Pourakis' personality charms all

Last summer, Virginia Pourakis '05 received a large, cylindrical package with a return address listing the sender as former Dean of Admission Fred Hargadon. Inside the package, Hargadon had placed a rolled up poster that had been made to commemorate his years of service to the University. Toward the bottom of the poster, written in small, capital letters was a note in which Hargadon told Pourakis how glad he was to have gotten to know her.

Though University students pride themselves on being chosen by Hargadon from among the many applicants, few can claim to know him personally. There is certainly something special about Pourakis that won her a place in Hargadon's heart.

Pourakis and Hargadon became acquainted through Triangle Club shows in which Hargadon made cameos. In one such show — last September's Frosh Week show — they shared the spotlight during a skit in which Pourakis teasingly serenaded him as he smiled up at her from a chair.

Though Hargadon's acting days are over, he still corresponds with Pourakis. In an email to her, Hargadon described a letter she sent him as the nicest letter he had ever received, Pourakis said. He also called his reaction to her letter a dangerous case of "Pourakis Paralysis" — a state he jokingly described as a complete loss of consciousness.

"It's not surprising she has a good relationship with Dean Fred," Steve Lauritano '05 said. She's the type of person the University wants, someone who makes an "impact," he added.

Lauritano and Pourakis have been friends for several years. They first met as underclassmen in Wilson College, and their friendship solidified after a bachelor auction at Tower Club last year.

"She bid on me [and] ended up winning me," Lauritano said. The prize "was a friendship date," Pourakis said.

She added that "she was the highest bidder of the evening."

Since both of their schedules were busy, it was hard for them to find time for the date. Finally, on one of the last days of the spring semester, they met for lunch at a Mexican restaurant off Nassau Street.

After their long-delayed date, Lauritano told Pourakis he had to move a friend's couch into storage. Despite his objections, Pourakis insisted on helping him. Over the next two hours they struggled across campus with the heavy couch, slowly making their way through courtyards and up and down flights of stairs, Lauritano said.

But while this might have been a disastrous end to most dates, Pourakis transformed the ordeal into what Lauritano described as a "really fantastic time."

This experience is indicative of Pourakis' ability to put "an unexpected twist on things" that would ordinarily be mundane, Lauritano said. "She makes things that would be frustrating into really exciting, memorable experiences."

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Lauritano said Pourakis has an equally profound effect on people. "You can just meet her on a random day and she can make your life suddenly joyful."

Part of Pourakis' charm is her "ability to connect with almost anyone," Lauritano said.

Pourakis prides herself on her ability to establish meaningful friendships with people almost instantaneously. "I don't know how I am able to meet people and instantly have intense feelings for them," she said. "I love people a lot. I really do."

This does not go unnoticed among her friends and the students for whom she is a residential advisor.

Willie Poor '07, a 'Prince' photographer and one of her advisees, described the powerful impression she made on him the first day of school: "I was walking down the hall looking for my room and [I] bumped into Virginia. I had no idea who she was, but she recognized me from the photo we had all sent in and [she] said, 'You're here!" and gave me a big hug."

Teresa Velez '07, another advisee, had an equally strong first impression. "I thought she was crazy," she said. "She's so much fun all the time."

Lauritano was struck by her funniness.

"She has a really unique sense of humor," Lauritano said. "She'll do a funny dance move or make a funny voice."

Whether she is teaching her advisees a new dance to fend off unwanted attention at the Street or giving a humorous description of how her profile resembles that of an ancient Greek statue, Pourakis is known for her trademark laugh.

Although she hasn't published a book or appeared in a magazine, "she has done something" that "shouldn't be valued any less," Lauritano said. "She has a fantastic personality."