Assyrian American Association of S. California - Laressa Bethishou Wins the AANF Convention 2007 Youth Excellence Award

To have a clear vision of your future, and all that you want to make of it, you have to first examine your past and all the things that shaped you into who you are. When I look at my past, I look at a series of scattered events that came together to make me the person I am today. I grew up in an Assyrian Christian household, went to an Assyrian Church where I played piano every Sunday, played basketball, was on the swim and track teams, got good grades in school. I always thought it was a very ordinary childhood. I realize now it was actually quite remarkable. At no point was I ordinary, because I am Assyrian. I am part of the people which are referred to in Isaiah as the "handiwork" of God. Since I started college, I have become fascinated with the richness and depth of my culture.
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I am currently starting my senior year at UCLA as a Biology Major. I am applying to medical school this June. I hope to one day become a pediatrician and I have always prayed to God to help me accomplish this goal, and promised that with all the blessings I receive, I will return them to those less fortunate and to help to strengthen my people. Iíve participated in many activities at UCLA. I wanted to experience everything and find out what I really felt a passion for. Iím involved in Bel Air Presbyterian Church where I led a bible study for two years, I am a mentor to a twelve year girl and I am doing research on strokes under one of the head neurologists in the country. All these activities have helped me find little pieces of myself and what I care about; my passion for medicine, for helping people, for my faith in God.

One of the things I am most proud of is my involvement with the Assyrian Student Association of UCLA. My sophomore year of college, a couple of us began to meet once a week, with the intention of first being able to build strong Assyrian friendships and then to extend our efforts to our community and it really paid off. This last year, I was president of the club and there were about ten to fifteen amazing people who consistently came to meetings. We became close friends, and I think that building bonds with other Assyrians is one of the most important foundations for having a love for your people. We helped sponsor the Dr. Gaunt genocide lecture at UCLA. With minimal resources, we were able to put on this lecture for over a hundred people, many of whom didnít even know who Assyrians were, let alone the atrocities they had endured and continue to endure in the face of genocide.

We are an amazing culture and I take great pride in being Assyrian. It is a part of who I am and I think the biggest shame would be for our generation to let our culture die away. The time has come for the youth to step up as leaders and use all the potential they have to make a difference in their community. For this to happen itís very important that the youth gets involved with the community, whether it be through churches, student organizations, or even conventions. One of my goals is to help our youth realize what amazing things they are capable of accomplishing first in their own lives, and then on a greater scale within the Assyrian community.

The goal of our student association was to get students not just from UCLA but from any surrounding college or university to get to know each other, to learn about and take pride in their history, and to utilize their resources to help the community. This last week, we put on a seminar, in collaboration with the Assyrian American Association of Southern California on the basics for getting into university. Itís very important that our generation, which has more opportunities than any of those preceding ours, obtain an education and by helping themselves gain leverage to help others.