My students at AUA, were a complete delight to instruct. They were extremely eager to learn; they asked fabulous questions; and tended to have a need to synthesize and summarize parts of lecture, in order to make sure they understand. Almost half of the students had a few years of work experience. Some had their own business in Yerevan, and were pursuing an MBA to gain further knowledge. Others had degrees in Computer Science or Engineering and were pursuing a minor in Management, with aims of starting their own company in Armenia. I had a young gal from China in one of my classes, who moved to Armenia to attend AUA, in hopes of establishing business/economic ties between China-Armenia. This young gal received many big applauds from her colleagues :) on the first day of class.

Many experiences fed into my love of teaching in Armenia, and the joy and anticipation of entering into class, multiple times a week. For me, the most prized moments of class time were when students did not understand an English word, requiring me to put in extra effort to explain a concept, using only English (I only spoke Armenian with students outside of class, if necessary). After multiple attempts in explaining a concept/word, eventually half the class would understand and begin translating the concept/word into Armenian, for students who were still struggling to understand. My favorite example took place during a lecture on work teams and groups; the concept of “social loafing” (the tendency for individuals to expend less energy when working collectively than when working individually) led to the translation “gulkhits batsel.” It is not just the prized feeling of hearing familiar American concepts translated into Armenian, but also seeing the effort expended by students to assist one another, that put an instant huge smile on my face with shivers of goose bumps.

All were remarkable and bright students, with great passion in advancing Armenia!

At the end of the semester, I and another professor were invited by our lovely students for a one day social outing to Tsakhkatsor.