Legacy Donors

Alice Avedikian’s Eternal Gift of Education

Having lived a long and purposeful life, Alice Avedikian of New York passed away at the age of 93 on January 19, 2023, leaving behind a substantial gift to the American University of Armenia (AUA). Her generosity will be carried through at the University, providing valuable resources to students at AUA in pursuit of quality higher education and a brighter future in Armenia.

Alice Sapho Djamdjian Avedikian was born in Paris, France on July 7, 1929 to her mother, Sateniq Hampikian Djamdjian, and father, Haiq Djamdjian. With her younger sister, Beatrice, Alice grew up in a family that was very involved in the Armenian community and the Armenian church.

On September 1, 1939, Sateniq and Alice’s sister, who was 5 years old then, left Paris for Detroit to visit Alice’s grandmother, Zarouchi Hampikian, who was dying of cancer. Alice and her father had to stay behind in Paris because she was sick at the time and could not travel. With World War II brewing and conditions getting worse in Paris, the family was stuck worlds away from each other without any means of reuniting in sight. As conditions deteriorated in Paris, Alice and her father were forced to move around quite often, making it difficult to send and receive letter correspondence, eventually being left without any means of communication with their loved ones in Detroit. This changed in October of 1945 when Sateniq enlisted the help of one of her clients, Eleanor Roosevelt, who used her contacts in the U.S. embassy to locate Alice and her father, confirming their wellbeing and whereabouts. Through this extraordinary effort, Alice and her family were finally reunited in March of 1948 in New York City (NYC).

Alice Avedikian (young girl sitting on the step) with her sister Beatrice (to the left), her mother Sateniq (holding her sister), and her father Haiq (sitting behind her mother), circa 1930’s

To Alice, education was of utmost importance. She attended public schools growing up and later completed one year at Beaux Arts de Paris. In NYC, she attended Hunter College from 1949 until 1952, when she became an American citizen. She then took four teacher's training courses at the University of the State of New York (USNY) from 1951 to 1958, earning her a Private Trade School Teacher's License. The value of education was a familial influence on Alice. Her mother had opened a Haute Couture school in Constantinople, Turkey, the first of its kind, called Maison Sapho School of Dressmaking and Design. She later moved the school to Paris, and then Detroit, and finally to NYC.

In 1967, after Haiq’s death, her mother turned over the school to Alice who successfully ran it up until 2018, closing it when she was 88 years old. Throughout her life, Alice possessed a headstrong and forward personality, speaking her mind and seldom being swayed by the opinions of those around her. She also held steadfast to her beliefs and cultural values that were instilled in her through her Armenian parents. In NYC, she continued to be heavily involved in the Armenian community as well as the Holy Cross Church of Armenia. “She had strong family values and took care of all the family members around her. She also firmly believed in education, being a teacher of French dressmaking as well as having several educators in the family,” says her daughter, Jami Slater.

Alice Avedikian with her daughter Jami Slater at her 90th birthday celebration

When Alice was 37, she gave birth to Jami, her only child. Through a most difficult decision made at that juncture in her life, she gave her daughter up for adoption with the intention of wanting what she felt would be the best for her: to be raised in a household with two parents.

Although she wouldn’t be reunited with Jami until January of 1999, once they were reconnected, they immediately formed a strong bond. Upon rekindling and building her relationship with her biological daughter, Alice soon afterwards became a grandmother to two grandchildren. She fittingly wore the role of grandmother well, always imparting to them her words of wisdom, specifically to do their homework and focus on their studies; do what they loved; and be smart about the world around them. She would advise them to “take advantage of all the opportunities given to you to experience the world and life,” Jami recalls. Living by example, at the ripe age of 50, Alice married her husband Manuel Avedikian on July 27, 1980, and together, they lived a wonderful life.

Alice Avedikian on her most recent trip to Armenia

Throughout the course of Alice’s life, she always held her homeland deep in her heart, and was able to visit Armenia three times, the last and most recent, at the age of 90. During that trip, she visited AUA, an institution in which she believed strongly. “Visiting AUA in Yerevan and having a strong belief in higher education is one of the things that inspired her to leave a gift to AUA. Congruent to AUA's motto ‘Aspire, Inspire, Achieve’, Alice always aspired to inspire people to strive to learn and achieve their goals. She lived AUA's motto without even knowing it,” Jami remarks, adding that her mother believed in higher education of all forms.

A Special Education teacher herself, Jami wishes for the gift that her mother kindly bestowed upon AUA to help students at the University to better themselves, their lives, and their futures.

Setting a noble example, Alice Avedikian’s determination to make a lasting impact in the heart of Armenia will enable AUA to continue its mission of providing Armenian youth with access to a world-class education.