Siblings Nadia Athanasiadis ’28 and George Athanasiadis ’25 essentially grew up on Merrimack’s campus. Their mother Danielle Athanasiadis ’97, a stand-out on the women’s soccer team, kept her children involved at Merrimack from a young age.
And it was particularly easy given their father, Paul Athanasiadis, has been on the women’s soccer coaching staff since 2000.
“My favorite memories were going on the soccer field during my dad’s games and chilling with the injured players,” Nadia reminisced. “They took me in as an honorary teammate. I loved growing up on campus – it’s like home.”
Nadia is one of the more than 100 Legacy students who started at Merrimack College this fall, a stat that did not surprise Danielle in the slightest.
“I like to see the trend continue,” she said. “When I was there, it was small – around 300 people in our class. It’s been this evolution on campus. When the parents graduate, they take their children back to campus. I like seeing that legacy piece – going to a soccer or hockey game and seeing my former classmates and their kids.”
Nadia, an Austin Scholar double majoring in early child education and human development and service, said that legacy made the transition from high school to Merrimack a sinch.
“It’s hard to be homesick when you see your parents every weekend (on campus),” she laughed.
Her brother, George, started his senior year this fall. He is expected to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in communications with a minor in sports management this spring. Since his freshman year, George has played catcher for Merrimack’s men’s baseball team.
“(Merrimack) was the first college I reached out to when I was a sophomore in high school,” he said. “I’ve really been able to connect with my professors and build relationships with them. I still talk to the professors I had since freshman year – they’ve been able to help me with some of the harder classes I had.”
The family’s Warrior pride can be traced back to Danielle’s father Mickey, who was a mainstay on campus for decades. He not only played on the men’s hockey team, he also coached men’s soccer and was the first recipient of the St. Augustine Medal.
“My father put a good root down here,” said Danielle. “He had us understand how to lead a good path in life. Merrimack was on that path.”
As a student, Danielle majored in finance and was an All-American athlete on the women’s soccer team. She returned to coach the team for three years after graduation.
After graduation, Nadia hopes to land a job as a preschool teacher. George, meanwhile, is planning to pursue baseball next year. He recently completed a stint with the Greece National Baseball Team this past summer.
