George Stephanopoulos: I’ve got Greek

Hello. My name is George Stephanopoulos.

With a name like that it’s easy to understand why most people aren’t surprised that I have some Greek ancestors in my background. And they are right when they think I am proud of that.

The question is — what about you?

How Greek are you? And how do you feel about being (even a little bit) Greek?

Over the past year we have been interviewing students like you across the country and asking them questions like these, and now we want to hear from you.

We’ve heard from students who are 100% Greek — including students who were born in Greece or Cyprus, but are studying in the U.S. — as well as from second-, third- and even fourth-generation students who don’t sound or even look like they could be Greek, but who (we are learning) have far more in common with each other than one might think — and some fascinating differences with students who don’t have any Greek background.

But that’s the point of the Next Generation National Research Study — the first study of it’s kind. In fact, the results of this groundbreaking study are going to be important to scholars and Greek American researchers for years to come.

But to get the most complete and representative results, we need to make sure that every eligible student has a chance to be included in the study.

That’s why I am hoping you will take a few minutes to take our Got Greek? survey.

Why do yet another online survey? Well, first of all, this one is about you.

The online survey part of our national study is meant to give students like you a chance to share your views and opinions about your background and how it relates to the rest of your life — and see how your views and experiences compare to those of others. That’s why we want to make sure that you have the opportunity to be part of this historic study.

Finally, you will help get us past the stereotype that everyone who counts themselves as Greek must have a long five-syllable Greek name like mine!

As we are learning from this study, there are many more young people your age who say they’ve “got Greek” than we knew or imagined. And when it’s all added up, I think it will be clear that there are many reasons it’s good to be Greek — and that you are part of a brand new generation showing the world why.

I look forward to hearing from you.

– George Stephanopoulos