Spring — 2008

Christopher Tashjian

Photography/Dance Therapy

“One thing that all of us should do at SMC is to work for and join in with other students. You can just simply do all of the academic things, sure, but then you’re just leaving a big emptiness.”

He was right in the middle of photographing his grandparents’ 50th anniversary when called. But Christopher Tashjian is a very thoughtful and polite guy; the kind of guy that will somehow always find the time to cooperate with and help others. Over a cacophony of background noise, Christopher said, “Yeah, I want my degree in Dance Therapy because dance is my passion and I honestly love helping people out. So I did some research and found out how I could get the best of both worlds. I’m not in the therapeutic part of my studies yet,” he continues. “But I’m definitely proceeding and making progress with dance.”

Christopher says, “My cultural and performance aspects of dance are going very well at SMC. I have an incredible night class with Professor Hewitt, and she’s absolutely great. Number one, she explains the curriculum very well. And the people in her classes are very pleasant to be with. Plus, there’s a particular ‘etiquette’ in dance, and you need patience to grasp the art of its movements. It’s no ‘overnight’ sort of thing, but it’s something Professor Hewitt is extremely well aware of and is patient with.”

It’s Christopher’s plan to transfer to one of the Cal State campuses and then dance his way—via mambos, tangos, and cha chas—right into the field of medical rehabilitation. Until then, he’s determinedly making as much use of the SMC campus—and campus life—as possible. “It really all depends, here, on what a student is willing to do to get what he or she wants,” says Christopher. “If you need Financial Aid, it’s available through EOPS and a lot of other sources. But I’ll stress this: Whatever you’re in need of is available here. You just have to be willing to look for it and then ask questions. What you do at SMC is a very individual path,” he adds. “But you won’t find a more international or welcoming campus anywhere.”

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