the principal a donation of several
hundred thousand dollars, I advised
him to never send any student away
for lack of money, because one never
knew what that student might be-
come in the future. He or she could
be a brilliant doctor, a good diplomat,
or someone who ends up working for
a billionaire benefactor who would
make a major donation to the school.
While in Lebanon, I visited Ms.
Balian. She had retired from teach-
ing long ago and lived in an apart-
ment by herself outside Beirut. She
was as thrilled to see me as I was to
see her. I was finally able to thank her
for her generosity all those years ago,
but she did not want to hear about it
and humbly changed the subject. I of-
fered to assist her in any way possible,
including financial help or special
recognition for her many decades of
educating young Armenians. She de-
clined all offers.
While this story is about Ms. Olivia
Balian, who passed away in 2017, it is
also a testimony that one person can
make a great difference in the lives of
others. Without her timely assistance,
giving me the unique opportunity to
study English, I probably would have
never come to the United States and
would not have ended up as the pub-
lisher of an English newspaper, the
California Courier. I probably would
have spent the rest of my life repair-
ing tires at my father’s shop in Beirut.
california courier (october 17, 2017),
copyright © 2017 by the california courier,
thecaliforniacourier.com.
BIG DAYS
ARE RIPE
WITH
POTENTIAL©(^20)
(^18)
(^) K
ello
gg
(^) NA
(^) Co
.