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This young woman should be an inspiration to us all and hope for the Hye Tad. Please, let's encourage other young Armenians to follow in her footsteps!
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Kara Marston (Setian) Bright Star for Armenian Cause
Source: The Armenian Weekly
I am here to bring you hope and good news. Hope in the likes of Kara Marston. “Who is Kara Marston?” you ask. Well, this 20-year-old beauty popped up on the radar screen because of her cousin, Weekly reader Gary Setian of Longmeadow, Mass. His enthusiasm for this “born-again Armenian” is contagious. We are attempting to unlock the mystery of how someone (Kara) who was not brought up in a typical Armenian environment became so passionate about her roots.
Kara is an anomaly. In Armenian, this is called anpunaganoutiun. She is totally imbued with the Armenian Spirit and amazingly enough, she relishes every bit of it. Did her Moush and Sepastia bloodlines make her this way?
Both smart and beautiful, Kara is the daughter of John and Jude (Setian) Marston of Potomac, Md., and the granddaughter of Zadig (Indian Orchard, Mass.) and former Detroiter Lucille Setian. Marston is a graduate (3.7 GPA, early general business major) of the University of Maryland and is currently for the National Geographic. An older sister Natalie, too, shares Kara’s interest in her ancestry. Kara was quite appropriately baptized “Anoush” at Soorp Khatch Church in Bethesda and now attends St. Mary’s Armenian Church in D.C. every Sunday, which she has found to be a great way to get involved in the Armenian community.
“I did not grow up in the Armenian community. Instead I constantly found ways to learn about my roots on my own and eventually followed my life-long dream of volunteering in Haiastan. I know my grandfather Zad longs to go to Armenia. You would be pleasantly surprised by the number of young Armenian-Americans who have returned to the homeland,” she says.
Kara mentions meeting Arsineh Khachikian there, author of My Nation: The Trails and Trials of An Armenian Repatriate, which comes out in May. Her allies are many.
Kara’s mother did not grow up in the AYF because her father Zad was in the military and the family moved 14 times during his career. She did stress the Armenian part of Kara’s lineage and trips to Boston were frequent for family reunions. Kara is equally loving and close to her father’s side of the family. Her dad is very supportive of her interest in her Armenian heritage. Kara says, “He’s a good odar. Early on he bought us the book Facing History in Ourselves: The Genocide of the Armenians.
Her parents were elated when at the age of 13 Kara won first place for a 10-minute school-project documentary titled, “The Technologies Used to Rebuild Armenia After the 1988 Earthquake.” She won the preliminary round of the 1999 National History Day competition. She has interned at the Discovery Channel and now does marketing for the National Geographic Magazine website. She presently has no career passion but knows she loves care-taking and “just wants to be involved in the Armenian community.”
She started teaching Armenian reading and writing to herself, and once a week had the benefit of a Turkish-born Armenian tutor. Her short note to me accompanying an Armenchik CD was written in Armenian. Bravo, Kara.
She studied in Italy in the fall of 2006 and observed how strong the bonds were among the Italians; this intensified her own yearning for Armenia. This close affinity to her roots, which she describes as “a burning passion inside,” drove her to Armenia during the summer of 2007 where she volunteered as a marketer for a media company called Bars Media in Yerevan. This experience unknowingly earned her college credit hours.
“It is always surprising to see the types of people who are drawn to our cause. Armenia is truly beautiful. I have a strong love for the motherland and hope that more Armenians my age make their way there. Changes in Armenia will be made slowly. Now is the time for my generation to go there and start businesses. I would love to do that myself. Being at the Genocide Museum provoked such emotion in me. Armenia has so many
beautiful things to bind us together—art, music, the country, it’s simply beautiful.” She says once we get passed the hurdle of the genocide, we can move forward.
The youth are hopeful. Alex, 25, from Maryland is building apartments there. Srad from London is building a paint factory. Raffi Kojian, the creator of Armeniapedia.com, currently lives in Yerevan. “There is no way I could marry a non-Armenian,” says Kara. “I want to teach my kids Armenian and keep it in their lives. So many cultures get lost. I’m pretty nationalisitic,” the dark-eyed beauty emphasizes. “There is so much potential and our culture should be embraced. Armenia is really on the rise.”
Grandfather Zad and wife Lu were former AYFers. Setian chimes in: “Kara is one in a million and a role model for the new generation of Armenians. My wife Lucille and I feel there must be a genetic hand-me-down phenomenon that accounts for her love of the Armenian language, culture, and religious history. Maybe our Armenian-ness in the music, food, and hospitality department made a more serious impression on Kara. We continue to be amazed at her enthusiasm and energy in the pursuit of our ancient culture and language. She is a self-starter.”
Perhaps Kara already recognizes the secret of where hope lies, within the many of us who are not 100 percent Armenian. We should not turn our face from them; instead we need to cultivate, embrace, and encourage them to come aboard. We have been at great fault in this matter. “Even if someone is one quarter Armenian, the Armenian spirit is there. Awaken it and just leave your mark some way,” Kara says. And there is no doubt she is fast becoming a rising star on the horizon of future Armenian leadership. Remember the name, Kara Marston.
I’m not waiting, I’m saying it now: “I told you so!”
************************************
Kara Marston (Setian) Bright Star for Armenian Cause
Source: The Armenian Weekly
I am here to bring you hope and good news. Hope in the likes of Kara Marston. “Who is Kara Marston?” you ask. Well, this 20-year-old beauty popped up on the radar screen because of her cousin, Weekly reader Gary Setian of Longmeadow, Mass. His enthusiasm for this “born-again Armenian” is contagious. We are attempting to unlock the mystery of how someone (Kara) who was not brought up in a typical Armenian environment became so passionate about her roots.
Kara is an anomaly. In Armenian, this is called anpunaganoutiun. She is totally imbued with the Armenian Spirit and amazingly enough, she relishes every bit of it. Did her Moush and Sepastia bloodlines make her this way?
Both smart and beautiful, Kara is the daughter of John and Jude (Setian) Marston of Potomac, Md., and the granddaughter of Zadig (Indian Orchard, Mass.) and former Detroiter Lucille Setian. Marston is a graduate (3.7 GPA, early general business major) of the University of Maryland and is currently for the National Geographic. An older sister Natalie, too, shares Kara’s interest in her ancestry. Kara was quite appropriately baptized “Anoush” at Soorp Khatch Church in Bethesda and now attends St. Mary’s Armenian Church in D.C. every Sunday, which she has found to be a great way to get involved in the Armenian community.
“I did not grow up in the Armenian community. Instead I constantly found ways to learn about my roots on my own and eventually followed my life-long dream of volunteering in Haiastan. I know my grandfather Zad longs to go to Armenia. You would be pleasantly surprised by the number of young Armenian-Americans who have returned to the homeland,” she says.
Kara mentions meeting Arsineh Khachikian there, author of My Nation: The Trails and Trials of An Armenian Repatriate, which comes out in May. Her allies are many.
Kara’s mother did not grow up in the AYF because her father Zad was in the military and the family moved 14 times during his career. She did stress the Armenian part of Kara’s lineage and trips to Boston were frequent for family reunions. Kara is equally loving and close to her father’s side of the family. Her dad is very supportive of her interest in her Armenian heritage. Kara says, “He’s a good odar. Early on he bought us the book Facing History in Ourselves: The Genocide of the Armenians.
Her parents were elated when at the age of 13 Kara won first place for a 10-minute school-project documentary titled, “The Technologies Used to Rebuild Armenia After the 1988 Earthquake.” She won the preliminary round of the 1999 National History Day competition. She has interned at the Discovery Channel and now does marketing for the National Geographic Magazine website. She presently has no career passion but knows she loves care-taking and “just wants to be involved in the Armenian community.”
She started teaching Armenian reading and writing to herself, and once a week had the benefit of a Turkish-born Armenian tutor. Her short note to me accompanying an Armenchik CD was written in Armenian. Bravo, Kara.
She studied in Italy in the fall of 2006 and observed how strong the bonds were among the Italians; this intensified her own yearning for Armenia. This close affinity to her roots, which she describes as “a burning passion inside,” drove her to Armenia during the summer of 2007 where she volunteered as a marketer for a media company called Bars Media in Yerevan. This experience unknowingly earned her college credit hours.
“It is always surprising to see the types of people who are drawn to our cause. Armenia is truly beautiful. I have a strong love for the motherland and hope that more Armenians my age make their way there. Changes in Armenia will be made slowly. Now is the time for my generation to go there and start businesses. I would love to do that myself. Being at the Genocide Museum provoked such emotion in me. Armenia has so many
beautiful things to bind us together—art, music, the country, it’s simply beautiful.” She says once we get passed the hurdle of the genocide, we can move forward.
The youth are hopeful. Alex, 25, from Maryland is building apartments there. Srad from London is building a paint factory. Raffi Kojian, the creator of Armeniapedia.com, currently lives in Yerevan. “There is no way I could marry a non-Armenian,” says Kara. “I want to teach my kids Armenian and keep it in their lives. So many cultures get lost. I’m pretty nationalisitic,” the dark-eyed beauty emphasizes. “There is so much potential and our culture should be embraced. Armenia is really on the rise.”
Grandfather Zad and wife Lu were former AYFers. Setian chimes in: “Kara is one in a million and a role model for the new generation of Armenians. My wife Lucille and I feel there must be a genetic hand-me-down phenomenon that accounts for her love of the Armenian language, culture, and religious history. Maybe our Armenian-ness in the music, food, and hospitality department made a more serious impression on Kara. We continue to be amazed at her enthusiasm and energy in the pursuit of our ancient culture and language. She is a self-starter.”
Perhaps Kara already recognizes the secret of where hope lies, within the many of us who are not 100 percent Armenian. We should not turn our face from them; instead we need to cultivate, embrace, and encourage them to come aboard. We have been at great fault in this matter. “Even if someone is one quarter Armenian, the Armenian spirit is there. Awaken it and just leave your mark some way,” Kara says. And there is no doubt she is fast becoming a rising star on the horizon of future Armenian leadership. Remember the name, Kara Marston.
I’m not waiting, I’m saying it now: “I told you so!”
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