Gina Athanasiou

REALTOR®, RE/MAX Hallmark Realty Ltd., Brokerage

I don’t think anyone planned on being a real estate agent. My parents wanted a better life for their kids when they moved to Canada in 1984. They planned on me doing something more “important” than selling real estate I’m sure. I studied Biology at York University at first. While I was at York I worked part-time as a receptionist at Alan Newton Real Estate. This is where I fell in love with real estate and was turned off at the same time. When I finished my Biology degree I decided I needed to have an education in technology. When I finished that I decided that I needed to be an Engineer mainly to prove a point but that’s a side story. The entire time I was studying I continued to work in real estate offices. In 2001 I met an agent that changed the way I viewed the industry altogether. I started seeing that I can be an agent if I wanted to. The sales stigma started to diminish for me. I got my real estate license in 2005 and never regretted leaving my science education behind.

I finally had my real estate license and an incredible real estate mentor. I shadowed him 12 hours a day and learned so much in 6 months. I was learning and was so excited about helping people. But that was cut short when I found out I was pregnant. I knew that this would turn my plans upside down. That year my husband and I got full custody of my stepdaughter who was 9 at the time. Life was changing and I had to choose between being a full-time real estate agent and being a mom. I tried to make it work but I was having a hard time with it. In 2007 when I found out I was pregnant again I knew that it was time to stop working. I was finding that I was unable to split my time and energy between raising 3 kids and being present for my clients.

I took a few years to raise the kids. In 2010 I was ready to go back to work. At the time I felt insecure about going back and thought it was better to go back as an assistant. I interviewed with an agent and right away realized that I was not going to be happy with that role. I decided that it was time to jump in and face my fears. It was the best decision I have made for my career. I built my business without compromising my values and I would have not done it any other way.

I have learned a lot from my convoluted path to real estate and back again. My studies did not go to waste. I learned that I have a gift of understanding problems and that there are many ways to get to a particular solution. I learned that I work well under pressure and I can do what I put my mind to. But all my studies could not prepare me for what I learned when I had my own family. My “at-home” training helped me get an appreciation of family life. The understanding of family life by living it and my love for real estate have come together in what I do. I help families get from where they are to where they want to be with an awareness of their concerns at all times.

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