When you leave here, don't forget why you came.

-- Adlai Stevenson

At MIC we have arrived at the bittersweet moment when we must say goodbye to some very special people.

Minoan International College (formerly TRINITY) opened its doors to its first students in the Fall of 2004. Those students, who are part of the graduating class for this convocation, were industry professionals looking to earn academic degrees to enhance their careers and, this year, have established themselves as career managers. In September, 2005, MIC admitted its first international cohort. These students have now completed their undergraduate studies (Diplomas, Associate Degrees and Bachelor Degrees) and leave MIC to pursue further academic studies or to begin their careers.

The convocation ceremony will take place on Thursday, June 25th, 2009. 19:00 hours at Moevenpick Resort, Ammoudara. In attendance will be the Hon. Andreas Lykourentzos, Deputy Minister of Education and the Governor of Crete, Mr. Serifim Tsokas. A reception will follow.

Also receiving their Master s Degrees at this ceremony will be the SNHU graduate students who took their SNHU degrees at MIC.

Graduation ceremony: June 25th, 2009

Dear Graduates,

On behalf of the Board of Trustees of Minoan International College and myself, I want to congratulate you the first graduates of our school. Your achievements as students and as managers within the tourism and hospitality industry will become integral elements of our identity as an academic and professional school. We share with you the sense of accomplishment and pride you are feeling for a job well-done! However, please do not think that your graduation brings your relationship to MIC to a close. As you pursue further study and/or careers, we want you to stay connected to MIC and the academic community you have helped establish.

Mr. Nikos Skoulas, President

I would like to extend to all of you my heartfelt wishes for personal and professional successes. For the past few years, in the warm family environment of MIC, we tried to equip you with the knowledge and skills necessary for a successful professional career and to prepare you for leadership positions in the growing and ever demanding hospitality industry. In order to be effective leaders, however, you must be models of what I would call principle-centered leadership, because the leaders of our millennium will be those who create a culture or a value system centered upon principles. Leaders who will have a passion for learning through listening, evaluating past successes and mistakes and absorbing the lessons that conscience and principles teach us. These will be the leaders who will have a meaningful and enduring influence.

Dr. Stergios L. Mourgos,

Vice President and Chief Academic Officer

I would like to extend my personal congratulations to you the first graduates of Minoan International College! Your academic and professional achievements of the past few years represent perseverance, diligence, and a great deal of hard work and I am certain that these qualities, along with the knowledge and skills you have obtained, will provide a solid basis for your careers in the tourism and hospitality industry. This is a time for all members of the MIC community to celebrate. Well done!

Dr. James Moran, Academic Dean

MIC bids goodbye to this year s graduates

Minoan International College Newsletter

End of Term Edition, June, 2009

Three MIC

graduates have been accepted into the University of Westminster s Master s program commencing October 2009. Elena Corlateanu, Georgina Grama and Magdalina Yarichkova all Convention, Events and Exhibition Management majors - have been admit ted to Westminster s MA Conference and Events Management. This highly specialized program is offered at Westminster s London campus. Congratulations ladies!

Three times the charm!

Silviana Enache, BSc Hospitality & Tourism Management is heading off to Switzerland for her Master s degree. Silviana will study International Relations (MIR) at the Geneva School of Diplomacy. Well done, Silviana!

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MIC s president , Nikos Skoulas gave the keynote speech at the annual convention of ECBE , (European Council for Business Education), held in Athens. Mr. Skoulas talk entitled: Business Education in the 21st Century: Client based education or Paideia? set the tone for the conference. ECBE membership draws from 45 colleges and universities. The mission of the ECBE is to promote and support quality business education internationally

MIC students Alexandra Trandafir and Magdalina Yarichkova attended MPI s European Meetings and Events Conference in Torino Italy in early March. Sessions included: The Global Economic Outlook; Sustainability Systems Workshop; The Great CSR Debate; New Technology Trends Transforming the Industry and many others.Session handouts and recordings are available on the MIC site: www.mpiweb.org

MIC s participation at the 5th HAPCO Conference & Workshops for Congress & Business Tourism (Salonica, March 6-7) was quite significant.

MIC s President , Nikos Skoulas delivered the opening address of the conference «The tri-dimensional crisis in Greek tourism Prescriptions for recovery»

Vice President & Chief Academic Officer, Dr. Stergios Mourgos, Senior Lecturer, Ms. Filio Lazanas and MIC students Despina Georgiadis and Magdalina Yarichkova presented the findings of a research project «Northern Greece as a regional convention destination: Prospects and Problems» This project, undertaken on behalf of HAPCO, was a joint project of Minoan International College and the University of the Aegean.

Dr Stergios L. Mourgos was the moderator for the 5th session of the conference.

President Skoulas was honored by HAPCO for his contributions to Greek tourism in general and convention tourism in particular.

Senior student Georgiana Grama, was awarded a place on the IMEX-MPI Future Leaders Internship programme. The programme is a three month internship in Malaysia with AOS Conventions & Events. We look forward to learning about Georgiana s experience

MIC students and faculty:

Beyond

the classroom

School Newsletter

Magdalina Yarichkova jetted off to Toronto, Canada for a few days in January to attend Meeting Professionals Internat ional s Corporate Social Responsibility Speaker Training. Magdalina was one of only 2 students chosen to participate in this program. Read more of her experience elsewhere in this issue.

Sharon Mwaura was the recipient of the ARMAOS SA SCHOLARSHIP for the academic year 2008/2009. This scholarship is awarded to a student on the Dean s List who demonst rates a combination of academic excellence, commitment to the hospitality and tourism industry, personal initiative and leadership qualities.

Dr. Kostis Christakis (Arts) has published an important work based on his research on Minoan Civilization.

The book entitled The Politics of Storage: Storage and Sociopolitical Complexity in Neopalatial Crete, published by INSTAP Academic Press, demonstrates how an archaeologist can use an analysis of the storage of staple surpluses (grain, olive oil etc.) as a window on the sociopolitical structure and interaction among different social sectors operating in ancient societies such as Minoan Crete.

Dr. Christakis most recent book entitled History and trade in Crete from prehistory to the beginning of the 20th century will be presented at the Heraklion Chamber of Commerce on June 17th. MIC is fortunate to have an archaeologist of Dr. Christakis international stature as a member of its teaching faculty.

Mr. Ioannis Leontarakis (Math) became a proud father this semester. Baby boy Manousos tipped the scales at over 4 kilos!

HOT OFF THE PRESS!! Ms. Filio Lazanas (CEEM) has just announced the completion of her latest project. Her darling daughter was born on June 5th, weighing 2.9 kilos.

Don t make excuses. Make things happen. Make changes. Then make hist ory.

Doug Hall, Author and Inventor

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BBA to start in September!

Two Countries, Five Years, 3 Degrees!

Minoan International College students are being offered a unique educational opportunity.

MIC and D Youville College, USA have recently signed

an agreement that provides exciting new opportunities for studying in both countries.

Under the provisions of the agreement, students who complete a 3 year Bachelor s degree in either Business Administration or Tourism & Hospitality Management at MIC

can qualify for D Youville s 3 + 2 bachelors/masters program in International Business. This allows qualifying students to receive three degrees in 5 years:

Years 1-3: MIC s Bachelor of Business Administration or

B.Sc. in Tourism & Hospitality Management

Year 4: D Youville s Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in International Business

Year 5: D Youville s Masters of Science (M.S.) in International Business

In addition to completing the 3 degrees in 5 years, graduates are eligible to apply for a one-year work period in the USA following their degree completion at D;Youville.

Students completing the four-year program are also eligible to apply.

It is important to note that an MIC graduate who chooses this program automatically

receives a D Youville Transfer Achievement Scholarship providing his or her GPA is 2.75 or above.

Beginning in September of this year MIC will offer a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) program, in addition to its existing Degree programs in Tourism and Hospitality Management.

The courses offered in MIC s business program provide students with a broad overview of how the business world operates. They cover the entire range of business functions and provide students with a strong foundation that can be applied to many sectors and industries. Students will develop the knowledge and managerial skills employers are now looking for. The knowledge gained and the skills acquired are relevant to today s ever-changing business environment and reflect MIC s commitment to academic excellence and career placement.

3 + 2 + 1= Exciting academic challenges and career opportunities

MIC students to present

Business Plan

Student Gallery

A Business Plan was developed by a team of 8 students from Minoan International College

following a request from the Cretaquarium Management Team. The students involved were

Elena Corlateanu, Despina Georgiadi, Elena Gheorghita, Georgiana Grama, Sharon

Mwaura, Diana Peris, Niki Irini Pirovolaki and Magdalina Yarichkova. The students were

supervised by Mrs. Filio Lazana MIC senior lecturer. The team made extensive use of

academic knowledge acquired to date, but did not hesitate to supplement it with new ideas

and suggestions. The presentation will be made in the near future.

Amy Benskin, Denisse Garcia

and Megan Kerslake have returned to Canada and to their studies at TRU after spending two semesters at MIC. We have enjoyed their addition to our student body and wish them much success in the future. Amy, Dennis and Megan will be long remembered for their appearance as the Bond girls at MIC s 2009 Trivia Challenge.

The roots of

education are

bitter, but the

fruit is sweet.

~Aristotle

.

The Golden Girls

Return to Canada

Mr. Dimitris (Bond) Perrakis and his golden girls at the 2009 MIC Trivia Challenge

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This summer finds most MIC students in Greece for their internships.

A few, however, have ventured further out. Hughann Tai, between semesters of her study-abroad year at SNHU, is back home in the Bahamas and is expecting to work with the Bahamian Ministry of Tourism. Rodica Galalae and Bogdan Rosu, MIC s Student Council leaders, have decided to absorb some Roman culture and can be found at Cavalieri "The Waldorf Astoria Collection" Rome. Italy. Tsvetelina Stantcheva returns to Austria and will be shadow-managing at the Vienna Mariot t . Mr. Dimit ris Perrakis, MIC s Professional Development Manager, works very hard for the students and has, in spite of difficult times, secured placements at top-notch establishments. MIC students can be found at:

Aldemar, Chersonissos,

Atlantica Sensatori, Analipsi,

Creta Maris,

Robinson Club, Analipsi, Myconos Grand,

Blue Palace, Elounda,

Terra Maris,

Elounda Beach,

Imperial Hotel, Rhodes,

Malia Beach, DOT Travel, Heraklion, Nana Beach, Stalis, Astir Palace - Starwood, Athens,

Cavo Spada Chania,

Candia Moevenpick,

Capsis Agia Pelagia, Interdynamic, Heraklion

Meeting Professionals International

Corporate Social Responsibility Speaker Training, Toronto 2009

Practicum updates

TRU students Amy Benskin,

Megan Kerslake and Denisse Garcia One day after one of my regular visits to Meeting Professionals International website, I noticed

in the sect ion latest art icles a publicat ion for the opening of an applicat ion process for MPI members who are interested in undergoing training for becoming speakers on the topic of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

a hot issue nowadays. Since I have always been passionate about protecting the environment and doing volunteer work, I was more than interested in applying for this training. I thought that I might not be lucky , since I am only a student , but I decided to give it a try! A couple of weeks later, I got a response that I was selected to participate at the training, that would take place in Toronto in January 2009.

I was extremely happy that I succeeded to pass on the passion I have for CSR in the few essay questions I had to answer for the application, but moreover that Meeting Professionals International are so open to young talents and willing to give a chance to any of their members in becoming their ambassadors.

Prior and during the training itself I was amazed at the great organization and the extra care of the footprint that the event was going to leave. I cannot hide that I was very interested in the organization process, since I have been studying that for four years already, and I knew MPI is one of the greatest teachers one can have! All aspects were so well thought out, extending even to the selection of the restaurants according to their green practices.

This for me meant a lot ! It meant that once you want to achieve something, you can do it , j ust you have to keep your aim in front of you at all t imes! I received great educat ion on CSR in the meet ings indust ry and on the pract ices that MPI and other indust ry leaders apply. I was more than inspired by the people that made up the group -

professionals who all were so deeply passionate to do good and educate others, while keeping the standards of their own businesses high, even in a year of economic crisis.

As Tim Sanders says The only reason to have a meet ing is to change the world. , and we, the members of the MPI CSR Speakers Team, are planning to do exact ly that

change the world by spreading the word that we can still do good while doing well in business!

Magdalina Yarichkova