The Power of Not Choosing | Armen Derkevorkian | TEDxLittle Armenia

From a five-year-old violinist in Aleppo to an engineer at NASA, a consultant at BCG, and now an AI founder—Armen Derkevorkian's life has refused to fit into neat boxes. In this personal and powerful talk, he explores what happens when the world keeps asking you to choose: musician or scientist? Practical or passionate? Logic or emotion? Through stories spanning childhood violin competitions, brutal engineering exams, and the moment everything changed, Armen reveals why the real breakthrough came not from picking a side, but from refusing to. This is a story about hybrid identities, the cost of hiding who you are, and what becomes possible when you stop dividing yourself and embrace the space between worlds. Armen Derkevorkian is the Co-founder and President of Signal7, an AI platform providing intelligence and health monitoring for home services companies. Prior to Signal7, he was a Principal at the Boston Consulting Group, advising global technology companies on strategy and transformation. He began his career as an engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, developing technologies for space missions. Throughout his career, Armen has maintained an active performance career as a professional violinist, serving as a member of the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra in Switzerland, and performing regularly with leading orchestras across the U.S. and Europe. He holds a PhD in Civil Engineering, master's degrees in Electrical and Structural Engineering, and a graduate certificate in Violin Performance from the University of Southern California. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx