Eleni Christofides
Ohio State

Degrees: B.S. in Psychology, minoring in Neuroscience and Criminology

How did the Stamps Scholarship help shape your undergraduate experience?
The Stamps Scholarship most importantly allowed me to go through my undergraduate career debt-free, and that is an incredible gift for which I could never articulate just how thankful I am. It also connected me to an amazing group of other students at various stages in their lives with diverse interests, and who I hope will become my lifelong friends.

Knowing what you know now, what advice would you give your freshman self?
Take more elective courses just for fun, to expand your knowledge in an area you know nothing about! Maybe if you’d found out about it earlier, you would have been able to take Introduction to Opera. Also, it’s okay to make the time to take care of yourself; prioritize your heath, mental and physical.

Who has had the greatest impact on you throughout your college career and how so?
Though so many have shaped my goals and supported me, the greatest impact has come from my fianc?©. He supported me when I panicked, celebrated me when I got my first research position and then my current legal internship, and he pointed me in the right direction when I was so excited by my first class that taught case law by telling me, “maybe this is what you should be doing.”

What’s your favorite Stamps Scholar memory?
My favorite memory was at the Conference in 2017, getting Insomnia Cookies one evening with two other Scholars, who had deemed me the honorary OSU Stamps Mom. Somehow they have never tried Insomnia at home in Columbus, and finally did in Atlanta!

What comes next?
In the Fall I will be attending the Ohio State Moritz College of Law to pursue a JD with a full-tuition scholarship, planning to specialize in criminal and civil rights law. I will also be applying to the school’s dual degree program to continue my education in Criminology.

Please share your favorite inspirational quote.
“For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.” – Carl Sagan