BERKELEY, CA (AGBU-AIS) The Armenian General Benevolent Union was a little known organization to a group of university graduates in Yerevan until word came that they were chosen to study in the United States for faculty positions in the soon-to-be-built American University of Armenia.
The project, one of several undertaken by the AGBU in cooperation with the University of California, began taking shape earlier this year. The planned independent educational institution will be overseen by the University of California and provide specialized training in the fields of engineering, seismology, business management and computer science.
AGBU President Ms. Louise Manoogian Simone, in her annual report, said the institution will be fully accredited both in the United States and Armenia.
"We are in the process of confirming space, initiating English classes and beginning the first specialty, Business Management, in Sept. 1991. This project is estimated at $600,000 the first year and $1,000,000 the second year. We will seek foundation and government funding for future years," she told the Nov. 17 General Assembly of the AGBU in Los Angeles.
Dr. Armen Der Kiureghian of UC Berkeley, one of the main forces behind the project, said despite the vast differences between the educational systems of Armenia and the United States, the students were adapting well and making considerable progress. "Although they have had relatively light loads this semester, they have been working extremely hard on their courses to catch up and to overcome their deficiencies," said Der Kiureghian, an Iranian-born UC Berkeley Professor of civil Engineering.
Dr. Der Kiureghian, who also is Vice Chairman of the Department of Structural Engineering, Mechanics and Materials, said he hoped that upon the completion of their studies at Berkeley, the students will prove to be a high asset for Armenia. "My hope is that, upon returning to Armenia, the students will become leaders in the field of education as well as in their respective fields of specialization — They will take with them a firsthand knowledge of the American educational system -- They will serve as links between Armenia and the American -Armenian community, both in terms of business development as well as cultural-scientific exchanges," he said in a recent interview. Der Kiureghian, who has become something of an "older brother" for the students, said he was optimistic.
"There are vast differences between the educational systems in Armenia and the University of California. For example the Armenian students are not used to the written form of examinations, as [in Armenia) their exams are usually oral. The environment here is much more competitive than they are used to," Der Kiureghian said.
On their return to Armenia, Der Kiureghian said, the students "will be in a position to suggest and implement the superior aspects of the American system in Armenia, while rejecting the aspects which are not desirable or are contrary to the culture and conditions of Armenia".
Ara Asatrian is one of the seven students from Armenia at UC Berkeley on an AGBU scholarship; studying for a Master’s in Business Administration. "I read about the scholarship in a newspaper in Yerevan and sent in my application to the Ministry of Education. At first I was turned down, but they accepted me later," 24 year old Ara said with a smile. "As far as I know, 120 students applied. This list was first boiled down to 90 candidates and then 12. We were selected from that small group to come here. We are very, very fortunate. We are also ever so grateful to the AGBU for giving us this opportunity to specialize," he said in an interview.
Fellow Armenian student Sergey Sarkissian, a 24-year-old computer science major, said he heard about the AGBU’s project and scholarship on Yerevan Radio. "I had some idea regarding what the AGBU was," Sarkissian said. "I did not know how important a role it was playing in the reconstruction of Armenia and the various aspects of Armenian life in the diaspora," he said. "But as if by coincidence, I saw some very interesting reports regarding the AGBU on Armenian television in Yerevan. The AGBU projects arc very progressive in nature ... projects which are clearly planned to have an important impact on life in Armenia for the future generations," he said.
Like Sarkissian, fellow student Gregory Matsoyan is also enrolled at Berkeley. He is doing graduate work in Civil Engineering. But alongside his major, Gregory is also taking a special English course to help him with his academic work. "This is a very interesting class. We do a lot of industrial and scientific writing. It is very helpful," he said after a two hour lecture attended by 17 fellow students from China, Japan and Vietnam.
While the bachelors in the group are delighted with life at Berkeley, at least two of the young fathers find life strainful away from home and family.
"My son was three weeks old when I left Yerevan to study at Berkeley. Now he is three months old and I miss him very much," 24-year old electrical engineering student Kcvork Nahabcdian said. Nahabedian said he spends at least $150 of his pocket money every month on long distance telephone calls to Yerevan. "I am homesick, and must talk to my wife almost every day,"
Rouben Amirbegian, who is working on his Doctorate in Seismology, said he too was calling home regularly. "My son Bagrat is five years old and my daughter Narek is three. I miss my wife and family a lot," Amirbegian said.
But if family and children arc on the minds of some of the students, classwork and education is still their main preoccupation.
"We do not have time for anything much outside our studies. I have been told by friends to find an American girlfriend to improve my English," 26-year-old Gregory Matsoyan said with a smile.
Despite their initial hesitation to mix with fellow students, the group now seems to be integrating well with the Berkeley environment. They have made friends in the classrooms. But at the end of the school day, the seven Armenian students from Yerevan get together around the same dinner table to exchange jokes, tell stories and create a small world for themselves — an Armenian world in the International House at the Berkeley campus of the University of California.
