Pursuing education as a career took a bit of negotiation in Ani’s home. Even when she was young, her father would lobby her saying “Can you promise me you’ll be a lawyer, or at least say you’ll seriously consider it? You’ll make a good income, be able to take care of yourself and be independent.” She said to me, “Of course I was going to tell my father yes!” But thinking about if further, she realized indeed she didn’t want to be a lawyer and was a little concerned in letting her father, whom she adores, down. In response, her mom declared,
“Ani, you can do and be anything you want to be; pursue what makes you happy and you will always be rich.”
This gave her the confidence to go to her dad and tell him she wanted to pursue a career in education. But she also made him a promise stating,
“Dad, if I go to Law school I will probably end up going to an average Law school and doing slightly better than average because my heart is not fully in it. But, if I go on to pursue a degree in education I promise I will go to the best school in the country and do amazing things with what I learn.”
She said, “He was supportive, but he probably still hasn’t given up hope for me to be a lawyer!” But Ani did keep her promises to her father; she went to Harvard and UCLA, both in the top five education graduate schools in the nation, obtaining three post-graduate degrees along the way, and now has success.
Like most transitions from high school to college, freshman Ani had some adjusting when attending UCLA. In the college student success research, when students are engaged through on-campus involvement and job opportunities they are more likely to be retained. In other words, stay enrolled and even further graduate. Involvement came in Ani’s sophomore year with the Armenian Student Association, as she began to serve on their executive board and stayed on the executive board as VP until graduating.
The next challenge in undergrad was her major. While starting out pre-med, after a 90-hour critical care unit assignment, she found it just wasn’t for her. Interesting enough, changing majors during the undergraduate years has been a common experience between all the doers interviewed so far. She knew she loved people and their stories, so she naturally gravitated towards classes in Psychology and History.
What rooted her path in Early Childhood Education/Applied Developmental Psychology was an internship her fourth year, at the UCLA Infant Development Program. Ani loved being hands-on and applying what she was learning in the classroom with little ones three months to three years of age. A few years later she would be asked to come back and direct this program that made such an impact on her career.
With this direction in mind, Ani was ready for graduate school. She was accepted into numerous programs, which she explained without blinking, naming many prestigious institutions. She settled on Harvard, which would be a stretch, since she would be so far from her family.
But once again with her parent’s unwavering support, she headed to Cambridge, Massachusetts to obtained a Master of Education degree in Human Developmental Psychology. Here is where that fateful day in kindergarten came full circle, as Ani selected an advisor, Catherine Snow, whose work focused on early childhood language acquisition.
But one Masters degree was not enough. Ani returned to her alma mater (UCLA) for an MA/PhD program, in Urban Schooling. This time she stretched her research into public schools, evaluating zero tolerance policies and how schools were pushing out kids through exclusionary disciplinary practices.
She recalled her proudest moment was when her committee chair opened the door of her doctoral defense deliberating room, shook her hand and stated, “Excellent defense you have passed with no revisions, congratulations Dr. Shabazian!” She stretched a huge smile came across her face while announcing this work would finally be getting published!
It was during her dissertation research she was offered to be the Executive Director of the UCLA Infant Development Program. This was the same program she had interned at years before as an undergraduate student.
A few years later, Loyola Marymount University sought her out. At the time, Ani was very happy at UCLA, so she took some convincing. What was most attractive was the opportunity to both run the childcare center and maintain an adjunct faculty appointment, which brought out her passion for having the practice (childcare center) and theory (research & teaching).
“Having the practical keeps it real for me when I teach.” Yet it was only six months later when LMU came back with a counter-offer for a tenure track faculty role that she accepted the position. Because of this perfect fit she says, “to this day I don’t feel like I am working.”
There is more in store, below click 4!
