Christian Yeghnazar, Class of 2013 - Social Entrepreneur Paving the Way for Change

Christian Yeghnazar is mature, reflective, and thoughtful—a paragon of excellence that is representative of our Clairbourn students and alumni. Currently a junior at USC, Christian is majoring in Business Administration with minors in Computer Programming and Applied Analytics. He attended Clairbourn from 2004 to 2013 paving the way for both his younger brothers Luca and Matteo who attend Clairbourn as well. He is currently pursuing a career in the entrepreneurial world by starting his own venture. Most recently, he launched a new website called College Connect, which pairs high school students with current college students and guides them in making informed decisions about college. His mission is to help make a positive social impact through his endeavors. We are so inspired by Christian. Read about his story and experiences here.
When did you come to Clairbourn?

I started Clairbourn in Kindergarten in the Fall 2004 and graduated in 2013.
 
What schools did you attend after Clairbourn?

After Clairbourn, I went to Flintridge Prep and graduated in 2017. Afterwards, I went to USC to pursue a Business Major and I will graduate in 2021.
 
What do you remember most about your time at Clairbourn?

I think for me, something that I will always remember from Clairbourn are the super-close relationships I’ve had, and currently still have, with all of my classmates. Attending from Kindergarten to 8th grade, we were able get very close and become a family. I talk with people from my graduating class all the time, and those are relationships that will last a lifetime. It’s special to be part of a community that is so supportive and caring and that these relationships have lasted.
 
Were there certain teachers or administrators you remember, and why do they stand out?

One of the teachers that made a significant impact was Mrs. Halferty. She was my 4th grade teacher and she had a big impact on who I am today. Coming into 4th grade, I remember being relatively immature. Mrs. Halferty helped form me, not only into a better student, but she also taught me how to learn, ask questions, and how to think critically. That set the tone for me going into middle school, high school, and now college. 

Another influential aspect of my Clairbourn experience was serving on Student Council. I was the President of Student Council, and I think having that opportunity to be a leader at such a young age has really helped me now. Because of that experience, I was prepared to be the Senior Class President during my last year of high school and now I’m taking on leadership positions in college. These skills and experiences all started at Clairbourn where I was encouraged and molded by teachers and was taught how to lead and be a good leader.
 
What activities at Clairbourn helped influence your future career path and shaped your passion for entrepreneurship?

I am extremely passionate about entrepreneurship. At USC, I’m currently the President of the Entrepreneurship Group. After college, I plan to start my own company. Clairbourn taught me to think creatively and think of new approaches to existing problems—be creative and think outside the box—whether you’re looking at a math problem or writing an English essay. That was ingrained in me at a young age and has helped me do the things that I do now. It all started at Clairbourn. These are valuable skills that have translated and can be applied to a whole gamut of different life experiences.
  
Tell us about this recent project you started that matches prospective college students with resources. How does this project serve a need and what inspired you to start it?

I was on a call with a friend from school—one of my housemates—and we were starting to think about all the different problems that people are having during this time of COVID-19 sheltering in place. One of the topics we landed on, because I had just talked to another friend whose younger sister just got into a bunch of colleges and had no idea where to go, was that people lack inside information about the colleges they want to attend. We talked to more people and realized that this was a pervasive issue that people were facing.
 
High school seniors and juniors who cannot visit colleges, for a variety of reasons, and have no connections with colleges have a hard time making decisions about where to go. This problem especially affects first-generation college students because no one in their family has been able to go to college and tell them what to expect. So we really wanted to try and ameliorate that problem by connecting people in personal ways beyond simply Googling or finding information via the Internet. We have found that the best way to learn is to have that personal connection with another person. We wanted to create a way for high school students to connect with college students so that they are better equipped to make informed decisions about where they plan to go to college.
 
In under a week, we moved quickly to build the website, determine the brand, and now we were thinking about additional logistics. Within two days of launching the website, we’ve received an enormous amount of positive feedback. We have sign-ups from all over the world, including Canada, India, and other places. We’re very excited about the feedback, and we’re pushing forward to ensure that we can connect people so that they can feel confident in their college decisions. Even after students have made a college decision, we can help in additional ways by giving them information about what dorms they should live in, classes to take, and other kinds of information that will help them thrive in college. 
 
Check out our College Connect website
 
 
What is a rewarding part of this project? What do you find gratifying about your work?

After launching the website, we did not expect so many people to sign up! The response has been rewarding. We received responses from India and Canada because they wanted to attend college in the US and didn’t have insider information about those colleges. That’s wonderful validation for the idea that we are serving a need by connecting people with resources and key information.  It validates my life mission to create positive impact in people’s lives. We are currently in the process of matching people with their college mentors at different colleges. It’s a gratifying feeling and I’m grateful to be in the place that I am so I can help put this together to help other people.
 
Do you think this project is serving a need that has been amplified by this pandemic or has the need always been there?

The world is different today than it was three weeks ago. Although right now we’re fulfilling a big need, I don’t think it’s unique to the time now. Even before any pandemic, a lot of students did not have the financial resources to visit colleges. I think this problem does go beyond the pandemic. If you’re applying to schools all over, which many students do, it gets expensive to visit LA, NYC, Boston, etc., so being able to connect people virtually is a huge value-add. I think people are realizing the importance of having virtual connections and I think this will continue even after this phase. So this is going above and beyond what college currently offers. We are bridging that gap and building that personal connection so students can feel confident when they get to campus and can apply insider information that will help them thrive.
 
What has inspired you to pursue social entrepreneurship, which seeks to improve other people’s lives by solving a problem and serving a societal need?
 
Two things. First, this is partially the result of wishing I had a similar resources when I first got into college. My dad went to college outside of the United States and my mom went to a very small college in the United States, so I had no personal connection to their college choices. I had to find people through social media and ask them if they wanted to talk. That was intimidating and a process. That’s also another reason why I’m excited to provide this to students who are applying or attending college now—I wish I had access to this type of resource when I was in their shoes.
 
Second, my family has been incredibly inspiring to me. My parents have given me so much opportunity. They provided the chance to get an excellent education and instilled in me a global mindset and taught me to care about others in this world. Whenever we were around the dinner table, we would talk about real-world issues, politics, and what’s going on in business, and I think that helped me mature quickly. We’d always talk about some problems and what could be done to fix them. It started with small things like a how do you fix a soap dispenser that isn’t working to how do you fix greater social issues. It’s helped develop my awareness—especially in regard to entrepreneurship and taking calculated risks. My parents always encouraged and challenge me to think critically about different things and explore and be curious. They also shaped my worldview by influencing me to think about those across the globe who are facing hardships. I was taught by my parents the importance of giving back and to always try to improve the lives of other people and to look at the world in a holistic sense—not just about the United States, but about other cultures and different people. Even within the US, I think having this global perspective is important because our country is so diverse in cultures. 
 
Any other inspiring words you would like to share with our students, especially our 8th graders?

My advice is to not be afraid to fail. There’s a good phrase, fail fast because that’s the best way to learn. Start doing something creative and especially at a young age. And in another vein, life will always throw you punches, whether it be at home, in work, in school, or whatever it may be, but it’s all about how you react and what you do with that challenge. Everyone has to go through hardships, but it’s about how you’re able to adapt and make the most of the situation. Never give up!
 
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