By Dan Lathey 

LAREDO, Texas - In the face of a challenging future for elementary and secondary education, former Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) basketball athlete Stella Ghazarian is on a mission to help students in need by becoming a school psychologist. Ghazarian, who earned her Bachelor's in Psychology from TAMIU in 2015, is currently a graduate student who will be receiving her Master of Arts in Counseling, School Psychology from California State University, Northridge (CSUN) in the Summer of 2021.
 
A Southern California native of Armenian heritage, Ghazarian played two seasons for the Dustdevils (2013-15) after transferring from Pasadena City College, where she was a two-time team captain. She was a key member of TAMIU's first Heartland Conference Championship team during the 2013-14 season and started in all 26 games as a senior in 2014-15.
 
Ghazarian says she has many great memories of her playing career at TAMIU and that she and her teammates were a family that did everything together. She credits then-head coach Michelle Bento-Jackson with making her time as a Dustdevil a memorable experience that she will never forget.
 
"I had several scholarship offers, but what differentiated TAMIU for me was Coach Bento's passion, patience, and support for her players," Ghazarian began. "She has been a wonderful mentor in my life and has shaped me to become the strong woman I am today. In addition to that, TAMIU offered my major and I had incredible academic support from my professors."
 
Bento-Jackson has fond memories of coaching Ghazarian and says that she was a joy to have on the team, and her balance between working hard and having fun was a great example for her teammates.
 
"One thing I loved about Stella was she was fearless," Bento-Jackson said, "She brought a mental toughness to our team that was infectious and was extremely important in our success.  Stella was a part of us making history at TAMIU, and winning the 2013-14 regular season championship will always hold a special place in all of our hearts."
 
Ghazarian missed her TAMIU graduation ceremony in 2015 to participate in the women's basketball tournament at the Pan-Armenian Games in Yerevan, Armenia, where her team took home the Gold Medal.
 
Emboldened by a sense of service, Ghazarian returned to Armenia in the fall of 2016 to complete a four-month internship for the International Child Development Center (ICDC). She gained valuable experience during that internship shadowing clinical psychologists and doctors and serving as a behavioral and music therapist (she plays both piano and ukulele).
 
Volunteer service in her birthright country had a profound effect on Ghazarian. She says among the many lessons that she learned in experiencing Armenian culture firsthand were the value of patience, the importance of family and togetherness and the exploration of healthier and more balanced responses to the difficulties she has encountered in the past, along with future adversities she will face.
 
Over the last five years, Ghazarian has gained vast experience in a variety of professional developmental roles. She has served as a Psychiatric Medical Assistant, a volunteer assisting LGBTQ youth who experience homelessness in Los Angeles, a 1:1 developmental behavioral interventionist for students with disabilities and an After School Private Tutor for students in the K-8th school setting. 
 
Ghazarian recently expounded on a variety of topics, ranging from her experience as an intern in Armenia to her professional aspirations, to share with Dustdevil fans everywhere:
 
Question: How did your internship in Armenia change your perspective on life?
Answer: Though it is difficult to quantify the impact volunteering in my own home country had on me, I would like to share a few specific things that it gave me. Regardless if I was in the city or the villages outside of Yerevan, after integrating myself in the lives of local families, I learned the true value of patience. Whether it was waiting for my clothes to air dry after washing, (which took approximately two days to dry from wash date), to the cashier who decided to have a life catch-up session with the person in front of me, to the waiter who took my order incorrectly, or even having to wait for the next marshrutka (an Armenian share taxi) because it was already too full, I realized that sooner or later, I would get it. I learned that this was an opportunity for me to make adjustments towards the changes that I was experiencing.
The villages showed me the importance of family and togetherness. For them, eating is an activity people do together, a time to sit with the people who you love, to share food and to converse, in a leisurely manner. For me, this concept was foreign, especially because it is not something that is custom within my family. Eating has always been a rush for me, trying to get as much food as I can get down my throat in the short 30 minutes I had during my lunch breaks. In LA, I feel like I am always in a rush; a rush to get to work, then a rush to get to school after work, and then rush back home to get studying in, and still manage to get some sleep, so that I can do the same thing all over again the next day. However, being there helped me see that I am in control, and that I can make time for the things that I enjoy.
During my walks in Yerevan, it was easier to feel, connect, and appreciate my feelings and emotions. Walking for me became meditative because I began to appreciate the smaller things in life: feeling the breeze on my face, staring at the clouds, taking a moment to smell the flowers at the flower stands, and observing the beauty of the fruits at the corner of the streets. In those moments of relaxation, it was a lot easier for me to reflect on my life. I noticed how I had dealt with the pain in my life by keeping so busy that I never truly appreciated many of the simpler elements in life.  Volunteering there gave me the chance to finally look within myself and begin to heal the wounded child that I had hidden away so carefully all these years. I was beginning to see myself through new eyes.
I caught myself always keeping a smile on my face, (when I did not want to) and being the tough Stella that acted like everything was always fine (when things were not). This was a pattern that I knew had to be broken if I wanted to discover and explore a healthier, more balanced/constructive response to the difficulties that I have encountered along with the future adversities in life. I allowed myself to recognize and accept the need of my child of the past. I noticed that I have this emotional need to heal the emotional pain in others, but I realized that it was my way of trying to heal my own pain.
I began to really focus on the landscape of my body, the rhythm of my own breath, the sensitivity of my hands and feet. All those parts of me that once felt dead now move with articulation and electric connection. This did not occur to me through my academic studies, it happened during my stay as a volunteer in Armenia. My stay in Armenia taught me how to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
 
Question: What is the most rewarding aspect of your chosen career and what are your career goals?
Answer: The most rewarding aspect of my career is being put in a position where I am always continuing to learn and grow. I have always enjoyed learning and I consider myself to be a student of and for life. I feel very lucky that I have found and connected with a career where my passion and love for it drive me. I am put in very difficult positions where I must convey challenging conversations in a way that are diplomatic. Helping students participate and access their educational curriculum is one of the most rewarding aspects of my career.
My career goals are to become an effective and successful school psychologist in order to offer my support to students who may be experiencing difficulties at school. I enjoy seeing my students work towards their personal academic and/or social/emotional goals and watching them learn how to self-advocate is an incredible process. Watching my students gain confidence and learn to use appropriate and effective coping skills to deal with their own challenges is very rewarding. The most rewarding aspect, however, is being able to connect with my students.
 
Question: Answer: Do you still keep in touch with any of your ex-TAMIU teammates?
Answer: I remember we had everyone fly out to California to celebrate our teammate's birthday. That was such an incredible memory that I still hold very close to my heart. I still keep in touch with a few of my teammates. We try to do FaceTime and check in on each other as much as we can. I miss them all very much and those two years were a very special time in my life.
 
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT STELLA GHAZARIAN
 Former TAMIU Head Women's Basketball Coach Michelle Bento-Jackson:
"Stella's academics was always very important to her and she had a plan.  She knew exactly what she wanted to do which was to go into Psychology and be able to help people.  She has a very caring heart and a soul that you just want to be around.  Autism is close to Stella's heart and I can recall us doing a community service event in Laredo with children who had Autism and I saw how Stella lit up.  She was so good with those kids and the kids fed off of her positive energy."
 
"I am now coaching in California and we had a game close to where Stella currently lives in southern California and she came out to support us.  I had a smile from ear to ear when I saw Stella in the stands.  That's just who she is.  She puts smiles on people's faces."
 
 "Yes, Stella did great things on the court for us, but she is an even better person. She is driven, she is inspirational, and she is no doubt going to have a very bright future.  Not surprisingly, she is doing exactly what she set out to do and she is close to finishing up her Master's in Psychology while working in a clinic.  I am honored to have had the opportunity to coach Stella and more importantly, I am grateful for our relationship and to be a part of each other's lives."
 
Stella's TAMIU teammate Malika Jackson:
"She was a three-ball sniper! Stella was the pusher of the group.  She was the teammate who was relentless, honest, unselfish, and humble.  She was the teammate who gave maximum effort on the court and off the court.  She cared about the community and was always willing to give back to others.  Did I mention talented?  Not only can she shoot lights out on the court, she can also sing and play the ukulele.  She made those long bus rides home a concert sometimes. Her best trait as a teammate was how honest she was.  If you were doing good, she would let you know.  If you weren't doing good, she would also let you know.  She would continue to remind you until you woke up and got it together.  I really appreciated that about Stella."
 
Cal State Northridge Coordinator, School Psychology Program Dr. Wilda Laija-Rodríguez:
"Stella has been a school psychology graduate student at California State University Northridge for the past two years, where she has served as the president of the School Psychology Graduate Student Association for the past year.  Stella is not only an excellent student, but she has shown to be a wonderful leader to her peers and a great support for her professors. Stella has a beautiful and contagious smile, always exhibits a positive attitude, a great desire to learn, and always aims to do her very best in her attempt to positively work and influence those she closely works with.  Stella is an inspiration to all who meet her. Stella will have much success wherever she goes.  We are fortunate to have her here at CSUN."