I arrived in Anaheim a few years before Disneyland.
We moved three miles north to Fullerton four years later and there I grew
up and went to school. Having gone as far as I could, I headed north to Berkeley
and the University of California where I majored in History, English, and
Philosophy, earning a BA. From there I went to the University of Southern
California to complete the requirements for a teaching credential….and then
to work.
I began teaching in Fullerton (with some of my own
former teachers) and then, struck by wanderlust, I began my adventures. I
moved to Leonia, New Jersey, taught in Fair Lawn, NJ, and began my MA program
at Columbia University in New York. What an exciting year that was! I saw
my first Broadway shows, dined at Sardi’s, visited just about every tourist
site in the area, and I was introduced to Eleanor Roosevelt and she shook
my hand. The following year I went to teach on Okinawa. I stayed for two
years and was able to tour such exotic places as Hong Kong, Singapore, Manila,
Viet Nam, Cambodia and, of course, Japan.
Finally, I realized that it was time for me to come
back to reality, and reluctantly I returned to the States. Being at loose
ends, I decided to complete my MA. I returned to New York and Columbia in
the fall, and it was there that I met my husband. We married the following
June. We lived in Oakland, California for a year and then went to Normal,
Illinois, where Hovak taught at Illinois State University for three years.
Our first son, Hovakim, was born there in Bloomington (my son would not be
a “Normal boy”). When we discovered that we were expecting twins, we decided
that we had toughed it out long enough and headed for sunnier climes.
Our twin sons (Ara & Derenik) were born in Fullerton,
where I tended babies and Hovak worked at Disneyland briefly and then at
Chapman University in Orange,CA.
An opportunity to teach opened at College of the Desert
and we found paradise. Once the boys were all in school, I returned to work
for San Diego State University in the teacher education program. Following
that I worked for the Migrant Education Program. I started work on an EdD
program at USC (which ended up an AbD). I returned to full-time-Mom status
when my oldest started 6th grade and became a very active school parent until
the twins were high school juniors and Hovakim started college. I taught
in Palm Springs, Desert Hot Springs, and Cathedral City for the next 15 years
(mostly 7th grade math at Coffman Middle School in Cathedral City). Hovak
and I both took an early retirement in 1994 and do we love it!
Margie & Hovak Najarian
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