FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com JULY 30, 2015 • THE QUEENS COURIER 11 Whitestone pageant queen pursues charity causes and higher education Photo courtesy of Margaret Skourlis Whitestone resident Margaret Skourlis is a beauty queen with two master’s degrees and 16 certifi cations from Cornell University. BY ALINA SURIEL [email protected]/@alinangelica Whitestone resident Margaret Skourlis may a pageant queen, but she’s a beauty with a brain and a killer resume. The former Miss Supermodel USAPetite was back on the pageant circuit this month as the New York representative in the national Ms. UNITE pageant, a charity event to benefi t victims of domestic violence. While she did not raise enough donation money to place in the top spots of Ms. UNITE, Skourlis, 34, is a seasoned competitor who won her fi rst title in the Miss Greek Independence Pageant as Miss Messina 2001, and has competed in a total of 15 pageants in her career. “I’ve grown drastically in that with every pageant title I’ve held throughout my life, I was able to do different things to help different communities,” said Skourlis. Although Skourlis herself has deep roots in Queens, having been born in Astoria and then moving to Whitestone at age 4, her father is originally from the Greek city of Kalamata and her mother is of Greek descent as well. The beauty queen promotes Greek tourism while competing in pageants in order to help stimulate the country’s economy during its current times of international debt and fi nancial crisis. Skourlis is also involved in giving back to the local Greek community by serving as the vice president of the Intercollegiate Hellenic Society, a nonprofi t aimed at bringing together young people to promote Hellenic culture. The organization helps students get fi rsthand experience studying abroad and has a longstanding relationship with Montreal, a city that Skourlis has promoted in pageants in an effort to increase tourism. “For years, we’ve been sending students to the city of Montreal, to experience the beauty of Montreal and to learn about the antiquity,” said Skourlis, who enjoys visiting restaurants and cafes in the old port of the Canadian city. While the average person might feel satisfi ed if they had all of Skourlis’ accomplishments, she is always striving to learn more and broaden her own skill set. She is currently making her way through an online course with Harvard University to learn computer programing, but she already has a bachelor’s degree, two master’s degrees, and 16 certifi cations from Cornell University, along with paralegal, modeling and real estate sales certifi cations. “When you meet different people you learn different things, but then getting background knowledge helps you change the world,” said Skourlis. “And my real goal is to be able to help the world and change people’s lives.” Complete access. Complete control. Complete Banking. Complete Banking gives you even more freedom and time to do the things you love. Plus, get up to $200 when you open a new Complete Checking Plus account.* Complete Checking Plus. Flushing Bank is a registered trademark earn interest ATM fee rebates mobile check deposit Checking For more information, visit your local Flushing Bank branch, call 800.581.2889 or visit www.FlushingBank.com. * New Complete Checking Plus account with new money only. Existing checking account customers are not eligible. An existing checking customer is defined as anyone who currently has or has had a Flushing Bank checking account within the last 24 months. This offer is limited to one Complete Checking Plus account per household. Minimum deposit required to open a new Complete Checking Plus account is $100. No minimum balance required to be eligible for the Bonus. Direct Deposit – You will receive $100 for signing up for and receiving a recurring direct deposit of $250 or more. Tax refund checks do not qualify as direct deposit. Direct Deposits must be completed prior to 90 days after the account is opened. Debit Card Purchases – You will receive $50 for the completion of 5 debit card purchases. Each debit card purchase must be $25 or more. Online Banking Bill-payments – You will receive $50 for completing 5 online banking bill-payments via Flushing Bank’s Online Banking portal. Each online bill-pay must be $25 or more. Debit Card Purchases and Online Bill-payments must be completed prior to 60 days after the account is opened. THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT ANY CUSTOMER CAN RECEIVE IS $200. The compensation will be credited to the checking account on or about the end of the month following the completion of the above qualifying transactions within the required time after account opening. A 1099 will be issued in the amount credited to your account. Other fees and restrictions may apply. All offers are subject to change and termination without prior notice at any time.
QC07302015
To see the actual publication please follow the link above