Lusine Azaryan, the SMART Center’s First Aid

Knar Babayan

November 18, 2025

SMART

A stranger observing Lusine engaged in all kinds of activities at the SMART Center might wonder: what is her actual job here? It’s only when she puts on her white coat to provide medical care that her role is revealed.

Lusine Azaryan, the ever-present nurse at the SMART Center from Vanadzor, first visited the center in 2019 during a field trip with her daughter’s class and immediately felt at home.

“Everything felt so warm and familiar that a few days after the tour, I visited the COAF website and started searching, hoping I’d find an open position for a nurse or educator,” Lusine recalls with her bright signature smile.

A position did open up and Lusine chose to leave her small family business behind and return to nursing, especially since the job involved working with children — something she loves most of all.

“There hasn’t been a single day when I’ve felt forced to come to work. Everyone always asks where I get all this energy from — to be honest, I don’t even know myself. I recharge through my interactions with the children and my colleagues,” she says with genuine warmth.

In the six years she’s spent at SMART, Lusine has grown professionally, gained new skills, become familiar with the challenges faced by the surrounding communities, and earned the deep love and respect of both colleagues and beneficiaries.

As part of orientation week at the SMART Center, Lusine teaches new SMART students lessons on healthy lifestyles and first aid.

Nurse Lusine is also involved in the summer camps for SMART kids and students, where—with her signature care and enthusiasm—she takes on “a thousand and one tasks.”

In addition to first aid and healthy lifestyle classes, Lusine also conducts parenting seminars for the SMART students’ parents.

Lusine shows children in Lori how to properly wash their hands during the “Healthy Lifestyle is a Habit 2025” campaign.

“Oral hygiene” is an inseparable part of a healthy lifestyle and orientation week at the SMART Center.

When talking about Lusine, one can confidently say: a talented person is talented in everything.

Every day, Lusine makes sure that SMART kids wash their hands properly before joining their classes.

Before every trip, SMART bus drivers undergo a health check-up. Lusine measures blood pressure, temperature, and performs an alcohol test.

Supervising and organizing the cleanliness of the center is also among Lusine’s responsibilities.

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