On Wednesday, October 10, Senior Chris Athanasiadis participated in the Northwood Speaker Series to talk about his experience of learning to stay true to himself. In his speech, Chris emphasized three words: perseverance, purpose, and humility. Each of these words comes from different areas of his life.
Chris Athanasiadis ’19 delivering his speech on Oct 10, 2018 (Photo: Ms. Christine Ashe)
Athanasiadis’s talk was part of “Ask Me Anything,” Northwood’s weekly speaker series for students and faculty, presented Mr. Martinez and the Office of Multicultural Affairs each Wednesday. This year’s theme is “Gaining Perspective. Mirror staff writer Sarah Bennett ‘19 sat down with Athanasiadis to discuss his talk and how it came about.
Athanasiadis learned to persevere during his childhood in which he faced many struggles due to his ethnicity. While he tried to fit in with other students from his school, he realized that “life is not about having the perfect situation with everything you want when you want.”
Putting his family first before anything else gave Athanasiadis purpose in life. He appreciates how his family gave him the strength and purpose to continue playing soccer.
His last word, humility, comes from his grandfather. “My grandfather has always told me to remain true to myself. He taught me not to be easily influenced by others, never to buy into what others are doing, and to have confidence in who I am and what I stand for,” Athanasiadis said.
Athanasiadis concluded his speech by advising students and faculty to stay true to who they truly are. He said, “I highly encourage you all to consciously make an effort to take a step back to find yourself and separate yourself from others. What are your values? What defines you?”
