AEBU Southern California Chapter grants these annual scholarships to undergraduate students of Armenian descent who are enrolled at accredited four-year universities across the U.S. This year, the scholarship was also made available to Armenian students studying in Lebanon and Armenia.
The new U.S. scholars received the awards Sunday, Aug. 14, during a benefit brunch held at the AEBU center in Pasadena, where AEBU scholarship donors and friends and family members of the recipients were present. Those in Armenia and Lebanon will receive the awards in separate events in their countries.
The recipients include Maral Gurgenian of Los Angeles, Gregory Mazmanian of Sierra Madre, Karina Messerlian of Fresno, Edgar Sahakian from North Hills, and Macyn Topoozian from Fresno.
In Armenia, Arousiak Seropyan and Misak Kouyoumjian, both from Yerevan, were chosen as the new AEBU scholars for 2022-2023.
Gassia Norshahian from Bourj Hammoud in Lebanon and Karine Tankian from Beirut were selected as scholars.
Before the awarding ceremonies, a large pool of highly qualified candidates in the U.S. and overseas sent applications to the AEBU Scholarship Fund Committee, which reviewed these in a “rewarding but very challenging” selection process, an AEBU statement said.
At the event, Dr. Gagik Melikyan, Professor of Chemistry at the California State University of Northridge, delivered the keynote speech where he shared his insights about the Armenian presence in scientific international communities, and the social/political impact that Armenians can have through scientific work and research.
The program included a brief history of the mission of the AEBU in general and the Scholarship Fund in particular. It also featured a violin performance by Dikran Melikian, a promising young artist who played Minuets 1 and 2 from “Partita No. 3” by Bach.
Dr. Linda Guergerian-Meguerditchain also gave a recital of an Armenian poem, “Dariners” (My Years) by Hamo Sahian.
The Armenian Educational Benevolent Union is a California-based charitable organization. For more information and to donate, visit www.aebu.org.