Harry Mark Petrakis, renowned and award-winning author of around 21 celebrated novels, has been called “one of our finest writers,” by The New York Times. His novel, "A Dream of Kings" was made into a major motion picture, starring Anthony Quinn. Many of his stories focus on the experiences of Greek immigrants and Greek Americans in blue-collar industrial regions, a subject that resonates well with the many working-class descendents of eastern and southern Europeans who populate Northwest Indiana.

Athlete and best-selling author Dean Karnazes was recently ranked by a TIME magazine poll as one of the “Top 100 Most Influential Peoplein the World.” A fervent activist for active, healthy living, his message has been so well-received not only because he runs hundreds of miles, but because he inspires others to be the best they can be.

Despite a gloomy economic environment Drexel University President Dr. Constantine Papadakis expanded his school's outreach this year by announcing the launching of a west coast campus in Sacramento. Realizing the need for a private university in a region that has been dominated by public schools, Papadakis sealed the deal with landowner Angelo Tsakopoulos, who is providing the school with land for its future campus. In the meantime, Drexel launched an urban campus in the city, paving the way for the full-fledged campus a few years from now.

The girl with the long, Greek last name who has refused over the years to change it—has come a long way since cocktail waitressing and performing in off-off Broadway shows to make a living. After finishing her degree in musical theater, she made the move to New York where she worked hard and saved her money—eventually landed a role on daytime TV’s “Guiding Light.”

The collection of Greek and Roman art at the Metropolitan Museum—more than seventeen thousand works ranging in date from the Neolithic period to the time of the Roman emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity in A.D. 312—includes the art of many cultures and is among the most comprehensive in North America.

State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias followed in the historic footsteps of his friend and mentor President Barack Obama to speak at the Democratic National Convention and speak about the opportunity that America gave his Greek immigrant parents. It is also widely believed that Giannoulias may be a candidate for the Illinois US Senate seat in 2010.

A young witness to one of America’s more difficult eras in history, John G. Rangos was profoundly influenced when he saw the women and men in his community come together to overcome the adversities of the Great Depression and World War II. It was this collaboration and sacrifice of Americans to support their country America which inspired a young Rangos with pride, patriotism and the value of giving back to the community.