Zaven Tachdjian Donates Time and Talent to New St. Nersess Campus

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y.—When Zaven Tachdjian saw an opportunity to volunteer his expertise to St. Nersess Armenian Seminary, he jumped at the chance to join the construction team alongside St. Nersess Board members Kevork Toroyan and Michael Haratunian. Since 2013, when the site plan for the future seminary campus in Armonk was approved, Tachdjian has served as the project’s design and construction coordinator.

Zaven Tachdjian at the entrance of the new St. Nersess campus in Armonk, N.Y.
Zaven Tachdjian at the entrance of the new St. Nersess campus in Armonk, N.Y.

However, this isn’t the first time Tachdjian has helped St. Nersess. In fact, his history with the seminary dates back 33 years when he and his family moved to Westchester County from Beirut, and he joined the St. Gregory the Enlightener Armenian Church in White Plains. There he met Rev. Fr. Karekin Kasparian, an ardent supporter of and faculty member at the seminary, who helped Tachdjian to form a relationship with St. Nersess, too. As chairman of the St. Gregory Parish Council in 2009, Tachdjian added a $5,000 line item in the church’s budget earmarked for an annual donation to St. Nersess, making St. Gregory Church one of the first to do so.

The support for St. Nersess has continued over the years, as Tachdjian believes in the seminary’s major role in the preservation and growth of the Armenian Apostolic Church in the United States. “Its impact on the Armenian community is enormous,” he said recently. “It has created an incubator from which not only bishops and priests have emerged, but also deacons, altar servers, and lay leaders who serve the Armenian Church today. And the young people who attend the summer conferences continue to feel the impact of their experience, and as a result serve their local parishes.”

As the design and construction coordinator for the new St. Nersess campus, Tachdjian has volunteered 10-20 hours per week for the last 2 years. Drawing on his personal experience as the retired owner of Stone & Powers, a construction and management company, as well as his engineering master’s degree, Tachdjian has much to offer to the project. Early on, he helped to secure the construction permits and reviewed all the documents with the architect and engineers for the building permit. Moving forward, he has led weekly site job meetings, helped to resolve any construction issues, negotiated and managed all invoices and payments, and followed the construction progress. During the selection process of the subcontractors for different trades, Tachdjian used his contacts to favorably negotiate, save appreciable amounts, and reduce the original construction budget. “His experience, knowledge, and time committed to the building of our new campus has been invaluable,” said Fr. Mardiros Chevian, dean.

The expansion of the St. Nersess campus will be a state-of-the-art Armenian seminary complex. The new Karekin I Theological Center and Chapel, Single Students Residence, Married Students and Faculty Residences, Dining Hall, and Recreation Center will be fully completed upon the sale of the New Rochelle property. “I firmly believe that under the strong leadership of Fr. Mardiros, and the support of the St. Nersess Board and the Eastern and Western Dioceses, the newly expanded St. Nersess campus will give seminarians and priests improved learning and living facilities and more opportunities to expand the program,” Tachdjian said.

To learn more about St. Nersess, visit www.stnersess.edu.

Guest Contributor

Guest Contributor

Guest contributions to the Armenian Weekly are informative articles or press releases written and submitted by members of the community.

2 Comments

  1. I am proud to know Mr. Tach djinn. I met him through St. Gregory the Enlightener Church. He is a true gentleman in a world where such people are increasingly more difficult to find. I am clearly not Armenian and truly appreciate the many times he would walk over during Badarak and other services to point out what page I should be reading or what passage I would be asked to read.
    Congratulations on well deserved recognition.

  2. the article does not mention Zaven’s efforts to build a basketball gym at the St Greg Armenian Church — healthy body and spirit, the neighborhood african american kids should be notified of this indoor gym, since very few armenian boys in that area

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*