Anna, a student in the Department of Business Administration at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, took part in The Tipping Point as a student in the 2nd and 3rd grades of Junior High School. Talking with a member of our team she is sharing what she has carried with her from that experience, revealing how it shaped her path.
Speaking first about her studies, she says she's happy with her choice and takes an active part in lectures, asking questions just as she used to as a student. What struck her, she says, is how many of her fellow students already know The Tipping Point - several have told her, "we did that too!".
Her first contact with The Tipping Point came during the first COVID-19 lockdown. At a time when contact with other people had almost disappeared, she tells us the program became, for her, "a window to the world". As she puts it, "by the time you reach the final years of High School, you look back and realize you needed help earlier, without even knowing it — The Tipping Point explained to us, step by step, what we could do and, of course, what we could become in the future". What she remembers most vividly from the program is how much she enjoyed meeting so many different people within a single school year — people who "cared and explained their profession to us step by step" as she puts it.
When the mentors shared examples from their everyday work with Anna and her classmates, they created images that helped the students picture themselves in that profession. In particular, she valued the detail and clarity with which mentors spoke about their career paths, recalling a session with an Economist mentor after which she said to herself, "I could picture myself doing this".
Growing up in a small village, Anna explains that she experienced firsthand what it means to have limited access to opportunities and stimuli. Her participation in The Tipping Point, as she describes it, was the only opportunity she had to meet professionals willing to advise her about her future, to talk to her about what a profession has to offer, and about its demands or difficulties. Referring to her mentor who works in Finance, Anna explains that through their conversation she learned about the periods when the field has the heaviest workload, while also learning how a professional responds effectively to that challenge. Highlighting this example, Anna emphasizes that "taking part in The Tipping Point is the closest thing to meeting your future self".
Her participation in the program was critical to choosing what to study. Although she had always been drawn to more than one subject, conversations with the mentors helped her realize she could combine her talents and interests without limiting herself. Today, she says, she's considering how she might combine economics with IT to strengthen her professional profile in the modern labour market.
But for her, the most important thing wasn't simply the information about different professions. It was the shift in how she thinks about professions altogether. She vividly remembers a piece of advice from one mentor: choose what you love, not just what pays well. It's a phrase she may not have fully grasped at the time, but one she now feels has shaped the way she sees her life and her future. For Anna, it matters that a profession brings you joy and meaning. A job that weighs on you, she says, can wear you down psychologically, even if it offers financial security.
As a student in Athens, she sees university as a creative space for growth, aiming to give her best in every class. Although she loves Athens, she says that at some point she wants to return to Kalamata, bringing back to her hometown the experience and knowledge she will have gained through her studies, or perhaps a master's degree abroad.
If she had to give one piece of advice to a student taking part in The Tipping Point, it would be to make the most of every opportunity this experience offers — to ask questions, observe, and pay attention even to the smallest details mentors share. For her, the most meaningful question was never "what's your salary?" but rather "what's a day at your job actually like?" That, she says, is where the truth lies.
Thank you so much to Anna for everything she shared with us.
