My name is Hannah Rubin and I am honored to be a member of the Armenian Women’s Lacrosse Team. I am a freshman goalie on the Bowdoin College Women’s Lacrosse Team. I started playing lacrosse when I was 4 years old, and fell in love with the game ever since. I played all throughout elementary and high school, and was a 4-year varsity player on the Manhasset High School Girls’ Lacrosse Team. I played club lacrosse for 8 years, on both Long Island Liberty Lacrosse and Long Island Yellow Jackets.

Lacrosse has been such a defining part of my life. This passion for the game comes from my growth and development in lacrosse, and I am the person I am because of lacrosse. I love lacrosse because it has taught me that to win, you must work together. Lacrosse has also brought me relationships with some of my favorite people. Lacrosse connects people as one team and one family.

I am so excited to become connected with other Armenians who share the same love of lacrosse. Having this community is truly something special. Getting the opportunity to represent Armenia while playing the sport I love means the world to me. I grew up going to Sunday School at the Armenian Church of the Holy Martyrs in Bayside, NY. I am grateful to have been a part of such a special program and to have learned so much about the significance of my Armenian heritage and culture over the years.

I’ve learned through my years at church and through ACYOA Juniors that in order to truly connect to my culture, I must learn about the hardships within the Armenian community and provide assistance. I’ve been inspired by the service of my Armenian grandparents to always stay connected to the Holy Martyrs and work hard to offer service of my own.

My Armenian grandparents have taught me the guiding principles of never giving up and always doing what’s right. During my time volunteering, I’ve made sandwiches for the hungry, assembled Christmas gift baskets for children in need, worked at the soup kitchen, and took part in many other meaningful activities. I was determined not only to help others, but to enrich myself by learning about Armenian resilience and accomplishments.

In the summer of 2023, I traveled to Armenia for the first time, and it was a truly life-changing experience. While in Armenia, I conducted research at a biomedical engineering facility called Foldink Life Science Technologies, under the guidance of Elza Kuchukyan, where I created an award-winning 3D bioprinting project.

I assessed the quality of 5% GelMA bioink, a key step in studying 3D bioprinting, with major implications in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. For this work, I won 3rd place at the Long Island Science and Engineering Fair (LISEF) – Senior Division, and was a semifinalist for the Junior Science and Humanities Symposium.

Experiencing Armenian culture while doing scientific research was incredible. My time at Foldink was eye-opening and deeply enriching. I also prioritized giving back by visiting the FAR Children’s Center in Yerevan, donating art supplies and the funds I had raised.

Putting a smile on the faces of children was reward enough, but being able to work at a cutting-edge research facility made my dreams come true. Connecting my Armenian identity with my passion for science was especially meaningful. I’m proud to be Armenian and to see how our people, who have endured so much, are now achieving incredible things in research and innovation.

These experiences helped me feel even more connected to my culture and heritage. They were truly life-changing and helped me grow immensely.

Thank you to the founders of Armenia Lacrosse for this amazing opportunity.