AVC alumnus Ara Ishanyan was born and raised in an Armenian household in New York City. As a kid, Ara struggled with  learning Armenian, despite his parents’ eager efforts. Things, however, were about to change in a few years…

During young adulthood, he slowly became more and more involved in the Armenian community and, later, it was after his first visit to Armenia together with his family that he realized that it was time to learn his ancestral language. A quick research brought him to the online courses at AVC where he started his learning journey by taking the Western Armenian classes.

“In March 2022, I finished the entire Western Armenian program of study at AVC. It was the most amazing journey,” he says. “Now, when I travel to California for business, I spend time with my family there and speak Armenian for hours at a time!”

Pledging to speak only Armenian on his next visit to Armenia, Ara has now also become an advocate for AVC to those who want to learn the language, “Anyone who finishes the program will fully appreciate the Armenian language, AVC, and all the people that make it so special.”
 

Watch a presentation, prepared by Ara, as he unfolds the personal story of his language-learning journey.

Click here to watch it as a video.