“Dance, drawing, knitting, piano, the Armath club, and English.” This was just the incomplete list of interests for 16-year-old Rima Asryan from Odzun before attending the SMART Center.
“For us SMART students, life is divided into before and after attending SMART. I waited patiently for when I’d finally get to join the dance program for two years and managed to study over 10 programs from the curriculum in the meantime. After dance, English and Chinese are in my top three,” says Rima, who has also been attending COAF’s English Access program since January.
Before attending SMART, Rima would watch as her peers participated in its various programs without even thinking that she too would one day be chasing her dreams.
“At SMART, I learned how to dream big and more freely. Here, I had the chance to try that which was inaccessible to me in the village. I stopped limiting myself to less,” she expresses and adds that her thirst for more and a little competitiveness are her biggest motivators on her educational journey.
Last year, after winning the “Armenian Modernization” art competition organized by COAF and the Vahé & Lucie Foundation, Rima got her second wind and now has an even bigger appetite for self-actualization.
From the second she puts on her points, Rima is ready to practice and create without a care for anything else in the world.
Her creativity skills came in handy when designing her costume for yet another dance contest.
Dance is life for Rima and she never misses a dance workshop at SMART where she can add a new technique or dance move to her repertoire.
Rima is making a short animated film using vintage equipment in one of SMART’s latest workshops.
According to Rima, one of her biggest achievements at SMART is being able to speak publicly, comfortably.
Rima never misses a Saturday clean-up.
Before SMART, Rima would suffice with the student clubs and art school in the village. Playing piano is just one of her many interests.
The search for more knowledge and new skills took Rima to the TUMO Box in Odzun this year as well. Here, she’s learning filmmaking.
Rima understands that she missed her chance to become a dancer (she started dancing at a later age), but she continues to practice adamantly and is not preparing to ever leave it. Her next goal is to win the next art competition by COAF and the Vahé & Lucie Foundation, this year called “One Century, Two Legends.”
Author: Knar Babayan
