Arman Khachatryan (BAB ‘21) served as Head of the Rifle Ranges during the April 2016 Four-Day War, where he was promoted to “Junior Sergeant.” Born and raised in Armenia’s Ararat region, his hard work and impressive technical skills led him to this position, in addition to his responsibilities for technical and radio-electronic services. Due to his quick learning abilities and leadership skills, he received commendation for his service during the bloody conflict.
“I realized during the war that having a roof on top of your head is a luxury,” he said. “For more than three months I slept under the rain and the snow and could not imagine a day without shooting.”
Following the war, he reevaluated his life and the recognition that everyone’s days are numbered on this Earth.
“The April war was a character-defining experience for us,” said Arman. “One day you are sleeping next to your close friend and then the next day he may not be there.”
Arman is thankful to AUA’s faculty and his friends who helped him recover when he completed his military service.
“AUA helped me get my strength back and brought my interest in studying back to me,” he said, noting that a major challenge was reintegrating into the academic environment. “It was very hard to get involved on campus after being in the military for two years.”
Arman had chosen AUA in order to gain a high-quality education and to take courses that would help bring him one step closer towards his future career in business environment, particularly due to his waived tuition.
“The scholarships I received have helped me greatly in reducing the financial burden of my family and focusing on my education,” said Arman. “I will certainly never forget their generosity when I am in the position to do the same.”
When Arman graduates, he plans to create his own business in Armenia to support the economic development of the country. He is an active member of ArMat engineering laboratory’s the Union of Information Technology Enterprises (UITE) and he is interested in developing a program to involve talented disabled children in creating innovative ideas in the field of social services.
“After the Velvet Revolution, Armenia changed gears and it is in a development phase now,” said Arman. “I strongly believe that Armenia is going to flourish, but I also understand that we are the ones who have to make changes in Armenia.”
Arman is aware that his generation has to take on the “responsibility” of helping Armenia advance and the ideas they have to implement into reality to have “an important economic impact for Armenia.”
“I will always be appreciative of the generous contributions of the donors who gave us the opportunity to gain the knowledge and skills to contribute to the development of Armenia.”