Friday, March 20, 2009 By Neenet Hairapetian - Advertising 2005 Clark graduate, Gary Aslanyan, passes away in accident (January 27, 2006) -- “Let’s get the first hit, the first shot, the first goal,” he would yell before each and every game. He rallied the boys, equipped with their hockey gear, in the locker room and pumped them up, as the captain of the California Golden Bears. He then went home to piles of homework, which more or less were completed on time; and, if they weren’t, it was because he was too busy buying and selling stocks, thinking about his future, or fixing the computers at Clark as an ETIS guy. On Dec. 17, tragedy struck when 2005 Clark graduate Gary Aslanyan passed away on a kayaking trip, in celebration of completion of one semester of college, in Big Bear Lake. According to Glendale News-Press, at 12:30 p.m., his kayak overturned and he was rescued from 13 feet below the surface of the 37-degree waters. Aslanyan was taken to Loma Linda University Medical Center in critical condition. Unfortunately, he was unable to get through the coma and died four hours later. His interest in hockey began ten years ago, when he joined the California Golden Bears and was immediately appointed team captain. Senior Michael Madatovyan joined the same team because of Aslanyan. “He helped by building my confidence and encouraging me to open up and show my talents,” Madatovyan said. According to Madatovyan, he was “a great leader” and always inspired the rest of his team to strive for more. “His personality changed when he got on the ice from the most laidback person to the most intense player,” Madatovyan said. Aslanyan also played for Team Armenia, with which he was scheduled to play a tournament in Lithuania this year. Aslanyan demonstrated his independence from an early age. When most high school students begin their first jobs, he took on two: fixing computers at Clark and trading stocks at home. “He was referred to [ETIS] by another student,” said Agasi Aslanyan, an ETIS technician. For two years, he worked as a student worker, and continued as a university student for another year. Aslanyan was 19, attending Cal State Northridge for one semester. He is survived by his father, Poghos Aslanyan, according to Bill Card.

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