We are thrilled to be supporting four Armenian students who have joined the Math Honors Program with University of California Irvine, launched for the first time to encourage undergraduate students to pursue the program that challenges their math abilities and prepares them for postgraduate life and career. The sponsorship was made possible through the joint efforts of our Yervant Terzian Armenian National Science and Education Fund (ANSEF) and the Armenian Society of Fellows (ASOF).
Four talented math students, Hayk Karapetyan, Vahagn Hovhannisyan, Vahram Asatryan, and Erik Babasyan, have received “Fellowships of Encouragement” to participate in the program. This is their second semester in the program.
Taught online, the program is led by Armenian-American professors in the U.S. who wanted to help the land of their roots following the Artsakh War of 2020. Teaching assistants based in Armenia help guide program participants with their coursework and help them prepare for exams.
“This is one of the rare programs that I find challenging, difficult, and very exciting,” said Erik Babasyan, a freshman at Yerevan State University. Math, he said, has changed his life. It has improved his logic skills and made him more disciplined, clever, and analytical. “Mathematics sharpens your mind, makes your life more colorful, and it urges you to find new values in life and community.”
Aram Budaghyan, 22, is one of the TAs. He says UC Irvine’s program gives students the opportunity to dig deeper into this subject, through coursework that covers everything from algebra to geometry, topology, and probability. Students find it very challenging and interesting, he said.
“We had around 50 applicants at first, but very few people could finish the first phase and pass the exams successfully,” he said. “They decided to teach math to students because young talents here are often reluctant to use their abilities and“brain potential” effectively, while this program gives them the chance to do that.”
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