We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Angela Bdoyan a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Angela, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.

A defining moment in my life was during my medical mission trip to Armenia. During the summer of 2024, my mom and I went on a medical mission trip and helped set up and run a clinic in Gyumri, Armenia. I took this opportunity to expand my mental health project, distributing the brochures to our patients. However, a moment that has truly stuck with me was when we hosted a short mental health seminar open to any teenagers living in Gyumri. I honestly didn’t expect many people to show up, but, walking into the room with my box full of brochures, I saw a room filled with teenagers. Talking to them made me realize how similar we all were. We complimented each others clothing and giggled at the same jokes. I felt so comfortable with them and I’m so glad I was given the opportunity to talk to them about mental health. Seeing just how similar we were with those silly, superficial things left me no doubt that we are similar on a deeper level; this was just more proof that they deserve the same mental health resources as those of us in America.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am 16 years old, and although I have lived in the US my entire life, both of my parents are immigrants from Armenia. So, I have grown up immersed in two separate cultures, American and Armenian, and have witnessed the vast difference when it comes to mental health issue awareness. Seeing all of the mental health education resources we have access to in America, I knew that teenagers in Armenia are no less deserving of the same, despite the topic being taboo in Armenian culture.

Through my Teen Mental Health project, I raised money from my local Armenian community, and made my own mental health education brochures in the Armenian language. I used the money to print hundreds of brochures and ship them to high schools in Armenia. I also hired mental health counselors to speak and give talks at some of the schools.

My project gives Armenian teenagers mental health information that seems so simple to us, but may be completely unheard of to them. I hope it gives them some peace and the courage to start conversations about mental health with their friends and family.

I think I bring a unique perspective to this issue because of my exposure to both Armenian and American culture. Although I grew up in the US, I also grew up hearing my family members avoid mental health conversations and explain how uncommon it is to talk about it in Armenia. I understand the cultural weight and expectations surrounding the topic in Armenia, which is why I can approach the issue with less naivety.

I am most proud of the brochures themselves, as I worked really hard to not only make them informative and organized, but also translate them to Armenian, which my parents helped with. Overall, I am very happy with how they turned out.

I want others to know that this project is really personal and close to my heart. I feel so connected to teenagers in Armenia, especially acknowledging that I would be in their shoes if my parents had never moved to the US.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

I think the most important piece to success is building connections. It sounds simple, but making and keeping connections with others can make a world of difference. For example, my moms childhood friend’s sister is the principal of a high school in Yerevan, Armenia. Through her, we were able to connect with her school and get in touch with principals from various other high schools in the area to ship brochures to. Without my mom keeping that connection, it would have been much more difficult to connect with high schools in Armenia. I am so grateful for the connections and people that helped make this project possible.

Can you open up about how you managed the initial funding?

To fund my project, I turned to my local Armenian community in Columbus. We all share a common love for our home country, so I knew they would understand the issue and want to help out. I set up a Spotfund account, and explained my story and vision at a large Armenian gathering in the summer of 2023. After asking questions and getting a better understanding of my project, members of the community were eager to chip in and help.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Armenianteens.org