Most 23-year-old aspiring fashion stylists would flaunt working on sets with Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson and Cirque de Soleil. But humble, graduating senior Houri Mahserejian knows it’s nothing worth talking about yet.
“I’m nobody right now,” Mahserejian said. “I just want to make that clear. I haven’t done anything special yet.”
Like many students struggling to choose a concentration in college that brings them satisfaction, Mahserejian was no exception. So she chose three. She started CSUN in 2004 as a fashion merchandising major, thinking she would become “the coolest buyer ever.” She chose to minor both in theater and art history because she didn’t see herself working in fashion all her life. She can neither sew nor paint, so she chose the next best thing.
“I get bored very easily,” Mahserejian said. “I’m so scared of being bored, so I chose three different concentrations.”
Luckily, each area still keeps her entertained.
“I love what I do,” Mahserejian said. “I still get so excited when I see a painting by Van Gogh or a Chanel photography shoot.”
And in the off-chance that she does get bored, Mahserejian will just jump into the next thing that comes up.
Working as an intern with stylists, Mahserejian doesn’t let the crazy life style get to her.
“The life as a stylist is so different,” Mahserejian said. “Every time I come out of a photo shoot or a music video set, I come back to reality and realize that I have real problems which are different from the stylists’ world.”
As an Armenian, Mahserejian’s culture is very important to her. She is involved in an off-campus theater group with Vahe Berberian, a famous Armenian painter, author, playwright and actor. Her parents used to be in a theatre group with him so she grew up around the theatre and art.
“I credit the love of art to my parents, especially my dad,” Mahserejian said. “My house is like a little Armenian art museum. Their appreciation for art made my love for it grow even further and I try to continue the love.”
Mahserejian’s parents never gave her the “be a doctor; be a lawyer” speech.
“I hope to marry someone rich,” Mahserejian jokes. “I will most likely need it going into the art world.”
Mahserejian considers Berberian a mentor. Mahserejian aspires to and looks up to Berberian because he made a name for himself and became successful in the art industry.
“I definitely want to follow in Vahe’s footsteps,” Mahserejian said. “I admire the fact that he has always been true to himself.”
Mahserejian parents wanted her and both of her brothers to experience as much of the world as possible. She wants to leave the country for graduate school and spend some time in Paris, France.
“I have an itch to leave,” Mahserejian said. “I’ve been talking about it for so long that if I don’t do it now, when am I going to do it?”
The idea of doing everything at the moment is grounded in Mahserejian’s work ethic. She knows that all three of her fields are very competitive and the ladders she must climb to get to the top are high, which is why she has started at such a young age.
“I have so many goals to accomplish and I can’t do the majority of them when I’m older because it’s such a fast-paced, high stress life style that I can’t live that life for a long time,” Mahserejian said.
Mahserejian is still trying to find the path she will take to achieve her goals. She says she needs to make up her mind before she moves forward.
“My life is just all over the place right now and I haven’t perfected one thing yet,” Mahserejian said. “I should start working on that.”
