George Kaklamanis: An admirable career from a Moraitis School alumnus

The week after the graduation ceremony, I had the golden opportunity to have
an exclusive interview from a brilliant former student of Moraitis School and
the recipient of the prestigious Nobel Prize in Biology, George Kaklamanis.

By Anastasia Pentidi

Our discussion took place in the principal’s office, as it was the suitable location
for our reflective conversation. The purpose of our encounter and Mr.
Kaklamani’s aspiration was to inspire young people to endure in the pursuit of
their dreams. The areas of discussion were his childhood years in our school,
his hard times when facing failure, and his overall tips for us that he thought be
valuable.

After the greetings with the school staff and the principal, we were left alone
so that the interview would begin. Firstly, I asked him if he could describe his
early years in school and whether his time here contributed to his success.
“Definitely”- said Mr Kaklamanis- “my academic years in the Moraitis School
were crucial for my professional career. It was when I first developed my
passion for scientific research. The laboratory course on molecular biology
played a pivotal role in determining the following years after graduating high
school. Not to forget that my winning-price research did not came out of the
blue, but the topic of inquiry was inspired by a question that I had as a high
school student.

Secondly, I wanted to gain insight into the hardships that he faced along the
way concerning his research. He candidly responded: “The challenges that I
had to overcome, but I truly believe that at the long run all were stepping stone
to success. An integral part of lab work is the countless trials of the
experiments that need to be done in order to validate a result. Thus, the
moments of doubt and the uncertainty of your conclusion can really stress you
and make you undermine your value as a researcher”. His next point really
surprised me. Can you imagine that such a researcher faced discrimination?
Read what he revealed about the scientific community: “ Competition is very
fierce, especially when you are a foreigner. I conducted my research once I
moved in the USA and pursue my career there. People are favorable towards
fellows with whom they have the same origins. I was an outsider and other
research teams did not want to take their prestige from them”. I was shocked
to hear that he was degraded because of his background.
Finally, he took the initiative to express some of his thought and even provide
the students that graduated with some tips. Mark some of Mr Kaklamanis
words: “ I want to congratulate our school because it creates not only a place
for academic excellence but is also creates a diverse community embracing
people from all walks of life. It is of important to learn from an early age to
respect the people you work with. For you graduate students, let me tell you
that sky is the limit, yet do not forget that it is not only about being a great
student, but a great human.”

To sum up, I just wanted to say honored I am for this meaningful encounter
that I had. I was great to hear how our school contributes to the life of its
graduates and the challenges that scientists face to get their work recognized.