The MUNGA committee gathered undergraduates, alumni and professionals at a networking night in the Apollo Room. Photos: Neos Kosmos

Careers, community and connection converge at MUnGA’s Apollo Room networking night

Rain lashed the streets of Oakleigh, but inside the Apollo Room, the mood was warm and illuminating. The Melbourne University Greek Association (MUnGA) brought together undergraduates, alumni and professionals from across a range of industries for a networking night that turned a grim Melbourne evening into a warm gathering of community and opportunity.

Students mingled with professionals from business, law, medicine, allied health, sales, finance and accountancy, among other fields, over a generous spread of hors d’oeuvres. Neos Kosmos, proud to be a media sponsor of the event, was there to take the pulse of the room.

A long way from home, but right where she belongs

Among the attendees was Eleni Apazidou, a student from Boston in the United States, three weeks into a yearlong sabbatical in Melbourne. She told Neos Kosmos she was already smitten with the city and eager to “explore within the Greek community, and network within the university.”

“It’s quite a cultural city, an incredibly diverse city,” she said.

Eleni Apazidou, a Boston student three weeks into her Melbourne sabbatical, heads a charity assisting Greeks in Greece with dental care.

Eleni is also the founder and president of the Greek Smile Project, a social impact charity advocating for accessible and affordable paediatric dental care in Greece. She explained that 57 per cent of low-income Greeks suffer from unmet dental care needs, and that her organisation raises awareness and funds to help close that gap. The group currently runs a mobile dental van program, for which they fundraised $10,000.

Careers found in unlikely places

Eleni Spiridonos, Senior Manager of Marketing at Stryker, a company she describes as bringing innovation to the medical market and being “all about saving lives and improving healthcare,” shared with Neos Kosmos how at a café some time ago, she struck up a conversation with a young man serving coffee. His name was Costa Rallios. When she asked what he studied, he said physical science.

“I said, don’t do that — come and work in the med-tech space,” she recalled telling him.

Costa took the advice to heart, going on to complete an MBA — a small but telling example of the kind of guidance and opportunity a chance meeting can spark.

Dr Dina Dounis, second from left, with her daughter and surrounded by colleagues and friends.

Giving back to the next generation

Roula Krikellis, who works for the leading scientists at CSIRO’s finance division assisting with compliance, and a familiar face in Greek media, told Neos Kosmos, why events like this matter. Alongside her day job, she hosts a radio show and serves as a mental health advocate for her organisation.

“I love the young, and I think this is very important for them to meet professionals like us — we didn’t have those opportunities when we were going to school,” she said.

James Kanterakis, from ANZ Finance, echoed the sentiment, saying he was keen to bring young talent into the industry. “Banking is an excellent profession and it has significant scope for development. Many start in banking as graduates and find that they have a long-term, stable profession with significant benefits.”

Eleni Spiridonos, Senior Manager of Marketing at Stryker, with Costa Rallios, and her daughter.

A show of support from across the student body

The National Union of Greek Australian Students (NUGAS) also turned, with President Martha Stamatopoulos and Vice President Spiros Zervos attending to show national support for MUnGA and its work connecting students with industry.

The room was filled with achievers eager to give back, including Associate Professor Marinis Pirpiris — President of the Hellenic Medical Society of Australia and Secretary of the Greek Community of Melbourne — James Kanterakis, Head of Origination at Arch Finance, Stacey Roubos, Chief Financial Officer at Accountancy Group, Eleni Spiridonos of Stryker, Nick Anagnostou, President of the Ithacan Philanthropic Society and a former ASX-listed CEO and board advisor, and Dr Athina Pirpiris, a urologist and Secretary of the Hellenic Medical Society of Australia, among many others.

For MUnGA General Committee Member Lily Koukouvitakis, the night was a chance to strengthen her own foothold in a competitive field.

“MUnGA Networking Night is an opportunity to expand my network and make valuable connections in the legal field,” she said.

Recognising those who make it possible

Before the night ended, MUnGA’s Athanasios Pirpiris and Christina Damigos took to the floor to thank the many attendees and sponsors who made the evening possible, presenting a series of awards to those who had lent their support.

Among the honours, Associate Professor Marinis Pirpiris was recognised for his appointment as Chair of Victoria’s Perioperative Consultative Council, a role in which he will lead efforts to improve surgical care and patient safety while strengthening medical ties between Australia and Greece. Manuel Tsirmiris was acknowledged on behalf of the Accountancy Group, and Chris Kominatos on behalf of the Lefkadian Brotherhood, alongside other generous supporters. Other notable attendees included Dr Konstantina Dounis, from Monash University, and Tass Sgardelis representing the Greek Community of Melbourne.

A room full of open doors

By the end of the night, the rain outside seemed a memory. What had gathered in the Apollo Room was something Melbourne’s Greek community has always done well: turning a room of strangers into a network of mentors, employers and friends. MUnGA’s networking night once proved that the ties that bind this community together are not just cultural or familial, but professional and generational too, with each new graduate finding, in a room full of Greek Melbourne, a door held open for them.

Associate Professor Marinis Pirpiris was presented with an award of appreciation by MUnGA committee members, Athanasis Pirpiris and Christina Damigos.

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Melbourne’s young Greeks build bridges to the professional world at MUnGA networking night