Akatarinha Papagiorgio — the next player featured in our Athlete Spotlight series — fearlessly took a chance. The Corinth, Greece native came to the United States after a random conversation during a volleyball match. She came to Eastern Florida State College this season in hopes of excelling in class and on the soccer field.
She has done both.
Titans Soccer Talent
Papagiorgio, tried out at Eckerd College after her mother met someone during a volleyball match who knew the Eckerd women’s soccer coach, took another chance leaving Eckerd College after her freshman season to play at EFSC this season.
She played in 11 games this season with the Titans. Her talent helped the team reach the semifinals of the NJCAA Division I National Championship.
“I really like the team here, coming from an (NCAA) Division II program to here, people think junior college is not as good but I feel, especially our level, was very good and I could not tell the difference between D2 and our team. I think this year was good for me.”
She has been playing soccer since she was a young child, following in her father’s footsteps. She has always known she was going to be a soccer player.
“I have never really played any other sport but soccer. My father was playing, and it was the only sport I really got involved with. I would go to my dad’s games, even the ones that were three or four hours away on the bus and always loved watching the interactions around the players. I’d always liked it,” Papagiorgio said.
She started seven games this season for the Titans and had a goal and an assist from the defender position. Her play this season has earned her a scholarship with Saint Leo University next season.
Women’s History Speech Competition
Papagiorgio has also excelled in the classroom and recently won a Women’s History Speech Competition at the college.
“Honestly, I was thinking how many people were going to do this, three or four, and I will be third and third place got headphones. I’m good with headphones,” Papagiorgio said. “So, I went to Canvas and I saw that 12 people had signed up, and I thought I was going to be the least prepared of the group. I didn’t expect to win it at all. I did not think I had a chance to win.”
She put together a speech talking about Body Positivity. In it, she mentioned her inspiration, Ashley Graham, a plus-sized model and proponent of the Health at Every Size movements.
“I feel like we all experience it,” Papagiorgio said. “I talked about how we love ourselves, it isn’t always something that somebody says that will make you feel bad, sometimes we just are not confidant and we don’t accept ourselves.”
To Papagiorgio’s surprise, a large number of people came to support her during the speech.
Support: The Key To Success
“Sitting up front and thinking about my speech, I saw one of my teammates came in and I was so happy because at least I had one person here, then a few more came and before long the team was there. I started getting emotional. I did not expect the team to come because I just told a couple of my close friends and then everyone came, it meant so much to me that they would come and support me.”
And that support has been key to Papagiorgio’s experience here at Eastern Florida State College.
“Especially as an international, the first thought is that I am going to be all by myself in a foreign place, but as an athlete you know automatically you are going to meet a group of people. If I was just a student here it would be so hard for me to connect,” Papagiorgio said.
But much like she has all of her life, Papagiorgio took a chance. Now, she has a whole new group of friends and stories that will last a lifetime.
- Athlete Spotlight: Akatarinha Papagiorgio - April 26, 2023
