The stars shone brightly in the night sky over Hollywood as the Archbp. Hovnan Derderian Scholarship Fund Committee held its fourth annual dinner celebration to a capacity crowd at Madame Tussauds in Hollywood, Friday, April 29. Under the auspices of His Eminence Archbp. Hovnan Derderian, the night was a triumph in surpassing Fund goals and celebrating its mission with the crowd of enthusiastic guests who recognized the necessity of scholarship and financial aid to assist Armenian schools in retaining student enrollment.

VIEW ALL PHOTOS FROM THE EVENT

The evening started out with a lavish cocktail reception where guests were greeted by committee members and met “stars” before being seated outdoors for an elegant dinner which was generously donated by Grand Benefactors Dr. Bedros and Dr. Karine Taglyan. Committee member Eileen Keusseyan, Esq., mistress of ceremonies, set the tone for the night emphasizing the Scholarship Fund tagline “Not One Child Is Left Behind” thanks to the generous support of donors. She expressed to the guests, “You are the stars of the night that shine brightly on our children.” She continued, “Without you, we could not have reached our goals and provided students with the opportunity to continue in our Armenian schools.”

“This year is particularly special, “said Mrs. Alice Chakrian, chairlady of the Scholarship Fund Committee, “because your growing presence encourages us to continue and reach higher in our goals. With your support, we should never again permit any Armenian school to close its doors on our students. Thanks to your generosity, this year we have outdone the previous year.”

Indeed, this year, three Armenian schools including Alfred and Marguerite Hovsepian School, AGBU Manoogian-Demirdjian School, and AGBU Vatche and Tamar Manoukian High School were presented with checks totaling $35,000 for student tuition assistance. Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Alice Chakrian, and Eileen Keusseyan presented the checks to the principals and representatives of each school.

Three alumnae from the high schools, Miss Ani Kazandjian, Miss Emma Ohanian and Miss Raquel Pareseghian, each testified to the irreplaceable experience of attending Armenian schools. One spoke of the friendships that were created which would last a lifetime, while another spoke of the special attention by teachers at the Armenian schools, and a third spoke of the guidance given to make the right choices to further their education. All three young alumnae are college students following their passion in various academic institutions of higher learning. To introduce the Alice Nazerian Educational Fund which is a branch of the Archbp. Hovnan Derderian Scholarship Fund, was her daughter Miss Nora Nazerian, who spoke from the heart expressing her joy at establishing an endowment in her mother’s honor. “My mother, the late Alice Nazerian was a member of this committee,” she said. “She believed in education of all children. On behalf of our family, I am proud to have this fund established through the Hovnan Derderian Scholarship Fund.”