The Ghazaryan Family Legacy at AUA

4 min read

As the vice president of operations of the American University of Armenia, Ashot Ghazaryan knows firsthand the impact and importance of scholarship support at the University. Thus, with his wife Anahit and extended members of his family, he established the Father Movses and Garoun Ghazaryan Memorial Scholarship Fund in 2022 in memory of his parents. 

Ghazaryan’s parents were born in Syria — his father, Movses, in Musa Dagh, and his mother, Garoun, in Kessab. They both later repatriated to Armenia, where they met, and got married in 1954. Movses attended the Jerusalem Theological Seminary and afterwards the Etchmiadzin Theological Seminary. Before being ordained into the priesthood in 1978, he was an English teacher in Yerevan. 

Father Movses served his community as a clergy member at the Geghard Monastery. He also published a number of articles and books on theology, his personal research, autobiography, and memories of his father from the Armenian Genocide. His legacy also exists in the Musaler Union, where he played an instrumental role in founding and naming the Musaler village located in the Armavir Province of Armenia after Musa Ler, the site of Armenian resistance in 1915. 

Ghazaryan’s mother Garoun was also an English teacher in Tatev, and after moving to Yerevan, she became the director of a regional library in Shahumyan district. Ghazaryan fondly remembers growing up in an environment surrounded by books, “All my childhood was spent in the library. Before school, I would go to the library, read, and spend my time there. It was a privilege to be able to choose which books to read because back in Soviet times, there were many restrictions.” 

Both Father Movses and Garoun highly valued education, and passed that appreciation to their children. All five of their children graduated from different universities, at a time when institutions of higher education were very competitive and inaccessible to many. Ghazaryan highlights the sacrifices his parents made for their children to be able to receive higher education, “Every day, my mother would take me to school on a tram. It took exactly 21 stops to school and back. It wasn’t easy, but it was worth it; I had the opportunity to go to an English school,” he says. 

Father Movses lived by the constant desire to learn. Already fluent in multiple languages, he started learning French when he was 89 years old. “Even after 25 years of retirement, he would sit at his desk and start reading, writing, and translating. When he was writing his books, he would ask his grandchildren to type. But it was a lot of work, so eventually, he learned to type and work on the computer at the age 80,” Ghazaryan recalls. 

His father’s guidance had a direct impact on the path Ghazaryan pursued and the choices he made. He recounts various stories of trying to stray from the academic path, but being reeled back in by his father. During one formative point in his young adult life when he was active in music and leading a successful rock band, he was hired by the son of Arno Babajanyan, Araik Babajanyan, to play bass guitar in his band. “I was very happy about it and was ready to quit my education and go on a tour with him. It was a very critical period in my life — I could have quit and lost everything I’d worked for. Maybe my music career would have been successful, but it was a different path. My father convinced me to stay committed to my education, and ultimately, I did, which eventually led me to the career that I have today,” Ghazaryan remarks.

The positive impact Father Movses and Garoun Ghazaryan had extends beyond their children — they were also very generous to friends and family, as well as the community. In many ways, they led by example, helping those in need. “If my father had money and someone in the family needed something, he would give part of it to them. He preferred to live a simple life  if it meant helping someone else. Same with my mother, she could never enjoy anything just by herself and was always thinking of those in need,” comments Ghazaryan. This impact led the Ghazaryan family to establish the Father Movses and Garoun Ghazaryan Memorial Scholarship Fund in memory of their parents. Extended family and also friends contributed to the fund. Ghazaryan expressed his special thanks to longtime family friend Christine Simone for her significant donation to the Fund. “We want to continue working toward the goal of increasing the funds for this scholarship so that our parents’ memories live on forever through the lasting gift of education,” Ghazaryan affirms.

The scholarship fund will target students who repatriated to Armenia from Syria. “Both repatriates, my parents received support from others to readjust and build a new life in their homeland. This is how they were influenced in their ideology to always lend a helping hand,” Ghazaryan says, adding that the established legacy at AUA is rewarding for him and his family. He also elaborates on how the culture and attitude toward philanthropy is changing in Armenia, but still has a long way to go. “AUA students have access to the University thanks toAUA’s donors, even if some of them are not directly scholarship recipients. As a community, we need to instill the values of giving back so our students are motivated and encouraged to make a contribution themselves one day after they have graduated and gone to build their successful careers,” Ghazaryan concludes.

To learn more about the AUA Scholarship program, visit: https://scholarships.aua.am.

Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia, and affiliated with the University of California. AUA provides a global education in Armenia and the region, offering high-quality graduate and undergraduate studies, encouraging civic engagement, and promoting public service and democratic values. For more information about AUA and its donor opportunities, please visit philanthropy.aua.am.