ANDY ZANAZANIAN
Bachelor of Arts in economics
Cal State L.A. student Andy Zanazanian will be enrolling in the Ph.D. program at UC Irvine in the fall. For Andy, the Feb. 14, 2015, news of his acceptance was the culmination of three years of focusing on his academics.
“I had worked so hard,” he says.
In all, Andy applied to 29 Ph.D. programs. He waited patiently as the responses arrived. After some acceptances and some rejections, he gave a lot of thought about the next chapter in his academic career.
“I decided that Irvine was the best option for me,” Andy says, “and I accepted my offer to enter into their program.”
Andy credits a number of Cal State L.A. faculty mentors and an alumnus with helping him succeed. Professors Dang Tran and Ramon Castillo in the College of Business and Economics were instrumental in providing support.
In 2011, Andy was an intern at the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation. During that period he met Myasnik Poghosyan, an alumnus of the University’s Department of Economics who is now a lecturer in the department. He became a valued mentor. “He has mentored and motivated me while I worked toward getting into a Ph.D. program,” Andy says.
Classes at UC Irvine begin in August. Andy realizes that his course load will be a challenge unlike anything he has experienced previously in the classroom.
“I anticipate feeling unprepared, anxious, and even hopeless at times,” he says. “However, I am very excited to take on this new challenge for I know that achieving great things requires persistence and patience.”
Andy is proud of all that he has achieved at Cal State L.A., and he knows that many challenges lie ahead. “I also know that being admitted into graduate school is not the ultimate destination, but rather a part on the journey toward a life devoted to academia,” he says.