A Senior’s Look Back on UCLA (Summer 08)

Gabriyel Mamikonyan
Gm25@ucla.edu

As the end to my college career at UCLA comes to a close, I can’t help but to look back in a bittersweet manner on my years spent here. Entering UCLA in the Fall of 2004, I did not know what to expect. I did not know who my friends were going to be, what my classes were to be like, and what type of social scene I would get involved in.

Little did I know that the next four years of my life would be more rewarding than I could imagine. It’s hard to believe, but I was shy at one point, and was not sure about how to comprehend my new situation.

But through my good friend, Minas Nordanyan, and through my own efforts, I got to know new people and from there began my development.

I got to know more and more people and began being more active with the Armenian Students’ Association. By my second year, we had created such an environment that I looked forward to driving to school every day… it was that fun. I got to be a part of a large group of friends, and together we shared the greatest days.

School became an escape, and our retreat at Kerckhoff was like an artificial haven from reality. I grew more active in my role as an ASA member and in my third year served on the Executive Board as Secretary.

I now sit here, as a fourth year student, and as a Senior Advisor to this same ASA, reflecting on my development. The days I shared on campus, the activities I took part in, the events I helped make reality, the friends I made, are all things I did not foresee when I was a seventeen year-old kid entering college.

But I took the initiative in many of these situations and they lead to great rewards and amazing memories I’ll always hold on to. I’ll never forget donating money on-air at the telethon, the parties and parahandeses, the out of town trips, the fundraisers, the bonfires, the tailgates, the fights, and all the good days in between.

Now I prepare to move on and out of UCLA, a place where I feel I will leave with a good reputation because I gave a lot to it. And it is obvious as to the great things it gave me.
Thus, I would encourage all my fellow Armenians here at UCLA to take part and become active on campus, and especially with the ASA and all Armenian-related activities. You are given a unique opportunity to meet new people, take part in important activities, and grow as a person.
I can say I have taken advantage of this opportunity and would like to see you do the same. Do not forget, we are surrounded here with peers that will one day hold important positions within our city. Let’s push each other to this better future.