When you take your first steps onto the college campus you’ve now most likely committed to for the next four years, what is it you hope to feel? 

As a 17-year-old freshman in Fall 2022, I wanted to feel loved and seen by my university. 

As I now prepare to walk the graduation stage in a few short weeks, I am grateful to say that I did.

When I knew I was going to be attending Fresno State, it was a no-brainer that I would declare Armenian Studies as my minor. I mean, how could I not?

I’m a full-Armenian daughter, whose grandmother and parents, by God’s grace, came from Armenia over two decades ago to give me access to the American dream, now going to a university with an Armenian Studies Program like no other in the nation. 

Knowing there was a strong cultural presence in Fresno and at Fresno State, I questioned if I would be found valuable, or if I would just be another fish in the sea for four years. This was a worry of mine that proved to be nowhere near the truth. Coming from Fowler, a town that takes pride in its Armenian heritage, I was excited to attend a college that does the same. 

If you know anything about Armenian history, you know our people have fought long and hard, what seems like endless battles, to get others to realize what our culture has been forced to endure. 

To realize how significant Armenians really are. 

The first time I walked onto campus, I saw a beautiful Armenian Genocide monument looking back at me, with the eyes of the 1.5 million Armenians killed in 1915. Wow. A university that actually recognizes our history in its full capacity and truth. It was a breath of fresh air. I didn’t have to hide. 

Not only does Fresno State offer a minor in Armenian Studies, but they are proud of it. President Saul Jiménez-Sandoval has consistently stood by the side of Fresno State’s Armenian population and has shown his support for Fresno’s Armenian community, never a doubt or second thought. 

He stood at all four Armenian Studies banquets I attended, shook my hand with every scholarship I received and freely and wholeheartedly spoke about Armenians, showing love, honor and true compassion. 

He is not required to show up to these, but he does.

I felt so proud to be able to attend every Armenian Genocide commemoration ceremony for the past few years and see my university’s president there. I felt so seen when he made the effort to speak to us, showing his solidarity. 

Pursuing Armenian Studies for the past four years has allowed me to express my culture while taking a variety of Armenian studies classes from professors like Barlow Der Mugrdechian, someone who has poured his life into advancing Fresno State’s Armenian Studies Program. 

I would consider the entirety of pursuing my minor in Armenian Studies to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience that not everyone gets. 

I had the ability to write for Hye Sharzhoom, Fresno State’s Armenian newspaper and represent my culture as a part of The Collegian, writing stories like this one. 

Let me not forget to mention the Armenian Students Organization on campus, made up entirely of students who connect and celebrate over what it means to wave the red, blue and orange. 

Armenian communities in the Central Valley have been unified in ways I’ve never seen, because of what happens here at Fresno State. 

What seems like never-ending opportunities to express my heritage is not just a college dream come true, but a blessing from God. Every culture deserves to experience this welcoming embrace on college campuses, as this is what makes every individual unique and special.

Ես հայ եմ, և ես հպարտ եմ դրանով։ Եվ բարեբախտաբար՝ սա այն առանձնահատկությունն է, որը ոչ ոք չի կարող խլել ինձանից։

Մեր մշակույթի խորհրդանիշ անմոռուկի թերթիկները հատ առ հատ բացելով՝ ես ավելի ու ավելի խորն եմ ճանաչում իմ արմատները՝ համոզված լինելով, որ մեր անցյալը երբեք չի մոռացվի։ Ես հավերժ երախտապարտ եմ Ֆրեզնոյի պետական համալսարանին, որ ինձ հնարավորություն տվեց դա ապրել ու իրագործել՝ ազատ, անկաշկանդ և առանց ամոթի։

Translation: I am Armenian and I am proud of it. And fortunately, this is something that no one can take away from me. As I open, petal by petal, the forget-me-not, the symbol of our culture, I come to know my roots more and more deeply, convinced that our past will never be forgotten. I am eternally grateful to Fresno State for giving me the opportunity to live and express this freely and without shame.