, barley and maize), oil seeds (olive, sunflowers, and soybean), tobacco, cotton, potatoes, and sugar beet. (Source: Wikipedia)
Ioannis Oikonomakos
February 25 , 2008
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From the Department of Food Science and Horticulture...
This week’s international student of the week is Ioannis Oikonomakos. He is a third year PhD student in Food and Science and Horticulture. Ioannis was born in Greece; half of his heritage is from a city very close to Sparta. He speaks Greek and English.
Ioannis is a member of the Institute of Food Technology, the Φ K Φ National Honor Society and the Π AX Horticulture Honor Society. He earned a Masters degree at OSU from the Horticulture Department. In his free times Ioannis likes to watch tv, play soccer, and travel. Ioannis came to the USA because he wanted to experience a different culture and education system. He chose OSU because the TEI University in Crete had an exchange program with OSU named Hortecus. He and his wife (Sophia Kamenidou) attended the presentation of Dr. Douglas Needham (OSU representative) and decided to come to OSU. Another reason is the high ranking level that the Horticulture Department has within USA. Ioannis met his wife in 1999, they got married in Las Vegas in 2003 (“not by Elvis” he stated). They are both waiting for the traditional Big Fat Greek Wedding as soon as they go back to Greece. Ioannis’s future plans are to finish PhD and going back to Greece to work on a research facility or teach at the University level.
Advisor: Dr. William McGlynn Ioannis’ advice to other students: “I would suggest taking advantage and exploring the American culture. I have been here almost 6 years and it seems like yesterday when I fist came. Visit and taste the difference. Especially in OSU it is very easy to adapt because of the friendly environment and positive attitude of people.” Interview by: Sandra Rodriguez
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