Mary Kandaharian
The Armenian Students’ Association at UCLA held their second annual Family Day at Ackerman Grand Ballroom where current and potential students gathered with their families on Sunday, November 23, 2008.
Family Day is an event that caters to both parents and students and helps illustratewhat it is like to be an Armenian student at UCLA.
The day was filled with festivities and information about all aspects of Armenian student life at UCLA. Cultural Director Mariam Tsaturyan, along with the rest of the ASA Executive Board, worked countless hours to organize the event that brought together a community of UCLA parents, current and prospective students.
The goal is to educate and motivate prospective Armenian students to strive towards a higher education and answer any questions they might have along the way. Another aim is to help students ease the transition between high school and college. It provides an opportunity for the parents of current UCLA students to understand the lifestyle of their children on the UCLA campus.
Even parents whose children are interested in entering the university, as well as prospective students, can find out what exactly university life entails. This was facilitated through presentations about academics, residential life, extracurricular activities, fraternities, sororities, and graduate school.
The day was packed with speakers including Vice Chancellor Janina Montero, Professor Cowe, and Professor Kouloujian, who all welcomed the students and passed on a piece of wisdom to a crowd of enthusiastic parents and students. Soon thereafter, each member of the ASA executive board presented themselves to the audience. The event was also very visually appealing with the barrage of slideshows and videos presented.
The video, “Day in the Life” portrayed two students, one who lived on campus and another who commuted, in order to show the different experiences of each student at UCLA. The short film inspired many applause from the attendees who found the film amusing.
The Armenian sorority’s president, Isabel Karamanukyan, presented Alpha Gamma Alpha and Krikor Molyan presented the Armenian Fraternity, Alpha Epilson Omega.
Continental breakfast and khorovats was provided for the guests at the event. The day also featured a carefully selected panel consisting of six students, including Sarkis Khachatryan, Talin Arslanian, Teny Nazari, Ara Thomassian, Ani Khodaverdian, and Michael Kashiktchian.
Each of these six diverse individuals had their own unique and personal stories to tell about their experiences at the university. After their presentations, audience members were allowed to ask the panel any questions they had regarding university life.
The day ended with members of the ASA providing tours of the campus for the event’s attendees.
The ASA hopes to continue the theprogram for years to come.
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