ADVANCEMENT
Kalemjian Family Scholarship Honors Family Heritage & Blair’s Educational Tradition Anne Kalemjian counts herself blessed to be part of a family that has long appreciated the value of education. All of her grandparents, including Mugerdich Nersis Kalemjian 1901, were high school graduates and continued with additional formal schooling; her father, Edwin Henry Holmes Kalemjian ’32, and mother, Betty, were college graduates; and she and her siblings, including Charles B. Kalemjian ’58, earned college degrees. Now a retired information technology professional and active volunteer who enthusiastically acknowledges that she is “still learning every day,” Ms. Kalemjian has decided to invest in the education of the next generation of students and honor her family’s heritage by establishing the Kalemjian Family Scholarship at Blair. Ms. Kalemjian’s personal interest in Blair Academy was sparked during a 2014 quest to learn more about her family’s genealogy. Her husband, Randy Suhl, had recently completed a genealogical study of his own family, and he had a hunch the School might have records that would shed light on the circumstances leading to her grandfather’s Blair matriculation. Despite having hit a dead end when seeking similar information some years earlier, Ms. Kalemjian decided to give the School a call. This time, she connected with Assistant Director of Advancement for Capital Giving Velma Lubliner, Timken Library assistant Holly Newcomb
Anne Kalemjian
and advancement associate Susan Staats. “Velma, Holly and Susan were tremendously helpful in uncovering information about my family, and they were excited to find out more,” Ms. Kalemjian said. “I felt as if we were all learning together.” As she continued to piece together her family’s Blair heritage, Ms. Kalemjian also became interested in the educational opportunities today’s students enjoy. “I was impressed with the focus on leadership and values and the School’s high academic standards,” she said emphatically. She felt Blair’s small class size to be a tremendous benefit to students, in that it allows for quality interaction with faculty and enables everyone to contribute and learn from one another. In addition, Ms. Kalemjian admired Head of School Chris
Fortunato for having set a strong course for the School while maintaining close connections to students, alumni and many others. Ms. Kalemjian’s decision to fund a Blair scholarship reflects her desire to honor her family’s heritage and “give back” for the many benefits that education has manifested in her own life. “I’ve been so blessed,” she said. “Through this small scholarship, I hope Blair is able to continue to do wonderful things for capable young people who might not otherwise have the resources to attend.” Beginning in fall 2016, the Kalemjian Family Scholarship will be awarded annually to a well-rounded student who recognizes and values that he or she will share a Blair family legacy stretching back more than a century. “I want the recipients of this scholarship to really appreciate their time at Blair,” Ms. Kalemjian added. “Whether that happens while they are students here or sometime after, I am sure they will.” She also hopes that Kalemjian Family Scholarship recipients will invest time and energy in discovering their own heritage. “We should all talk to our elders, ask questions and spend quality time listening to family stories. It’s important to know where we’ve come from and how we got to where we are now. We take so much for granted, and our older relatives have so much knowledge and wisdom that they can pass down. You never know what you may learn.” ■
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