CrossRoad Alumni Scholarship Fund
The purpose of the Sophia V. Bambalis CrossRoad Alumni Scholarship Fund is to provide a scholarship or scholarships to participants attending the CrossRoad Summer Institute, a ten-day vocation exploration program held annually at Hellenic College Holy Cross.
The scholarship will be awarded to students accepted to participate in CrossRoad who are in need of financial assistance in order to attend the program. CrossRoad strives to turn no participant away due to financial need. This fund will ensure that this practice can continue to happen.
The award is established as a memorial tribute to Sophia V. Bambalis, a 2006 CrossRoad participant who passed away on January 31, 2014, after a lengthy illness. The Donors of the Fund have established this scholarship so that young adults like Sophia may have the opportunity to attend CrossRoad and become leaders for the Church and society for years to come.
The Board is very excited about this endeavor and strongly encourages all CrossRoad alumni to contribute to the Fund and in doing so, help make it possible for future generations of CrossRoad participants to be transformed through the CrossRoad Summer Institute.
Money is on the list of the top three most taboo subjects to bring up in conversation. Why is this? In our society, money is tightly bound up with the notion of security. We all have an intimate need for security, and we often mistakenly believe that money is the key to that security. Obtaining […]
For the 2015 Calendar year and the CrossRoad program beginning in 2015, the first $5,000 in donations will be spent immediately towards scholarship awards for CrossRoad participants. All amounts received beyond the first $5,000 from donors shall be placed in the Sophia V. Bambalis CrossRoad Alumni Endowment Fund to be held in perpetuity.
Beginning January 1, 2016, the CrossRoad Alumni Advisory Board will annually review the amount of donations which will be used for that year’s CrossRoad program scholarship until the earnings from the Endowment can accommodate a minimum of $5,000 of scholarships for CrossRoad participants.
Sophia Bambalis was a dear 2006 CrossRoad alumna from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She passed away on January 31, 2014, after suffering a catastrophic medical event that left her impaired for four and a half years.
Sophia was a sweet, kind, and energetic young woman. She was the beloved daughter of Chris and George Bambalis and the sister of Peter Bambalis, also a CrossRoad Alum. During her high school years, Sophia cultivated her love for academics, the arts, and athletics; she was a member of the National Honor Society, the co-captain of the cross-country team, and a member of the National Art Honor Society. She attended Georgetown University in the McDonough School of Business, where she was the vice president of the Georgetown Marketing Club, Hilltop Consultants, and an intern at Big Green Purse, which explores how women can change consumer spending to motivate businesses to move towards greener products and services.
Sophia was a devout Orthodox Christian who continually matched her God given gifts and talents with the needs of the Church and world. Sophia demonstrated compassion in all of her interactions and following her time at CrossRoad, actively sought to deepen her faith and incorporate it into all facets of her life.
The summer of 2006 was a special time for Sophia as she participated in the CrossRoad Summer Institute. She remained connected with her CrossRoad friends and contributed to the CrossRoad newsletter, Down the Road, in 2007. We have attached her article below.
Sophia will always be cherished and remembered by her CrossRoad family. Please continue to keep her and her family in your prayers. May her memory be eternal.
by Sophia Bambalis CR ‘06 Annunciation, Winston-Salem, NC [Article re-printed from Down the Road, vol 11, 2007] While I was unpacking my suitcase from CrossRoad, I came across an American Eagle bag I had obtained during a shopping trip to Faneuil Hall. The statement on the bag caught my eye: it said, “live your life.” Like many of […]
