Eugenia Mitrakas OAM has been named a Golden Alumna by the University of Melbourne, becoming the first Greek-born woman to receive the honour for her lifelong contributions to law, education and the Greek Australian community.
Born in Lesvos and migrating to Australia at nine, Mitrakas built a distinguished career across law, welfare and community advocacy.
The recognition, she said, reflects both her migration journey and the broader contribution of migrant women to Australia’s institutions. She has also been invited to address the university’s December graduation ceremony.
The honour was deeply emotional for Mitrakas, who noted the absence of her late parents and husband, and reflected on her early years at the university as the only Greek woman in the law faculty, an experience she said helped her integrate quickly and shaped her identity as a Greek Australian proud of her heritage.
In a comment to The Greek Herald, Mitrakas said: “This Award literally moved me to tears. I had to ring a close friend a week ago to calm me down. The spate of Awards this year have come about after I called out ‘the men in grey suits’ at the Greek Community talk I gave in August last year.”
“I don’t push myself anywhere,” she added. “I am more assimilated than most because there were not many Greek women at university when I was there. There were only three and none in Law School or the Classics Department. This allowed me to move into mainstream with ease.”
Mitrakas described the accolade as the greatest honour of her career and said it “justified the migration journey” her family undertook decades ago.
