Miles Camron Young
On June 29, 2024, Nikta Rafizadeh (ISSD alumni) gave birth to a baby boy who weighed 6.8 pounds. Baby Miles, mom, and dad (and proud parents) are all doing fine.
Maya Mariam Oswalt
Maya Mariam Oswalt was born on July 16, 2024. The Oswalt, Rastakhiz, and Naraghi families couldn’t be more overjoyed about her arrival! We hope that Maya joon will one day attend ISSD. In the meantime, we’ve been familiarizing her with the “Lili Lili Hozak” nursery rhyme.
Niyaz Soraya–Mahroian graduated with Honors at San Marcos High School and will be attending SDSU’s Weber Honors College to study Sociology starting this fall.
Bahar Fouladpouri graduated from UCSD, majoring in Human Developmental Sciences and Sociocultural Anthropology.
Nikki and Sarah Hekmat graduated from high school this year. Nikki is going to UC Berkeley, majoring in political science to pursue law, and Sarah is going to UC Riverside, majoring in Biology to pursue the medical field.
Arteen Afshin is excited about starting his next chapter, pursuing his dream of becoming a commercial pilot.
Neseem Taleghani
Neseem recently graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering and will be working full time as a turbomachinery engineer at Solar Turbines in San Diego starting this fall. He says: “I am thankful to have attended ISSD for 6 years in order to learn more about my culture and take a nuanced perspective into the world.”
مسابقه دوی پنج کیلومتر و نیم ماراتن
تابستان هر سال، در پارک قدیمی بلبوا در شهر سن دیه گو مسابقه دوی پنج کیلومتر و نیم ماراتن با نام American Finest City با شرکت هزاران نفر برگزار می شود.
امسال، انجمن متخصصین ایرانی ـ امریکایی شهر سن دیه گو AIAP با تشکیل گروه دو تصمیم گرفت در مسابقه شرکت کند. داوطلبان گروه از مدتی قبل از مسابقه به تمرینات فردی و گروهی پرداختند و سرانجام روز هجده اگوست در رقابتها شرکت کردند.
در میان شرکت کنندگان انجمن، در بخش زنان، جایزه اول به آوا مهدوی و در بخش مردان، به محمود رضا پیروزیان تعلق گرفت.
انجمن به منظور تشویق ایرانیان به فعالیت های ورزشی تصمیم دارد فعالانه تر در اینگونه رقابت ها شرکت کند. برای اطلاعات بیشتر در این زمینه به تارنمای www.aiap.org مراجعه کنید.
Sussan Johnsen “The Angel of Philanthropy”
Sussan Johnsen passed away from cancer in mid-July 2024, after several years of pain. She was a dear friend of mine and among the first to welcome us to San Diego. She encouraged me to get involved with her on the Board of House of Iran and I encouraged her to join me on the Board of Dollar a Month Fund. For more than two decades we worked together to benefit children in need.
Sussan was an amazing person. Honest, decent, compassionate, concerned, and generous with a jolly and happy personality. She loved photography; she traveled the world to capture the beauty that exists in different parts of our universe and people from various cultures—from primitive to those who had the best. We had several trips together that were priceless with so many memories that made each trip so unique. It was on one of these trips that she encountered and realized she was to tackle cancer. Valiantly, she fought it for several years and endured the pain. Realizing the end of her life’s journey, she began to organize and announced she would be helping the children and needy people of Sistan and Baluchestan. With the help of a friend, she began her quest and, she built schools, parks, rehab centers, a gym for women, and had plans to continue with more schools.
Her vision of helping the needy has left an everlasting remembrance with gratitude for her.
In her memory, I say Sussan joon, we loved and respected you and are so grateful to have had you among us. Thank you for all that you have accomplished. May you rest in peace, my dearest friend. See you sooner or later!
—Shahri Estakhri
Dr. Cyrus Nakhshab
With heavy hearts and the deepest respect, we announce the passing of Dr. Cyrus Nakhshab, a cherished member of our community. He was born on April 17, 1945, in Iran and passed August 3, 2024, in California. Dr. Nakhshab’s accomplishments highlight a man with a voracious curiosity, a deep love of scholarship, and a commitment to uplifting humanity.
Dr. Nakhshab’s education began with a BS in Chemistry from CSU Dominguez Hills. He worked as a chemist at Shell Oil in the early 1970s before pursuing a PhD in his two passions: Sociology and Psychology. Throughout his life, he worked in research, clinical psychology, and as an educator in his fields of expertise.
He held research fellowships (UC Berkeley) and professorships at multiple universities (including Professor of Psychology and Sociology at the University of Tehran), taught high school math and food trade to at-risk youth, worked as a school psychologist, and had a long-standing clinical practice in San Diego. As a clinical psychologist, he worked with children in the foster system, people with complex mental diagnoses, veterans with PTSD, and more.
He was also deeply invested in our San Diego Iranian community, both as a community member and a clinician. He belonged to the Association of Iranian American Professionals, Persian Cultural Center and Iranian School of San Diego, speaking many times at their events on various topics around psychology. His investment in and support of our community cannot be understated.
Dr. Nakhshab had a notably generous worldview that was anchored in the resilience of the human spirit. Those who knew him attest to his graciousness, his intellectual curiosity, and his pursuit of understanding individuals without judgment.
Most importantly, he was a son, a brother, a father, a proud grandfather, an uncle, a friend, and a beloved mentor to many throughout his storied life. He was an absolute pillar in his family and took pride in the central role that family and culture had in his life. His family has described him as a life-giving and joyful force of nature. He was known to say that he lived a full life and that he had no regrets.
It is no exaggeration to say that Dr. Nakhshab had a deep love for life and seized every moment of it. He is beloved by many in our community and beyond, and we send our respects.
