Arakssi Arshakian grew up in Iraq and after moving to the U.S. has remained true to her Armenian heritage. Photo by Jackalyn Elliott.
OSU alumna overcomes hardships to move forward n 1915, a 5-year-old girl fled Armenia with the help of other genocide survivors. She grew up along the border between Turkey and Iraq, married another Armenian survivor, and moved to Iraq. Years later, her granddaughter Arakssi Arshakian, now the Oklahoma State University Department of Agricultural Economics academic program coordinator, was born in Baghdad. Arshakian went to an Armenian school and was active in Armenian clubs while growing up in Iraq. “After the Armenian genocide, we see Armenians scattered all over the world,” Arshakian said. “Wherever we went, we lived the Armenian culture to make sure it continued for generations by building churches, schools and clubs.” While growing up in Iraq, Arshakian lived through two wars and an invasion.
“There were a lot of nights when we would not know if we would see the dawn,” Arshakian said. “Faith and prayers were what we clung to because there was nothing else that could help us. It is amazing how much our faith grew in those experiences.” She said she has vivid memories of living in Bagdad during the conflicts. “I remember, during the invasion, we would gather into a square with the fewest windows,” Arshakian said. “That way, if there was a blast, there would be as little shattered glass as possible. We brought our blankets and stayed in the square all night. We would sleep in the morning because the offense would start in the night. So, we would stay up all night with our Bibles and just pray and pray and pray.” Arshakian said the hardships she faced helped develop her as a person.
“We built a resilience living through wars and an invasion,” Arshakian said. “Despite the hardships, we could look at the bright side of things, focus on doing our best, and become better with the limited resources we had.” In 2008, Arshakian applied for a scholarship to get her master’s degree in the U.S. or England. She chose her major, but the scholarship program would choose the university she would attend. When she opened her acceptance notification, she said she was surprised to learn OSU was where she would spend the next few years. “I had no idea where Oklahoma was,” Arshakian said. “I had to go look it up on a map.” Arshakian graduated from OSU in 2011 with her master’s in international studies, focusing on international business and economic relations. VOLUME 21 NUMBER 2 | 61
