Education: The Blueprint for Change
When it comes to being an architect of change, I don't know of any more effective blueprint than education.
It opens our eyes to the magic and possibility of the world and gives us the knowledge and tools we need to make something happen for ourselves and our communities.
When I was a young girl growing up on Salamis Island off the coast of Greece, I didn't know anything about how to escape the poverty I saw and make a life for myself. But my mother did.
Despite the fact no girl on my island had ever gone to college, my mother was determined that I would.
I always did well in school and loved to solve math and science problems even at a young age, so she insisted we move to Athens where I could attend a comprehensive high school to be eligible for college.
I graduated from the National Technical University in 1977 with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering.
With the help of some very supportive mentors, I went on to earn my master's and