Associate Ann Hagopian – Finding Home in the Sparkill Dominican Family
When Ann Hagopian first walked onto the grounds of the Dominican Sisters in Sparkill, she was not looking to become an Associate. She was searching for home.
Born into an Armenian family in Damascus, Syria, Ann’s story is one shaped by resilience, migration, faith, and the quiet strength of community. Her family carried deep memories of loss and survival. Her father, orphaned as an infant after the Armenian genocide, was raised in Lebanon by sisters who cared for orphaned children. “That’s why I always felt connected to sisters,” Ann reflected softly. “From the beginning.”
Ann grew up in Syria, speaking Armenian, Arabic, English, and French. She described her childhood as happy and stable, surrounded by family and supported by her father’s shoe business. But as unrest slowly grew in the region, families began encouraging their children to build lives elsewhere.
After marrying at age 24, Ann came to the United States with her husband, carrying both hope and uncertainty. “Leaving my family was very hard,” she shared. “I missed them very much.”
Soon after arriving in New York, Ann answered a newspaper advertisement for a position at Salesian Missions in New Rochelle. The word “Salesian” immediately caught her attention. “I went to Salesian High School,” she recalled. “It felt like God was showing me something familiar when everything else was new.”
What began as a small clerical job became a long career of growth and leadership. Though shy and uncertain about her English, Ann steadily took on greater responsibilities, eventually helping reshape a child sponsorship program so that support could better reach entire schools and communities.
Life also brought deep sorrow. While raising her two sons, Ann lost her husband to brain cancer. Yet even in grief, she continued moving forward with courage. “What is worse than losing a husband?” she remembered thinking when asked to step into a difficult leadership role at work. “I could do the job.”
Years later, after her sons settled in Rockland County, Ann often drove past the Dominican Sisters’ campus in Sparkill and found herself drawn to it. “One day,” she remembered thinking, “I will live here.”
At the time, she knew little about the Dominican Sisters. But one afternoon, after noticing a sign for “Women Making a Difference,” she decided to walk inside and ask about it. As she climbed the stairs, she encountered Associate Mary Ryan heading out the door.
“Can I help you?” Mary asked warmly.
Ann pointed to the sign and asked, “What does that mean?”
When Ann explained that she wanted to help if there was something she could do, Mary responded, “Come and see.”
Those three words changed everything.
Mary welcomed Ann into conversation and introduced her to Sister Eileen Loftus. Ann soon began volunteering with the sisters, helping wherever she was needed. She remembers the warmth and openness she encountered from the very beginning. “You guys opened your hands and received me,” she said gratefully.
In 2017, Ann became a Sparkill Dominican Associate and eventually moved into Thorpe Village, something she had quietly hoped for years earlier.
For Ann, the Associate relationship is less about programs or titles and more about belonging.
“You lose your family,” she said, “and then you find a new family.”
She speaks often of the peace she experiences among the sisters — in their prayer, their kindness, and their simple daily presence. “As much more than I’m giving,” she said, “I’m receiving.”
Hope, for Ann, is found in prayer and community. It is found in being welcomed. It is found in small acts of care, shared meals, flowers arranged together, answering phones at reception, or simply walking across campus and seeing familiar smiles.
“What gives you strength during difficult days?” she was asked during her interview.
“Prayer,” she answered immediately.
Today, Ann remains deeply involved in the life of the community while also caring for her family, including her beloved grandson. Whether helping with flowers, volunteering at reception, or joining community prayer, she continues to live what she values most: to pray, to help, and to receive.
When asked what she would say to someone considering becoming an Associate, Ann smiled gently.
“Try it,” she said. “You’ll like it.”
