This year, the Center for Armenian Studies (CAS) is proud to award Dante Calo the Edward Hagop Noroian Scholarship!
Dante is a Computer Science student in the College of Engineering. He is of half-Armenian descent and is actively involved in the Armenian community on campus, serving as Vice President of the Armenian Students’ Cultural Association (ASCA). Over the past two summers, he interned with the Technology and Operations department at Comerica Bank. Dante discovered Armenian studies at the university by chance last year and has been deeply engaged in learning about his heritage ever since. In his executive role, he aims to give back to the Armenian community and plans to contribute even more in the future.
In his response to the Noroian application, we learned more about Dante's story and what makes him a great recipient of the award this year!
1) How have your academic pursuits aligned with and demonstrated engagement in Armenian Studies?
In my early youth, I was admittedly divorced from my own “Armenian-ness”. All I really knew about my mother’s heritage were the stories that she and my nene (mom’s mom) told me about history, and my knowledge of the language was limited to phrases my mother would say to myself and my two brothers if we got in trouble. There even came a point in time where, to my mother, it seemed like I was more proud of the “Italian” side of me than the Armenian side.
My father is a mix of primarily Italian, as well as unknown measures of German and possibly Norwegian and/or Sicilian, so I stick with “Italian” for the sake of simplicity. In a roundabout way, she was right; it felt hard for me to self-identify as Armenian in my circles due to a lack of universal understanding. If I just said, “I’m Italian,” then I wouldn’t need to explain that I am both “part of an ethnicity of victims forgotten by history” and “not a Kardashian.”
The opportunities afforded to me through attending this university have opened my eyes and allowed me to feel welcome and proud of my identity. Before last year, I didn’t even know that U-M offered Armenian language classes, let alone having an entire department dedicated to Armenian studies. I happened to stumble upon Armenian 101 when registering for classes for the Fall 2023 semester, and my curiosity led me to complete 101 and 102, learn about Armenian film in a class taught by Michael Pifer (MIDEAST 223), and now further my education in more Armenian courses offered by the university. I have also looked into the possibility of pursuing a minor in Armenian Studies.
Some other avenues that have encouraged my expanded interest in Armenian Studies are the Armenian Students’ Cultural Association (ASCA) and the Center for Armenian Studies (CAS) at the university. Whether I would be engaging with other fellow Armenian students at events the association would host or attending lectures or presentations hosted by the wonderful people involved with CAS, I found myself becoming more and more enamored with the Armenian community, to the point where I feel like I have an extension of my family on campus. If it weren’t for the ASCA and CAS, I wouldn’t be as interested in being as involved as I am now. To that point, I became so interested in engaging with Armenian Studies and culture that I found myself running for the ASCA Executive Board in the Winter 2024 semester and was elected Vice President this past May.
2) How do you plan to continue engaging in Armenian issues?
In the campaign speech I used in my bid for a spot on the ASCA Executive Board, I spoke about a desire to have the ASCA’s reach increased dramatically and to encourage heightened interactions with the greater Armenian community. I still stand by this statement, I feel that, given my position, I could extend the association’s reach and turn it into a force for good.
Last academic year, when the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenian and Azerbaijan was nearing its climax, there were several instances where members of the executive board made members aware of charities to donate to in order to help out families impacted by the fallout. I felt touched by those actions, and feel a need to encourage this year’s roster to help out the community wherever help is needed.
Outside of ASCA-related opportunities, I plan to engage with the greater Armenian community post-graduation. I plan to use my background in Computer Science and experience in Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) to start my career; I have a particular company in mind, but I plan to keep my options for jobs open. Although such a career would likely have limited applications to Armenian culture, at the very least “do my part” and help the community as a financial benefactor. Whether it would be helping out families forcefully relocated from their homes, or helping out more students like myself by removing the financial burden of tuition, I want to pay forward the kindness of the Armenians of today, to the Armenians of tomorrow.
