2010 Moscow Summer Intern Program Retrospective

On Saturday, June 26, 2010, eight university students of Armenian descent arrived in Moscow to take part in the first-ever Moscow Summer Intern Program (MSIP). Following the success of similar youth programs in New York, Paris and Yerevan, MSIP is AGBU's newest addition to the summer intern programs. Arriving from five countries – Brazil, Canada, the Netherlands, Romania, and the United States – the students spent five weeks in the Russian capital, home to the largest community in the worldwide Armenian diaspora. Individuals were immersed in the global hub of trade, commerce, diplomacy, and innovation with fellow Armenians from around the world.

Interns explored their chosen fields of interest with full-time, unpaid internships in English-language work environments. Secured by AGBU's network of institutions, host companies included the Association of Russian Banks, Cigar Clan Magazine, Creditreform Russia, Henderson, Mediacrat Publishing, Monitor/Strategy Partners, Renaissance Capital Bank, Troika Dialogue, and Uspensky Rally Technikum. The MSIP participants were housed in residential buildings for the duration of the program. The young professionals group in Moscow, SIVAM, worked tirelessly with AGBU to put together the MSIP program, acting as mentors to the interns and organizing various cultural and social activities. Angela Sarkysian and Lusine Kerobyan took on the roles of MSIP Coordinator and MSIP Activities Coordinator, respectively.

Evenings and weekends were filled with several cultural and educational seminars, including introductory Russian language courses, Armenian dance classes, and sightseeing tours to the many historic museums and landmarks of Moscow. Students also attended lectures and events around the vibrant city, including a meeting designed for foreign students of the Armenian diaspora held in the Cultural Center at the Higher School of Economics (HSE). During the meeting, MSIP students were given the opportunity to meet with members of HSE's Armenian club and students from different universities around Moscow, attend a business seminar and visit the facilities at HSE's International College of Economics and Finance. Interns also took part in the celebration and festivities of Vardavar, the traditional Armenian holiday. In addition to immersing themselves in Moscow's culture, students took a trip to St. Petersburg, where they spent a weekend exploring the cultural riches of czarist Russia, including the Hermitage Museum, the Armenian Consulate, and St. Catherine's Armenian Apostolic Church.

Before the first annual Moscow Summer Intern Program came to an end, participants attended a Supervisor's Reception to honor the gracious supervisors who hosted the interns, along with a farewell dinner held on the last evening of the program to celebrate the previous five weeks and honor the participants, volunteers, and coordinators who made the summer possible. Following the success of its first intern program in Moscow, AGBU is already getting ready to make preparations for next year, hoping to once again gather young, bright, eager Armenians together from around the world and help them explore their future career goals in the Russian capital. Mariana Mekbekian, a 2010 intern from Brazil, said of the program, "In July of this year I spent five weeks in Russia, participating in the first AGBU Moscow Summer Internship Program. This was one of the most exciting summers I've ever had. It was a memorable experience, and I would recommend it to anyone who wishes to extend their working experience and make friends for a lifetime."

Intern Raffi Babikian of the United States also reflected on his time in Moscow, saying, "The Moscow Summer Internship Program was a wonderful experience and I would do it again if I could. Consequently, I feel more cultured and more knowledgeable than before I arrived in Moscow." Babikian added, "Thank you, AGBU, for this experience. For all the young Armenians questioning this program -- go for it. It is a chance of a lifetime."