Roman Gara Gulagian was happy to move from his native Tehran, Iran to London, England, a city he describes as “wicked and laid back.” He was less thrilled when his family decided to move to the United States.
Gulagian graduated from a high school in Tehran called Adel and then moved to London in the March of 2003. “Living in Tehran was alright, but I love living in Europe because it is very peaceful,” he says.
Because the family moved to London in the middle of the year, Gulugian wasn’t able to attend college. He did get a job at a Tesco gas station, where at 17 he was promoted to supervisor. “It was fun to work there,” he says. “I loved being supervisor and having a lot of responsibilities.” But it wasn’t to last.
He was soon to be uprooted again.
“It was my family’s decision to move here and I am making the best of it,” said Gulagian. “My family applied for their green cards 14 years ago and we were approved about December of 2003, and then finally moved to the states.”
Gulagian decided to attend GCC and start working as soon as he moved to Glendale.
At 19, the Iranian-Armenian student at GCC has now made friends on campus the campus, he says, “is close to my house and my classes aren’t too difficult.”
After he got his Social Security card, he took a job at Ralphs. “I got to work at Ralphs because they were on strike, but in March they fired me because the strike was over. I was then unemployed and focusing on school more.”
He now works at Glendale Kia, which he calls “a fun place to be. I am the youngest employee and it can get hectic from time to time.”
Gulagian’s is majoring in economics and hasn’t decided on a transfer school. “I want to get into law school after receiving my bachelor’s in economics and study business law. After I finish law school my plans will be to open up my own office as a lawyer.”
One of the things Gulagian enjoys doing most is the martial art taekwondo, which he has practiced since he was very young. He plans to become a master in the art so he can teach it to others. “Taekwondo is something I love to do,” he said. “I grew up loving martial arts and I want to mentor young guys when I am older to teach them the values of the sport.
“I want to achieve all my goals in my life and make my family proud of me” says Gulagian.