PRIZES PRESENTED AT EDWARD BOYAJIAN SCHOOL IN YEREVAN
Dr. Vartan Matiossian, Executive Director of the Prelacy, on Wednesday, June 19, presented the prizes to the three best students and teacher at Elementary School 121 in Yerevan, renamed after Armenian-Lebanese writer Edward Boyajian in the early years of Armenia’s independence.
The prize has been instituted by Hrair Boyajian and his wife Margaret (who passed away in February) to honor the memory of his father. They have provided for various needs of the school through the Eastern Prelacy and the St. Nerses the Great Charitable Organization following the renaming of the school in 1994.
It was on the initiative of Mr. Boyajian that an annual prize for the three best students in Armenian subjects was established at the school, with a student body of 470. The award was recently extended to include the best teacher in those subjects.
During his visit to the school, accompanied by Tigran Galstyan, Executive Director of the St. Nerses the Great Charitable and Social Organization, Dr. Matiossian met with Principal Gohar Zakaryan and teachers. He also visited different sections of the school, discussing educational and logistical issues.
Afterwards, the visitors, school staff, and prizewinning students and teacher gathered at the principal’s office. Dr. Matiossian presented the certificates and prizes to students Elena Torosyan, Mery Vardanyan, and Maryam Mamunts, and to Ruzanna Gharibyan, teacher of Armenian language and literature. In brief remarks, he congratulated the students for their dedication and encouraged them to continue their efforts to become our best hope for tomorrow. He also praised the work of Ms. Gharibyan to guide the students in their learning of Armenian subjects.
Edward Boyajian (1915-1966) was an important name in the Armenian Diaspora literature, who had been banned during the Soviet regime. A bust made by Armenian Canadian sculptor Hagop Janbazian was recently placed at the school, which also hosts a small museum dedicated to the writer.