University education across the generations

by Tom Vartabedian

Published: Wednesday November 10, 2010

Daghlian family includes three generations of Merrimack College graduates.

Mark Gavoor and son Aram are both University of Michigan graduates.

Haverhill, Mass. - As proud and conscientious Armenians, we have understood the values of a sound education.

It begins when your immigrant parents sent you to a college and ends when you send your children there.

In many cases, they wind up attending the same university --- and seem to have become all the better and wiser for it.

With the Daghlians of North Andover (MA), it all began with a priest. When Rev. Arshag Daghlian was assigned to pastor St. Gregory Church in 1970, he enrolled at Merrimack College, preparing for his masters in Theology. Two decades later, he graduated summa cum laude from Trinity College.

Merrimack made such an impression upon the cleric, he wound up sending all five of his children there.

Sonia graduated summa cum laude in '78 from the School of Nursing and is a registered nurse in the intensive care unit of Lawrence General Hospital.

Nora secured her degree in Civil Engineering three years later and served as president of the American Society of Civil Engineers, receiving the Howe Walker Award for Excellence.

Aida wound up with her degree in English in 1984 before suffering an impromptu death as a young mother.

Two years later, John secured his degree in Civil Engineering, served as president of the American Society of Civil Engineers and, like his sister Nora, was also honored with the Howe Walker Award for Excellence. He now works as an associate city engineer in Newton.

Last on the Daghlian list was Houry who graduated as a dual major in 1989 with degrees in Art History and Chemistry. She currently works at Rite Aid Pharmacy.

It was only fitting that a third generation would follow suit when Nora (Sarajian) watched her son Ara graduate from Merrimack this year with a degree in Business Management. Ara is currently pursuing a career in Sports Marketing while participating in the Capitol Gateway Program with the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) in Washington, DC.

As president of the Student Government Association, he got to lead the 2009 Academic Convocation. There was never any doubt Merrimack would be his college. A photo of him as a 12-month-old appeared in a college bulletin under the banner headline --- "From Dreams to Reality."

"I chose Merrimack because the school was very personal to my family," said Sarajian. "My aunts and uncles, my grandfather, attended there. It had an idyllic history, not to mention my grandmother's cooking and the fact this school was literally in their back yard. They sold the school to me. You could tell they were passionate about the place."

Prior to being ordained in his early 40s, Rev. Daghlian worked as a machinist in Lebanon. The fact he went on toward priesthood and secured a master's degree summa cum laude at such an advanced age proved an incentive for his family.

The day his grandson graduated from his alma mater was bittersweet. Though he was confined to him home with illness, and didn't attend the commencement, he did get to offer his congratulations later that day.

"I could always tell my grandfather loved the school and was very proud that I, too, would be attending there," Sarajian pointed out. "This meant a lot to me and I loved being close to all of them. I would enjoy dinner with them twice a week and update my grandfather on Merrimack. The dialogue was always positive."

Being elected student government president proved a revelation to the Daghlian-Sarajian family. Under Ara's reign, the association passed a referendum that added an additional $175,000 to the student government budget. This led to creating a full club sports program, the addition of a big name band to the spring concert itinerary, and adding all sorts of other student activities to the campus.

"Many people go to big schools, famous schools with name recognition," said his mom Nora. "My father aced every course he ever took since childhood. For himself, my siblings and nephew, Merrimack was the perfect fit. Many of our professors became our good friends over the years."

When Shant Chebookjian was discharged from the military after serving World War 2, he attended Dartmouth College on a GI Bill. He majored in Mathematics, worked a year at a textile company before a long career at Polaroid. An early retirement in the late 1980s gave him an opportunity to open his own travel business.

Along came son Richard and there was no second-guessing. After a star-studded academic and football career at Waltham High, he was a top recruit for this prestigious Ivy League college nestled in the foothills of New Hampshire.

Richard graduated in 1975, worked a couple years for Polaroid before heading off to Harvard Business School (Class of '79). He now works as an independent investment advisor in Pennsylvania and spends his free time coaching the Philadelphia AYF to Olympic titles.

Latest to enter Dartmouth this year was his niece Anoush Arakelian of Bedford (MA) --- his sister Sema's daughter and Shant's grandchild.

For all of this, the lineage represents a Dartmouth tradition. Anoush's entrance had been predetermined well in advance.

"The day she was born in 1992, Shant sent an announcement to the Dean of Admissions at Dartmouth informing him of his granddaughter's birth and interest of having her attend there when the time came," Sema revealed. "We framed their response. The school indicated they would keep her information on file and send her the application forms at an appropriate time."

Eighteen years later, Anoush applied for admission and was accepted after building up an impressive resume at Bedford High where she was inducted into the National Honor Society and co-captained both the cross country and tennis teams.

Who gave her the all-inclusive Dartmouth tour but Uncle Richard, joined by his mom Rosanne.

"He promised himself not to influence her decision," added Sema. "I remember getting a call from him saying Anoush not only loved the school but would apply early admission. On decision day, she learned of her fate via the internet. Richard was ‘skyped' in at the time so we could all share the moment with her. I'm not sure who was more excited, my daughter, my mother, or my brother."