IB Diploma Alumni Talks About Self-Discipline

WHO’S THE SPEAKER?

Pavlos Palios is currently doing a Masters in Economic and Social History at the University of Cambridge, after finishing his undergraduate degree in History at the University of Durham.

As part of his undergraduate degree, he got a lot of experience in public speaking through weekly presentation assignments and through his work in helping to organize speaking events for visiting speakers and lecturers. Pavlos came to my humble little home-studio to film this talk towards the end of his 3rd and final year at Durham, while on a return trip to Greece to visit family and friends.

Something that you may not know about Pavlos, is that he is a gentleman. In true gentlemanly fashion, Pavlos thoughtfully brought me fresh flowers on the day of the interview, which was very kind of him to do. And what’s more, he came prepared with what he wanted to say, making my job as interviewer incredibly easy – all I had to do was introduce him to you, and question him about his three tips to get the show on the road.

And so in true gentlemanly fashion, Pavlos’ organizational skills and efficiency show consideration for others’ time.

And yet you’ll notice that he still manages to pack in an incredible amount of value and unique insights in what is but a brief, 10-minute conversation.

Enjoy.

WHO’S THE INTERVIEWER?

Hi, I’m Eleni Vardaki. I first met Pavlos when I was assigned to be his IB1 and IB2 HL History teacher back in 2012.

What struck me about Pavlo in his IB Diploma years was the combination of  how focused he would always be during class discussions, with listening skills that were very mature for his age, and how he kept a cool head with staying on top of the workload, and maintaining excellent attendance in school and lessons, even when the going got tough. Focus and attendance is something that youths often struggle with when stress like that of the IB kicks in.

Since my mission is to help teach youths who want to learn how to focus more, stress less and motivate themselves, I’m always on the look out to interview people who’s stories I feel would be inspiring for the next generation of IB Diploma students. And so when I reached out to Pavlos, and he said yes, I was delighted.