What do a law graduate, a woman who has already crossed the threshold of 60 years and has her own business on her island, Ammouliani, but also a chef based in Thessaloniki and collaborations inside and outside the borders have in common?

They are all 5th graders Evening EPAL Thessaloniki and from today they can look at life with a student perspective after today’s announcement of their scores nationwide exams seems to pave the way for them to higher education.

On the doorstep of Medicine with a …Law degree in hand

The first time Fotini Manouka went through the process of the nationwide exams, she was a GEL student and aimed to enter the Law School.

A goal that she not only solemnly achieved thanks to the high score she collected, but with systematic reading and dedication she also managed to complete her studies in 3.5 years.

And although one would imagine that …the goal was achieved, she herself had a different opinion and set her sights on Medicine.

So, she enrolled in the 5th Evening EPAL in Thessaloniki (in the field of health and wellness) and after two years of successful studies she can smile widely since with the three 20s and the one 19.5 she achieved in the pan-Hellenic competitions, she is ready to cross the threshold of her Medicine.

“At 18 you have various options in your mind but you think about which goal might be easier to achieve or is more compatible with your age. So I entered the process of choosing between Law and Medicine and I chose the first since it seemed more compatible to me at the time“, says the 24-year-old Fotini Manouka to the Athenian/Macedonian News Agency, explaining why she decided to switch from Law to Medicine, a School of high demands, with many years of study.

“Anyway, I finished early and thought about making my other dream come true. I was wavering and it was the last day for EPAL registration so it was like a sign that I had to go“, she remembers and adds that with her decision, she entered into a process where she had to go to school every day, but at the same time, her law practice was also “running”. “I had to juggle between the two. In the morning to be in the courts and in the evening a student at the school desks“, he emphasizes.

He does not forget to thank them in particular her professors at EPAL, without whose help, as he says, nothing would be easy. “Our professors were the ones who gave us the push and inspiration to succeed and were our supporters throughout this journey“, she underlines, explaining that she didn’t do tutoring not just because she didn’t have time, but mainly because the in-school help she received was such that it gave her the necessary supplies to be able to plan her future as a (candidate) medical student.

“After two years of studying at EPAL, I understood that the work done here is great“, he emphasizes.

As for the future? “One step at a time“, she says, revealing that she would like to follow the path of bioethics in order to combine the knowledge from both branches of her studies.

“If we take one step at a time, the goal does not seem far. I enter this process determined that I will finish this school even if the road is long“, he notes.

Fotini, in fact, she is not the only member of her family who sat at the desks of the 5th EPAL Vespers of Thessaloniki, since her parents (retired soldiers) also successfully completed the second grade (in the field of agriculture) and are preparing to attend the third grade from the new school year!

Reading in kitchens and airports, among … dishes and haute cuisine recipes

In his 43 yearschef Minas Nitis is already charting his own unique course in the world of haute cuisine, based in Thessaloniki and many collaborations on islands and elsewhere, while in his family life he has been fortunate to be the father of two children.

But what made him sit back at the desks and claim his entry into a school that will give him the opportunity to study nutrition? “I always wanted to do something related to my work, for me. I would say for self-improvement” he answers and explains that the conditions of his work, combined with the help of his colleagues, were such that allowed him to return to the classrooms.

With enough points in his “quiver” (two 20s in Principles of Organic Agriculture and Modern Agricultural Businesses, 18.3 in Mathematics and 15.6 in Language), the goal of entering the School of Nutrition and Dietetics of DIPAE seems to be conquered. His very good performance was well received at home where, he says, “today we had celebrations, it was a great day!”. With obvious joy in the tone of his voice, he does not fail to thank, in addition to his teachers, his wife Athanasia who has been a valuable supporter throughout this journey, as well as his children, with his eldest son even wanting to imitate him, watching him read for endless hours…

He returned to the desks after four decades to make a lifelong dream come true

At the age of 61, Eugenia Martygaki is preparing to sit in the student chairs to study Economics since the 17,310 credits seem to ensure her study at the School of Economics of the AUTH.

“I took the national exams for the first time 42 years ago and even though I had collected good points, they were not enough to pass to Philosophy. So, I left my island, in Ammouliani, and came to Thessaloniki, where I did various jobs – I worked as a small seller of silver jewelry and also in a company with the same object for about ten years. After some time, however, I returned to the island and made some rooms for rent. After, therefore, I saw that I now had the possibility to try to study, I decided to make a lifelong dream come true and I enrolled in the 5th Evening EPAL”, Ms. Martygaki tells APE-MPE.

“I am happy”, she emphasizes and thanks her teachers for the knowledge they managed to pass on to her. “They helped me and all my classmates with all their strength and love,” he says characteristically and adds that the extra lessons and the extra hours that the EPAL teachers devoted to their students were essentially a free tutorial for all those who they were preparing for the Panhellenic Games.

Already going through the sixth decade of her life, Eugenia Martygaki is not looking for professional rehabilitation with her studies in economics but “the joy of knowledge” and the possibility, if given the opportunity, to help young children who want to see their own dreams of becoming “flesh and bones”.

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