After Attack on Yerevan Police Station, Investigator Raid Homes – Asbarez.com Asbarez Armenian News
Day: March 26, 2024
Community members and honorees gathered at the Consulate General of Armenia in Los Angeles to celebrate International Women’s Day on Mar. 8BY CATHERINE YESAYAN
The Consulate General of Armenia in Los Angeles, in collaboration with the Armenian International Women’s Association, on International Women’s Day organized a luncheon reception in the consulate’s backyard to honor a few deserving women.
Among the honorees was Dr. Ellie Andreassian, who volunteers as Curriculum Director and Education Council Chairperson for the Saturday Schools of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church of North America.
The information shared about Dr. Andreassian at the event prompted me to learn more about her work. I scheduled an appointment to meet with her at her home in Glendale.
Upon arriving at her residence, she greeted me outside and invited me in. The living room, where she ushered me through, had a typical Armenian setup of traditional style furnishing.
Dr. Ellie Andreassian (center left) with other honorees at the Consulate General of Armenia in Los Angeles on International Women’s dayIn a corner of her living room sat a mahogany side table, with meticulously arranged memorabilia, which caught my eyes. I inquired about the items on the table, to which she replied, “These items hold great significance for me.”
First, there was a framed photo of three joyous women in graduation garb. Dr. Andreassian explained that, on the day that photo was taken, she had received her doctorate degree. Her two daughters had also just graduated — one with a master’s degree and the other with a bachelor’s degree — making it a particularly joyous occasion.
Next, there was a framed photo of Dr. Andreassian with our renowned William Saroyan during his visit to Boston in the early 1980s.
A mahogany table with a display of memorabilia at Dr. Andreasian’s home As I continued to scan the table, I noticed there was a framed Armenian letter “է,” which symbolizes the holy presence of God in the Armenian Orthodox Church. This one, according to Dr. Andreassian. was a gift from Western Primate Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, recognizing her selfless dedication to advancing and supporting Saturday Language schools in the United States.
After sharing a cup of Armenian coffee and some pastries, our conversation began. Dr. Andreassian — Elizabeth Andreassian — was born in Baalbek, Lebanon, where her father was a well-known and respected dentist, as well as an AGBU representative in the community.
Before continuing, I’d like to share a historical fact about the repatriation movement of Armenians worldwide. In 1945, after WWII, Stalin’s decree authorized Armenians to return to their homeland, leading to significant repatriation movements from Armenian diasporan communities in countries like the United States, France, Lebanon, Iran, Syria, among others, . In just three years, between 1946 and 1949, over 100,000 Armenians resettled in Soviet Armenia.
It was Dr. Andreassian’s father’s wish to raise and educate his children in their homeland. So, her family, like many other Armenians who decided to leave everything behind in hopes of a brighter future, made their way to Armenia. At the time, she was six years old, and was subsequently raised in Yerevan.
Upon graduating from school, she married Ara Andreassian, a scientist-agronomist, who she raised two daughters with. During the early years of her marriage, Dr. Andreassian attended Brusov University of Russian and Foreign Languages in Yerevan.
After receiving her bachelor’s degree, she taught French language and literature at the same university until around 1974, when she, along with her husband and daughters, immigrated to the U.S. and settled in Rhode Island.
Initially, Dr. Andreassian worked as a Foreign Student Advisor at Johnson and Wales University in Rhode Island. Additionally, she volunteered to teach children Armenian language and culture at the Sts. Sahag & Mesrob Armenian Church’s Saturday School.
Around the same time, Dr. Andreassian also volunteered to teach Armenian history and culture at AGBU Armenian School and community in Watertown, Massachusetts. In 1977, she was hired as the principal of the AGBU in Boston, where she served until 1991. During that period, she also served as the visiting principal of Toronto’s AGBU Zaroukian school.
In 1978, Dr. Andreassian earned her master’s degree in French Literature and Art from Rhode Island College, followed by a Doctor of Education degree from Boston University in 1990.
In 1991, the Andreassian family decided to move to Los Angeles, California. There, Dr. Andreassian served as the vice principal and curriculum director of AGBU Manoogian-Demirdjian School in Canoga Park from 1991 to 2011.
For 35 years, Dr. Andreassian served as principal and vice principal of AGBU schools in Boston, Toronto, and Los Angeles.
After retiring, the Western Diocese of the Armenian church invited her to become the curriculum director of all Armenian Saturday language schools in the Western U.S.
The Western Diocese has 21 Armenian language Saturday Schools. The schools are located throughout California, in Las Vegas, Nevada, Seattle, Washington, and Portland, Oregon.
Recently, Archbishop Derderian established a partnership between all Saturday Armenian language schools, from the West to East Coast.
According to Dr. Andreassian, the curriculum is based on approved methods of teaching and guided by American standards.
Dr. Andreassian has put two years of work into creating a methodological curriculum to teach the Armenian language.
Since 2001, she has served as a Visiting Committee Member for the Western Accreditation of Schools and Colleges.
Dr. Andreassian has been awarded the Sahag Mesrob Award from Catholicos Karekin II and the Gold Medal form the Ministry of Diaspora of Armenia.
Catherine YesayanShe is a member of the AGBU, the Armenian International Women’s Association, and AGBU Hye Geen.
Catherine Yesayan is a regular contributor to Asbarez, with her columns appearing under the “Community Links” heading. She can be reached at cyesayan@gmail.com.
The Running Orders of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 Semi-Finals have been revealed over on the official Eurovision Song Contest YouTube channel.
This year, the Big 5 (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) and our Hosts (Sweden) will perform in the Semi-Finals as part of the show, even though they are already pre-qualified for the Grand Final.
Semi-Final 1
- Cyprus / Silia Kapsis – Liar
- Serbia / TEYA DORA – RAMONDA
- Lithuania / Silvester Belt – Luktelk
- Ireland / Bambie Thug – Doomsday Blue
United Kingdom / Olly Alexander – Dizzy - Ukraine / alyona alyona & Jerry Heil – Teresa & Maria
- Poland / LUNA – The Tower
- Croatia / Baby Lasagna – Rim Tim Tagi Dim
- Iceland / Hera Björk – Scared of Heights
Germany / ISAAK – Always On The Run - Slovenia / Raiven – Veronika
- Finland / Windows95man – No Rules!
- Moldova / Natalia Barbu – In The Middle
Sweden / Marcus & Martinus – Unforgettable - Azerbaijan / FAHREE feat. Ilkin Dovlatov – Özünlə Apar
- Australia / Electric Fields – One Milkali (One Blood)
- Portugal / iolanda – Grito
- Luxembourg / TALI – Fighter
Christer Björkman, Contest Producer, commented: “‘”It’s a very good year! It’s playful with high energy and very fun to work with! Above that, all participating countries have great ideas, which makes it extremely inspiring for us on the Contest team. In addition, we are so thrilled now that The Big Five and Sweden get to show themselves fully in the Semi-Finals. They are fully integrated into the shows which gives them the chance to grow into the Grand Final.”
Semi-Final 2
- Malta / Sarah Bonnici – Loop
- Albania / BESA – TITAN
- Greece / Marina Satti – ZARI
- Switzerland / Nemo – The Code
- Czechia / Aiko – Pedestal
France / Slimane – Mon amour - Austria / Kaleen – We Will Rave
- Denmark / SABA – SAND
- Armenia / LADANIVA – Jako
- Latvia / Dons – Hollo
Spain / Nebulossa – ZORRA - San Marino / MEGARA – 11:11
- Georgia / Nutsa Buzaladze – Firefighter
- Belgium / Mustii – Before The Party’s Over
- Estonia / 5MIINUST x Puuluup – (nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me (küll) midagi
- Italy / Angelina Mango – La Noia
- Israel / Eden Golan – Hurricane
- Norway / Gåte – Ulveham
- Netherlands / Joost Klein – Europapa
The English-language daily Chinese newspaper Global Times has published an article headlined “Gold standard friendship” featuring an interview with Assistant to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Head of Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration Hikmet Hajiyev, Azernews reports.
.@FBI on collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in #Baltimore
“There is no specific & credible information to suggest any ties to terrorism at this time” per @FBIBaltimore
“The investigation is ongoing…”
— Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) March 26, 2024