I really cannot pinpoint particular memories, it all seems like a seven year long picture comprising of long term friendships, respectful and caring faculty, lots of fun and most of all, the joy of curiosity and understanding.
At this time, I am an associate professor of clinical health psychology and the Head of the Social Sciences Department at the University of Nicosia. I hold a Bachelor’s in Psychology from Florida International University (USA), a Masters in Psychology from Adelphi University (USA), a Masters in Health Psychology from the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology of Yeshiva University (USA), and a Ph.D. in Clinical Health Psychology from the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology & the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. I have served as a board member of the Cyprus Mental Health Commission and the Cyprus Antidrug Council. I have also served as the vice president of the Cyprus Psychologists Association for two terms. I work as a Clinician, and I am the Clinical supervisor for a substance dependence rehabilitation center in Cyprus.
I joined the AAL in 1983 just barely, as my entrance exam scores placed me in the waiting list. I certainly am glad that I was eventually offered a position and I accepted it. I must admit, I think of my time at the AAL with the fondest emotions. The culture of the school is what makes it special. I remember an event about 15 years after I graduated, where I bumped into a group of my old teachers at a hotel where they were attending a conference. It seemed that not single a day had passed, they still remembered my name, some of them were even up to speed to where I was in my life and there was a mutual and genuine pleasure for the fact that we accidentally met. The people that were with me that day were taken by the interaction and the comradery.
One thing that I have learned at the AAL was to be a critical thinker, it made so as to be like second nature. Challenge everything, create your own opinion, and make your decisions accordingly. This has helped me to become a scientist, I did not have to learn any of this in my university education, I was well prepared to enter the world of science by the AAL. One needs to understand that I was not a star student at the academy, I was average at best. But average at the AAL allowed me to excel in the years that followed, all the way to a Doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology.
