Rising from the Ashes: From a Life-Ending Stroke to Teaching at USC
BY HAGOP BEDIKIAN
Since surviving a stroke in 2016, my life has significantly changed. Glendale Adventist hospital, where I was treated several times, became an all-too-familiar place, especially after I was hired as a chaplain there. Although I studied engineering in the past, this new chapter of my life led me to Azusa Pacific University, where I began studying Theology for spiritual growth.
Using public transportation to travel back and forth to APU from Glendale, I received a master’s degree in Theology and was soon after accepted to Fuller Seminary’s Master of Divinity program, where I studied Systematic Theology.
A year ago, I was contacted by my former advisor, a professor at the University of Southern California, who asked if I was interested in teaching environmental engineering at USC, in my former Civil and Environmental Engineering department. I gladly accepted the offer and decided to take a leave of absence from Fuller Seminary.
I spent most of Summer 2023 preparing my lectures, exams, and other teaching materials. In the fall, I began teaching in-person classes, while using Access Services to travel from Glendale to the school’s campus. However, after experiencing a few heath challenges, I moved my in-person classes to Zoom.
Dr. Burcin Becerik-Gerber, 48, who is from Istanbul, is the current Chair of the Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering department at USC. She has been incredibly supportive since I began working at the university.
During our first meeting, Dr. Becerik-Gerber asked me about Dr. Mihran Agbabian, our former, long-time Chair. Dr. Agbabian gave his full support to Armenia following the Spitak earthquake, and later established the American University of Armenia with Dr. Armen Der Kiureghian, Taisei Professor of Civil Engineering Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley.
Another iconic USC figure is Dr. Zohrab Kaprielian, who was dean of the Engineering department, Provost, and VP of USC for nearly two decades. He passed away from a heart attack at the age of 59. Dr. Kaprielian was a graduate of the California Institute of Technology, as well as UCB.
Prior to attending, and later teaching at, USC, I studied math and physics at the University of California, Los Angeles, where I also minored in Armenian Studies, under Professors Avedis Sanjian and Richard Hovannisian. Later, in the mid-1980s, I completed a four-year electrical and computer engineering program in three years, graduating cum laude with a 3.69 GPA.
After receiving my undergraduate degree, I was offered a fellowship, in 1991, by my employer, Hughes Aircraft. It was an opportunity to receive a master’s degree in electrical systems under the tutelage of world-renowned mathematician and engineer Dr. Solomon Golomb.
I am grateful to God for guiding me through this journey. It gives me great pleasure to follow the footsteps of my late mother, Anais Bedikian (1932-1988), a registered nurse who passed away from Leukemia. I dedicate my teaching career to her memory.
