BRITTANI HAMM | staff writer

After graduation, 'Mego' Salbashian plans to return home to Jordan with a fresh perspective for a change.

“My heart is in Jordan; my family is in Jordan,” senior international student Meguerdich Salbashian said.

Armenian by heritage, Salbashian, known to his friends as Mego, was born and raised in Amman, Jordan. His dad pastors one of the largest churches in the Middle East, and owns his own business in Jordan.

However, in 1990 the Gulf War caused him and his family to temporarily relocate to Canada. Now, aside from being trilingual in Armenian, Arabic, and English, he has lived in three different countries including Jordan, Canada and the United States.

“I actually never planned to go to the U.S.,” Salbashian said. “I was going to go either to Canada, because I have the citizenship there and it’d be a lot cheaper, or go to study in England because that’s where my dad finished his degree.”

Safa Hijazine, a family friend who is about five years older than Salbashian, graduated from APU’s business school. It was Hijazine who first told Salbashian to think about studying at APU. The second person was Mike Omran.

“We were talking and [Mike] was like, ‘yeah, I’m going to APU next year. You should come the year after,’” Salbashian said. “Everything just came out of nowhere. I applied late and I got accepted. I always would put obstacles in front of God: like, ok, if this works, then I’ll go. And everything came together. It was kind of a God thing.”

In fall 2004, Salbashian arrived at APU. Initially, he disliked the U.S. It’s easy to understand why, becasue he was expecting southern California beaches, and the first things he saw were the miles of freeways. And that’s not including all the cultural differences.

“I remember there were so many specific things that I couldn’t imagine living here for long periods of time. I couldn’t see myself in the culture. The family wasn’t there, the family aspect of relying on people. You’re kind of your own man,” Salbashian said.

Initially, he said it was very hard being away from his family, because Jordanian culture is very family oriented.

“In the U.S. it’s more individualistic,” Salbashian said. “That’s why you have carpool lanes. That would never work in Jordan. Everyone would be in the carpool lane.”

Now, that he’s become so accustomed to the culture, these differences don’t stand out as much. Until he returns to Jordan.

“It was reverse culture shock going back. I was acting like an American. I was like, ‘I’m my own person.’ Whereas back at home, there are certain things you have to do: you have to visit these people, it’s this person’s wedding, and when you weren’t here this person got sick and you have to go see them,” Salbashian said.

It took him a while to build close relationships being so far from home. He noticed that when he first met other APU students freshman year, most of those relationships turned out to be surface-level.

“Usually when you meet someone at home it’s like once you’re friends, you’re friends. That’s it. You’re set,” Salbashian said. “I’d save your life because you’re my friend.”

One of the students he became close friends with noticed how highly he valued his relationships.

“He really takes a lot of pride in his friendships. He doesn’t necessarily search for new relationships or open up to a lot of people, but the [friends] that he does have, he really cares about those people. He invests a lot of time into those friendships,” senior psychology major Ren Brems said.

Living in Jordan, where the majority of the population is Muslim, Salbashian grew up with a deep love for the people of his country.

“A lot of my friends are Muslim, and it’s fine. We don’t have any problems with Muslims,” Salbashian said. “My friends are really close and we talk about religion a lot. They understand that everyone has their religion.”

Another of his friends reflected on Salbashian’s love for his country.

“I appreciate Mego for the different perspectives he offers,” senior business administration major Travis Harper said. “He is so passionate about everything he talks about: especially cultural and religious views in daily life in his home country. He is so loyal to his country.”

As a freshman, Salbashian led a team of APU students to Jordan for a five-week missions trip.

“God loves them. I really have a heart for Islam. I think it’s the most neglected religion that people have forgotten about and it’s one of the biggest religions in the world. It’s so close to Christianity that it’s very easy for people to get tricked,” Salbashian said. “I think that people have just forgotten about that part of the world. And now, since the war, people are like, ‘oh, what is Iraq? What is Islam?’ Where were you? People are dying.”

Like most seniors, Salbashian is planning for life post-graduation. His current intentions include working in the U.S. for a year or two, then moving back tp work for a company in Jordan.

“I want to make changes,” Salbashian said. “I want to be an effect on people. Change their mentalities, not their culture, but just the way that people think.”