Five Friends Reunite to Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Life-Changing Journey to Greece [Video]

Cleveland, OH – October 24, 2024 – Fifty years after a transformative journey, five lifelong friends have reunited to reflect on the momentous events of the summer of 1974.

Karen Korellis Reuther (Hammond, IN), Maria Pappas Krispinsky (Campell, OH), Steve Steffas (Euclid, OH), Byron Yankou (Toronto, Ontario), and Lee Zapis (Rocky River, OH), who were high school students at the time, joined together once again in Cleveland to celebrate the profound impact of their shared adventure on the AHEPA Educational Journey to Greece.

In the summer of 1974, these five friends and 35 other students and chaperones from across the United States embarked on a four-week tour of Greece. Organized by the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA), the trip aimed to immerse students in Greece’s rich cultural and historical legacy. However, the summer of 1974 would prove to be far more dramatic than any of them had imagined.

Their …