{"id":72777,"date":"2021-06-21T09:46:57","date_gmt":"2021-06-21T13:46:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=72777"},"modified":"2021-06-22T08:39:58","modified_gmt":"2021-06-22T12:39:58","slug":"brock-prof-and-daughter-celebrate-convocation-amid-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2021\/06\/brock-prof-and-daughter-celebrate-convocation-amid-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"Brock prof and daughter celebrate Convocation amid pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"

Although the COVID-19 pandemic meant Brock\u2019s Spring Convocation held Friday, June 18 wasn\u2019t exactly what they had envisioned, Nicole Tsakiridis and her family were still determined to celebrate.<\/p>\n

When Tsakiridis began her time at Brock University four years ago, she already had a plan in place for graduation. As she crossed the stage at Convocation, she would be hooded by her mother, Professor of Health Sciences Evangelia Litsa Tsiani, while her sisters and father, a medical doctor and Professor at McMaster University, proudly watched on.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had these plans for my mom and dad to be dressed up in their PhD\/doctoral gowns, with me in my Brock Bachelor of Science (BSc) gown and hood,\u201d says Tsakiridis.<\/p>\n

However, due to public health restrictions, Brock\u2019s 109th Convocation ceremony\u00a0was held virtually<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know many of my friends, fellow classmates and their families had plans for celebrating Convocation,\u201d says the Medical Sciences graduate. \u201cMy dad hooded my sister when she obtained her BSc degree from McMaster and my parents thought it will be unfair to not celebrate my graduation. We decided to go ahead with the celebration in our home.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Tsakiridis was hooded by her mother during a small family ceremony, she reflected on a saying Tsiani routinely uses:<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease, do not drown in a teaspoon of water.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Greek expression means \u201cyou\u2019re drowning in something that isn\u2019t that big,\u201d Tsakiridis says. \u201cIt may seem like too big of a challenge or too intimidating at the time, but you really can take a deep breath, relax, think and you will find a solution. Don\u2019t give up. Keep trying.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mom tells me that when she sees I\u2019m faced with a problem, and when I\u2019m stressed out and worried about something,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Tsakiridis\u2019 parents went through similar stress as students, being the first ones in their families to receive a university degree.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe horrors of the Second World War stopped my grandparents in Greece from advancing beyond early grade school,\u201d Tsakiridis says.<\/p>\n

Tsiani and her husband came to Canada to earn their PhDs in the area of diabetes at the University of Toronto. Tsakiridis plans to continue her studies in pursuit of a master\u2019s degree.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a bit intimidating and stressful but my parents tell me that I can achieve anything with hard work and dedication,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Tsakiridis says her academic journey started at the dinner table, where her mother and father would lead conversations about diabetes, cancer, diseases, science and many other subjects.<\/p>\n

Tsakiridis and her sisters were all ears and lapped up the conversations. These were supplemented by occasional trips to Brock labs, where the three girls experienced the world of science first-hand.<\/p>\n

These dinner table discussions about science and the lab visits put Tsakiridis on the medical sciences path.<\/p>\n

But she wasn\u2019t sure where she wanted to study. Again, early childhood experiences made Brock University the logical destination.<\/p>\n

\u201cI took my first swimming lesson at Brock, I had my first ballet performance at the O\u2019Sullivan theatre and now I’ve graduated with a Brock Medical Sciences degree,\u201d she says. \u201cIt feels like the halls were much bigger back then.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tsakiridis also took the summer science camp at Brock and volunteered in many studies conducted by Brock University professors exploring the influence of diet and exercise.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mom registered me and my sisters in many Brock University research studies,\u201d she says. \u201cShe always emphasized the importance of research.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tsiani has instilled in her daughter the idea that life is a journey.<\/p>\n

Tsiani quotes the poem Ithaka <\/em>by Kavafis<\/a>, her favourite Greek poet: \u201cAs you set out for Ithaka, hope your road is a long one, full of adventure, full of discovery\u2026 Keep Ithaka always in your mind. Arriving there is what you\u2019re destined for. But don\u2019t hurry the journey at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

During Spring Convocation, Tsiani hoped to pass that same message along to all her students.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs for your journey from now on, do not feel intimidated and scared to set high expectations in your life,\u201d she says. \u201cDream big and have dedication and work hard. Persist and persevere. Do not fear. You all have great potential.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tsakiridis is keeping her mother\u2019s exhortations close to heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, they\u2019re the lessons I\u2019ve learned along the way,\u201d she says. \u201cBrock has taught me to work hard. I was able to conquer the challenges, all because I had the right guidance and support from my parents and my professors when I needed it. Brock will always be in my heart as I set out to explore more.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Although the COVID-19 pandemic meant Brock\u2019s Spring Convocation held Friday, June 18 wasn\u2019t exactly what they had envisioned, Nicole Tsakiridis and her family were still determined to celebrate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":72778,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[119,36,7,1],"tags":[156,1696,1024,6668,7488,5541,1536,470,761,10454,3325,1759,10451],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72777"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72777"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72777\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72786,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72777\/revisions\/72786"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}