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New alum earns Marshall Scholarship

Michael Aktipis of Oak Brook, a June magna cum laude graduate of Northwestern University, has been named a Marshall Scholar.

Michael Aktipis

Aktipis, currently a Fulbright Scholar in Austria where he is researching the future of collective European security institutions, will continue his research at the London School of Economics while reading for a MPhil in International Relations.

The son of Stelios and the late Helga Aktipis, he was a triple major in economics, political science and German at Northwestern. A member of Phi Beta Kappa, he received an undergraduate research grant and served as an intern in a local congressional office and in Washington, D.C., with the House Human Rights Caucus.

One of Aktipis’ studies at Northwestern was a seminar for select students, "United States’ National Security Policy," taught by University President Henry S. Bienen. Bienen, who nominated him for the scholarship, said that Aktipis was one of his best students in the seven political science classes he had taught at Northwestern.

Bienen said, "He has a first-rate grasp of U.S. foreign policy issues. Michael is simply among the best and should contribute over his career to good thinking and policy forming concerning U.S. foreign relations, with a concentration in U.S.-European relations."

Aktipis, who credits much of his success to his parents, often spent summers in Greece and Austria, surrounded by extended family and acquiring a feeling for the cultural and historical differences nations must traverse to advance their mutual interests. He also spent his junior year studying abroad in Austria.

As a student at Willowbrook High School, he participated in Model United Nations, traveling all over the United States to participate in debates and deliberations.

In his free time, he is an avid social and ballroom dancer and teaches salsa. His interest in Salsa dancing follows from an interest in theater and dance. He has acted in a German-language production of Brecht’s Der Ozeanflug and has danced in a performance of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas.

Aktipis was among 210 Midwest Region applicants for Marshall Scholarships. (Eight regions competed for 40 scholarships nationwide.) Twenty applicants were chosen. Aktipis received one of four scholarships awarded from this select group.

The Marshall scholarships were established in 1953 as a British gesture of thanks to the people of the United States for the assistance received after the Second World War under the Marshall Plan.

The Scholarships, financed by the British Government, provide an opportunity for American students who have demonstrated academic excellence and leadership potential to continue their studies for two years at any British University.