The K.N. Stravelakis Family Scholarship Fund was established in December 1997 by Katherine K. Stravelakis to honor the memory of her husband Konstantinos (Kosta) N. Stravelakis and her son George K. Stravelakis. Konstantinos was born in Greece, in the town of Kardamyla on the island of Chios in 1912. He left his island birthplace at 17 to join the Greek Merchant Marine and worked his way up over the next 17 years to become an officer First Mate. Over these years, while on the sea traveling the world, he taught himself English. He ported many times in the U.S. and all corners of the world, which made him an asset to the U.S. WWII Shipping Administration. He accepted their offer of employment in early 1944 as an executive officer for large U.S. Liberty cargo ships, thus proudly establishing himself as a WWII Armed Services Veteran, with equivalent U.S. citizenship. His ship was in the southern France, Italy, and Sicily invasions carrying 500 lb. bombs. His U.S. primary residency began in 1944. Konstantinos grew up in a poor Greek family as the youngest of six children. Unlike in America, after graduating high school on a small island, he was faced with few financial opportunities. As an immigrant in America, he lived as a proud and grateful U.S. citizen who persevered in the face of many obstacles. He realized impressive business success through personal initiative and self-education. As a lifelong learner, he was a strong proponent of the benefits of furthering one’s education. He felt that education was the key to opening doors of opportunity. He would encourage this to anyone who would listen, especially his three children. Konstantinos Stravelakis passed away in January, 1995, just days after his 82nd birthday. Preceding him in death was Kosta and Katherine’s 24-year-old son George, their middle child who died tragically in an automobile accident in 1974, while pursuing a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. Forty-four years later, in December 2018, Katherine Stravel