(April 4, 2003) — Senior Ara Mahdessian, is nothing like the average teenager. He spends most of his time trying to balance his academic, sports, home, and social lives. When he’s not busy co-managing his own business, he spends his free time studying in order to maintain his 4.41 GPA, or perfecting his basketball. Ara’s father introduced him to basketball when he was only seven years old. He wasn’t very interested at first “To tell you the truth I wasn’t even sure what I was supposed to do with the ball,” said laughing. But being the type of person who never hesitates to try out new things, he gave it a shot, and much to his amazement, he not only enjoyed it, but also realized that he also very good. Now, at 17, Ara is a star player on Hoover High School’s varsity team, the Tornadoes. He averages 17.7 points and 11.2 rebounds a game. His outstanding performance during their games has been a very important asset to the team. Because of him Hoover now has a chance of earning a league title this year, which hasn’t happened since 1996. He is also a member of Homenetmen Ararat Chapter – a worldwide Armenian general athletic and scouting union. Basketball is only a small part of Ara’s life. After school and practice you’ll always find him at home in front of his computer hard at work on the Glendale-based company, Blue Media Solutions, that he and a friend, senior Arthur Chaparyan, created during the summer of 2002. These talented young men are in charge of a variety of things, such as: creating custom e-business applications and provide complete business management solutions. “Blue Media is my number one priority right now,” he said, because it’s basically the only thing that’s still under construction. Everything else, like school and basketball, are all pretty much developed and under control already.” You can visit their website at BlueMediaSolutions.com. Ara credits his family and friends for much of the success in that he has had thus far in life. “My parents, siblings, and close friends have been there for me through thick and thin,” he said. “They have always encouraged me to try my best in everything that I do, and supported all of the choices that I’ve made.” Despite his basketball skills, Ara’s dreams for the future are of bigger and better things. He plans to attend either Stanford or MIT, both top-of-the-line Ivy League schools, next year and major in computer science or computer engineering. But as for now, he’s just enjoying his last year of high school. “Ara is truly one of the best people I know,” said his sister Areni Mahdessian. “He’s a great brother and friend — someone you can always count on. He’s really going places.”