Ohio Northern University’s Erin Chrissobolis never ceases to be impressed by the grit shown by the student-athletes on ONU’s swimming and diving team.
“I’m most proud of seeing them continually push themselves,” said the assistant coach.
“Swimming can be a grind, but they come to practice every day and keep on giving.”
Erin also loves the way team members support and uplift one another.
And in true Polar Bear fashion, she cares for them in kind.
She and her husband, Soph Chrissobolis, Ph.D., associate professor of pharmacology, host ONU students for Sunday suppers in their home on a rotating basis.
“We give them a homecooked meal and send them back to campus with the leftovers.”
Every year before winter break, she also brings in trays of assorted homemade goodies for the swimming and diving team and her colleagues in ONU Athletics. To say her artfully-arranged and delicious holiday trays are eagerly anticipated would be an understatement.
Erin traces her fondness for baking to her childhood and helping her mom make snickerdoodles from the Betty Crocker cookbook. She enjoys experimenting in the kitchen, and just recently mastered the art of laminated dough by making croissants.
“It’s fun to create, and it’s fun to try different things.”
Every holiday season, she varies the cookie and bar recipes she uses for her trays. But she always polls her student-athletes to find out which treats they want to return.
“Year after year after year, one gets the most requests—Gingerbread Cheesecake Bars.”
