My Armenian upbringing made me the person I am today

Hi, my name is Anna, and I am from Armenia. (Unfortunately) I’m not surprised that you don’t know where it is located on the map, but I’m happy that you’ve just opened Google Search.

To me, being an Armenian in America means being an ambassador of my country in the US by representing the best of my country, keeping the culture and language alive, and unifying the community. That said, besides bringing the best of your heritage, we also respect and share the values of the place we live in.

Do you know what a typical Armenian does when he/she travels abroad? Our first instinct is to find another Armenian in whatever distant corner we find ourselves in! Afterwards, we start to research if there are any important historical monuments or really anything connected to our culture. That makes us proud, happy and inspired to continue making our contributions to the fields of our expertise in so many different ways.

The author

It was August, 2013 when I first left Armenia to do my Master’s degree in Singapore. Since then, I have experienced all of the challenges on my way and truly enjoyed overcoming them. For most of the cases, I was the first Armenian in many groups of my new friends, and this is how the conversation would begin whenever I’d met someone first time:

Future Friend: Hey, my name is FRIEND.

Me: Hi FRIEND, I’m Anna.

Future Friends: And where are you from?

Me: Can you guess?

Future Friend: Hmm…Italy? France? Ukraine? Russia? Middle East? Although, you look like Natalie Portman…so, are you Jewish?

Me: Nope…I’m from Armenia!

(Very puzzled) Future Friend: Armenia? Where is it?

Yerevan, the capital city of Armenia

I’m not surprised – for 83 percent of the cases (yes, I’m Mathematician), they ask me where Armenia is on the map. I think this is the second most asked question to me after “How are you? / What’s up?” At first, I get disappointed that they’ve never heard about the country which has a history of about 6000 years, which was the first to adopt Christianity as a state religion, where they discovered World’s earliest known leather shoe, skirt, and wine-producing facility, whose men’s chess team has won the European Team Championship (1999), the World Team Championship (2011) and the Chess Olympiad (2006, 2008, 2012)… (I can make this list a very long one, but your curiosity can do the rest of the job.) And then I take a breath and get excited about telling all of the amazing things about my beautiful country. First they get impressed (did you get too? ☺), then they do their own research reading books and articles on the internet, and finally they decide to visit Armenia! Isn’t that wonderful?

So, I’ve started my duties as an ambassador in Ithaca when I came to Cornell about two years ago to start my PhD. I love the university, I love my program, I love making new friends, I love the nature, and even the coldest winter. But another thing that makes me really happy is the small Armenian community we have here. That was one of the reasons why I got actively involved in the Armenian Student Organization of Cornell University. Throughout the year, we gather over delicious food, backgammon, music, and holidays, and laugh and “kef” (party) as much as needed.

We collaborate with other organizations such as the Arab Student Organization and Persian Student Organization, and will continue to share culture and dialogue with outside groups. We meet with Cornell professors who have Armenian heritage and bring in various speakers and professionals in fields such as history, economics, public policy, and many more. In the fall of 2015, we launched our community Armenian Language and Culture Classes and continue to grow as a community through these lessons that have people from five years old to 50.

Studying at an Ivy League university like Cornell, where everyone lives in such a diversified, caring and intellectually challenging atmosphere, I have realized how strong a community can be where everyone brings a touch of their own culture, traditions, values and mentality. I wouldn’t want to spend my years at graduate school at any other place in any other way.