^{Lusine Zoryan, 21, TUMO Yerevan alumna}

Even when she’s all the way in Nantes, France, alumna Lusine Zoryan still finds time to reminisce about her years as a TUMOian in Yerevan. We dug into her story when she sent us an email to volunteer her time at our centers in Lyon and Paris.

^{The email Lusine sent to TUMO, March 2022}

From 2013 to 2018, Lusine’s energy and time was divided across learning areas like music, drawing, photography, and writing. When she first joined TUMO, she was already an avid photographer and pianist. She was keen on joining the music workshop to explore it through a digital medium – something she’d never experienced throughout her years of classical music education.

It was in the drawing and writing workshops where she felt she’d found new areas to explore. She participated in all three levels of both workshops and a number of learning labs with local and international professionals alike. ”TUMO was the first place I experienced a diverse environment, which later helped me adjust to new surroundings at my university,” Lusine reflects.

^{Animal Character Design learning lab, 2016}

In 2017, after she unlocked her love for writing, she decided to major in English and Communications at the American University of Armenia. While she worked on her senior year capstone project, she was also participating in a TUMO learning lab with Columbia University on Advanced Creative Writing. 

During the project, she interviewed three young Armenians to explore how various locations have shaped their interests and career choices. One of these interviews also happened to be with TUMOian Mariam Arakelyan, where she highlighted her personal and professional growth as a TUMO student. Lusine shares that her experience in the Columbia lab really helped her when she was working on her final capstone project. “The lab leaders gave me the techniques necessary to present the interviews as creative non-fiction stories and the research focused on my own examination of my connection to TUMO, ” she contemplates.

^{Lusine at TUMO, 2017}

Lusine is now working on her master’s degree in Marketing and Management at Audencia Business School in Nantes, France, one of the top business schools in the region. After she graduates, she’ll explore her passion for education in marketing and beyond. ”Whenever I pass the TUMO Paris center I feel pride and warmth in my heart of being an active member of the TUMO family. I hope one day I’ll be part of something big like TUMO.”