Why Do AUA Alumni Give Back to AUA?

2 min read

YEREVAN, Armenia – Alumnus of the American University of Armenia (AUA) Petros Keshishyan (Earthquake Engineering ’93), currently living in the United States, recently took the time out of a short visit to Armenia to give back to AUA by hosting a seminar entitled “Catastrophic Risk Modeling – Basic Principles” at AUA’s College of Science and Engineering (CSE) and by hosting a Dinner with Six Strangers event. In this interview with the AUA Office of Alumni Relations and Career Development, he shares what AUA has meant to him.

Why is it important for you to maintain a connection with AUA?

I think the importance of maintaining a connection with AUA comes from the feeling of being a part of the greater AUA community. I think it is important that every student graduating from AUA leaves with a sense of ownership, which in turn gives rise to a feeling of responsibility.

Why did you decided to host a Dinner with Six Strangers event?

The success of every university is measured by the success of its graduates. One of the contributors to the success of the graduates is taking advantage of the experience and connections of past alumni. I hope the Dinner with Six Strangers program will become one of the platforms that connects professionally established alumni with current students and recent graduates. This connection is very important to ease the success of new alumni. The Dinner with Six Strangers program would not succeed if we didn’t nurture the sense of ownership and the feeling of responsibility towards AUA in graduating students.

How has your AUA education contributed to your professional success?

AUA has opened the door for me to pursue a Ph.D. degree at UC Berkeley. Professional success has followed suit.

What is your favorite memory from your time as an AUA student?

My favorite memories are connected with the late evening hours that we spent at AUA. We were enriching our minds and souls while having great time and building friendships that stand strong even after 20 years. By the way, several of these friendships ended up in marriages (including mine).

The mission of the AUA Office of Alumni Relations and Career Development is to develop, coordinate and promote programs for our alumni to keep them connected and involved with the AUA and one another, and to create a culture of philanthropy by encouraging alumni to contribute their time, talent, and resources to the advancement of the University.

The career development function of the Office of Alumni Relations and Career Development is to contribute to career achievements of AUA graduates through enhancing their job finding skills. Additionally, to provide job placement services to students/alumni and develop strong and tangible links between employers and the university, to allow for the Office of Alumni Relations and Career Development to support and assist students and alumni in their professional development.

 

Petros Keshishyan (Earthquake Engineering ’93) with graduate and undergraduate students at the Dinner with Six Strangers event.