I was born in Gyumri, Armenia. I studied in Yerevan for 5 years and then 2 years in the USA as a Fulbright student; however, I kept coming back to Gyumri because I feel I have a lot of things to do here. I have my organization here and a number of young girls who need to feel empowered in their lives. I can say I am a person, who cares about people. I had this feeling even when I was a child. I remember I was about 4 years old when I was going to English language tutoring classes at the local Esthetic center. It was almost a year after the earthquake. So this center had big French windows and these windows were all covered with pictures and announcements of kids and people missing during the earthquake. Every time when I would pass by these windows, I would ask my mom to read what those announcements were saying. My mom would only read one or two lines and wouldn’t read the rest. I knew that she didn’t want to upset me with those notes. However, I wanted to learn more about them. I wanted to know each detail of every missing kid. I was dreaming about how I would find each of the kids and take them home. I didn’t think about where and how I would find them or where I should take them, the most important thing for me was to take them home.

I believe that every human being carries a huge potential in herself/himself. However, if they are not in the right atmosphere or setting, then this potential fades away. Nevertheless, if any of them are provided with any type of support, care or attention, then they will have an opportunity to flourish and grow. I also believe that if the young generation is provided with a safe space to share their challenges and gain emotional well-being, and have support, they will feel empowered to bring social and economic changes both in their communities and throughout the country. That is why I have aimed to create that safe place for the adolescent girls.

My motto is the quote by the 5th century historian Yeghishe (aka Elishe), who said: “Give me educated and wise mothers; I will give you back an educated and wise community”. I strongly agree with this quote and the steps I am taking are helping me to secure the small changes I can bring to the future generation of Armenia. I believe that with the right support they will be able to build a community of strong, thoughtful, creative young people who are the future of Armenia. Accordingly, I hope that the future holds thousands of beautiful moments, success, and prosperity. Also, I believe that the young generation is the creator of the future that holds limitless abundance.