Sona Dahya came to Athens seeking, above all else, to learn from some of the groups who have been impacted by global conflicts the most.

“I ended up picking [to study abroad in] Greece…because of where Greece is currently, economically and politically and socially, and to a large extent because it would be really good for me to go there and work with refugees, and just to understand them,” says Sona, who is a business major and criminality minor.

So when Nadia Meliniotis, Executive Director of Student Affairs at CYA, emailed out an opportunity to work with migrant and refugee women through the The Melissa Network, Sona knew she wanted to take part. For the last four months, she’s gotten a firsthand look at an organization serving this population in Athens—and, in turn, how these women influence their host city.

On the weekend of October 27th, some CYA provided the opportunity for students to join an adventure that many have dreamed of but few have had the chance to actually do – hike up Mount Olympus. After 3 hours of hiking, an overnight stay in a shelter halfway up the mountain, and another 3 hours of hiking the next morning, these students experienced the famed home of the ancient Greek gods firsthand.

The stares. This is what happens when you step over the rope into the spaces few go, but many wish to visit. Students in the “Illegal Antiquities” class, led by CYA professor Zoë Κοntes ’95, climbed the steps of the monumental entrance and then entered the Propylaea by stepping over the rope all wish to pass.

As a CYA summer 2015 student, I took two classes: Excavating in the Aegean: The Despotiko Field School and When Egypt Meets the Aegean: Interconnections in the Bronze Age Eastern Aegean. This summer I returned to Greece to serve as the MediaLab Intern here at CYA as part of my Master’s degree from New York University. For one of my tasks, I was fortunate to follow CYA professor Angelos Papadopoulos and the When Egypt meets the Aegean class -the very class I took as a student!- on a site visit to Thebes and Orchomenus.

This summer, a couple of spring semester students stayed for the summer in order to participate in internships with various organizations. Follow along as we interviewed Olive Baerde, our second student staying in Greece for the summer while taking part in an internship. 

“Unknown Provenance.” 2-words repeated over and over by CYA professor, alumna (’95), and trustee, Zoë Kontes, while showing her students around the Museum of Cycladic Art here in Athens. Zoë Kontes teaches a new summer course called Illegal Antiquities, which looks at the acts of looting antiquities, the international art trade, forgeries, museum management, and conservation of heritage in regards to Greek art and archaeology.