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UB staffer going home again as Olympic translator
By DONNA BUDNIEWSKI
Reporter Assistant Editor
It's been 38 years, but Eleftherios (Elfie) Mermigas is finally going home.
A laboratory coordinator assistant and museum curator for the Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences in the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Mermigas is a native of Drama, Greece, and will work as a volunteer translator for the Olympic Games, being held Aug. 13-29 in Athens. Mermigas applied a year ago to be a translator during the games. After a couple of phone calls to verify that Mermigas was, indeed, bilingual, the Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games accepted his application last month.
Elfie Mermigas is going home for the first time in 38 years to translate for the Summer Olympic Games being held in his native country of Greece.
PHOTO: DONNA BUDNIEWSKI
Making the trek back to his childhood home in Drama, which now is owned by a distant relative, will be an emotional journey, but one Mermigas speaks of with pride as he shares fond memories about the close and permanent bonds that were formed there.
An old fig tree still stands in the backyard where his family enjoyed large family feasts, sharing wine and stories while he was growing up. Reuniting with family and childhood friends is a major priority for him and for those he left behind—in fact, an 89-year-old aunt joked that she's not dying until she's seen her nephew again.
"I'm going home for the first time since 1966. It is so exciting for me. I couldn't afford it before because I put two kids through college," says Mermigas.
"Material things are not important to the Greeks. Friendship is number one. The friendships that I have in Greece make my heart pound. When I left, I was 19 years old and we were all good-looking. Me, now I'm 50 pounds overweight, but I can't wait to go. I will kiss the ground as soon as I get there," he says.
"I will be seeing my two aunts—ages 84 and 89—two survivors from my mom and dad's side. Those are the two things I'm most excited about." He also plans to visit his former high school, which bears a plaque acknowledging Mermigas' ingenious coup in convincing the school administration that the mandatory hat requirement for boys was, in fact, unhealthy and contributed to balding.
"I had a doctor's mind even then. We did some research and found that it is unhealthy to wear a hat because you lose your hair," he recalls. Armed with a doctor's verification, the administration listened. But, he wryly acknowledges, the motivating factor in his campaign was that the kids simply didn't like to wear hats.
Among the many things he plans to photograph while in Greece is a statue at the school of a mother holding a child in her lap and pointing, telling the child to "go to school." Education is important to Mermigas—upon his graduation from Drama Gymnasium (the equivalent of six years of high school), he took the national exam required for college entrance. Of the more than 500,000 students who took the test, he ranked 13th.
A UB alumnus, Mermigas came to the U.S. at 19 in 1966, four years after the arrival of his parents. At UB for 35 years, he teaches hematology to medical students, in addition to his other responsibilities. In 2002, medical students awarded him with the prestigious Siegel Award for Teaching Excellence. "I know the struggles students face because I was once a student here, too," he says.
The former professional soccer player is still very fit, despite his modesty, and jokes that while soccer is his specialty, he's been asked to translate during the Olympic baseball competition—he knows nothing about baseball. He also will be an interpreter for soccer, tennis, swimming and boxing.
Staying in the Olympic Village during the games isn't a security concern for Mermigas. Being chosen as one of the 160,000 volunteers for the games required an extensive background investigation by the Greek government.
"Greece is not afraid of terrorists. We know how to handle them. We have 45,000 security forces. We will take all measures to make the games the best event of the year," he says.
Playing the tourist is also part of his itinerary. He will visit Thessalonica and the islands of Santorini, Mykonos and Thassos—all made easier by the fact that a favorite cousin owns seven ferry boats.
"I would love to go see the museum in Thessalonica. They are storing the tomb of Phillip, Alexander the Great's father," he says, noting that the most famous Greek conqueror is his ancestor.