Half of My Life with FAR: From Student to Storyteller

Seventeen years ago, I, Ruzan Gishyan, stepped into this same office for the first time as a first-year student at Yerevan State University. Today, I work at the Fund for Armenian Relief, a place that feels warm, familiar, and deeply personal.

Back then, my journey nearly took a different turn. One missing point placed me in the paid system, and I remember how crushing that felt. Journalism had been my dream since I was seven years old-the kind of dream you don’t question, only protect.

Around that time, FAR’s scholarship program invited students to write an essay on the topic of water. I wrote a poem instead, following instinct rather than strategy. That choice changed everything, leading me to receive the Arsho and Avetis Baghsarian Scholarship - a program that continues to support talented designers and journalists to this day.

A poem I had written about water became my first bridge to this place-a poem that turned into an opportunity, a scholarship, and later, a quiet but steady support that helped me continue my studies in journalism.

With FAR’s support, I completed my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at the Faculty of Journalism at Yerevan State University and later broadened my outlook at the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs (GIPA). My career unfolded naturally through stories - in newsrooms, studios, and fieldwork-learning how to listen, observe, and give voice to people and moments that matter.

Over the years, I worked across different media platforms, gradually growing from reporter to producer and media manager, collaborating across cultures and borders. Somewhere along the way, I also discovered teaching-and the quiet joy of helping students find confidence in their own voices.

Through all those years of movement and growth, FAR remained a constant presence in my life. It was there at the beginning, and years later, it became the place where I found myself again-this time from the inside.

Today, these walls feel warm and familiar. FAR is where I feel confident, grounded, and at home. Here, I do the work I truly love: telling human stories, creating meaningful content, and bringing ideas to life. I have also finally embraced photography - a long-held dream that waited patiently for the right moment. With my camera, I travel across Armenia’s regions, discovering something new each time: a face, a landscape, a story quietly asking to be told.

Journalism is a fascinating world for me, where every day I discover something new, learn something unexpected, and see life from a different angle. Working within a charitable organization that supports children, youth, and vulnerable communities feels like the most natural continuation of that path.

In just two months at FAR, I have already visited soup kitchens, children’s support centers, and a home for the elderly supported by FAR. Sometimes, after listening to their stories and putting them into words, I struggle to hold back my tears. I find myself wondering what life would look like for these people if this support did not exist. In those moments, I silently thank FAR alongside them - grateful to witness not only their stories, but also the care that makes those stories a little lighter.

My connection with FAR is not only part of my past. It is my present and my future - a place where I can grow, create, and give back. What once began with a poem has become a sense of belonging. And what once felt like a fragile dream has quietly become my everyday reality.