2010 New York Summer Intern Program Retrospective

On Sunday, June 13, 2010, 31 university students of Armenian descent arrived in New York City to take part in the 23rd season of AGBU's New York Summer Intern Program (NYSIP). Arriving from 11 countries -- Armenia, Argentina, Australia, Canada, Cyprus, France, Lebanon, Russia, Syria, the United States, and Uzbekistan -- these individuals found a common thread in their Armenian heritage and shared desires to gain a substantial edge towards achieving their future career goals.

Interns spent eight weeks exploring the hands-on realities of their chosen fields with full-time, unpaid internships secured through AGBU's vast network of host institutions, which included Columbia University Medical Center, Merrill Lynch, Near East Foundation, Rothschild, and Sony. The AGBU NYSIP participants were housed at the dormitories of New York University for the duration of the program.

"When I arrived in New York City, I expected to be part of an internship program allowing me and 30 other people to get jobs and accommodations in the city. I had no idea I was about to embark on an eight-week journey which would prove to be the most enjoyable and enlightening experience of my life," said Lebanese-Armenian intern Alex Vartanian, who is an Electrical and Computer Engineering major at the American University of Beirut and spent his summer interning with EA Electronics.

The evenings were filled with several exciting cultural events, including a private lesson in Armenian dance by AGBU's renowned Antranig Dance Ensemble, book presentations by authors Margaret Ahnert and Michael Bobelian, a presentation on Armenian art by critic and curator Neery Melkonian, and a visit to Saint Vartan's Cathedral, where participants were treated to a private tour of the Cathedral and dinner with Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church (Eastern). Interns also attended a comprehensive array of professional events, which included lectures and presentations on resume writing, interviewing, business ethics, and entrepreneurship by some of Manhattan's top Armenian industry leaders.

Following the success of a mentoring initiative started a few years ago by AGBU's Young Professionals of Greater New York, NYSIP participants took part in the interactive Mentoring Program. Each intern was paired up with a mentor working in the intern's field of interest, and they met several times throughout the program to discuss various issues and seek general guidance. "The connections I made during NYSIP were invaluable. Whether it was networking or the new friendships I made here, I am leaving New York much richer than I could have ever imagined," said Nicole Andonian, of Rancho Santa Fe, California.

Before the New York Summer Intern Program came to a close, participants attended the Supervisor's Reception, held at the AGBU Central Office. The event took place to honor the gracious supervisors who hosted interns at their respective internships throughout the eight-week program. NYSIP Co-Chair Sarkis Jebejian - who heads NYSIP alongside Raffi Balian - attended the event. Speakers included President Berge Setrakian, 2010 interns Alec Simone and Nora Bodassian, and main speaker Serge Kassardjian, a Committee Member and Director of Corporate Development in Global Digital Business at Sony. Kassardjian was a 2010 supervisor for intern Amy Parks, and is a 2000 alum of NYSIP. "The AGBU summer program really gives the interns a transformational experience. It is amazing to see how quickly they learn in the workplace, and use these lessons over the course of the summer to make an impact in such a short period of time. I have no doubt that these experiences will carry with them for the rest of their lives," he said.

Rob Haffeman of Heavy.com and supervisor to intern Alec Simone of Washington, D.C., added high regards for his 2010 intern and praise for the NYSIP program, "I was so impressed with the quality of work and positive attitude of our intern that I wanted to hire him full-time. If I had the opportunity - and if he wasn't merely a college junior - I would have done just that. He far surpassed our expectations and we still reference the quality of his work. We would absolutely work with the NYSIP program again."

With well over 700 alumni during its rich 23-year history, AGBU's NYSIP is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, allowing participants to thoroughly explore their future career goals in the midst of a difficult and unstable market, and solidifying countless lifelong friendships by bringing young Armenians together from all over the world. "When 31 young Armenians come together for two months in New York, but then are split by oceans and separated by thousands of miles, our unique Armenian bond will keep us linked, no matter the distance," said 2010 intern Shirak Zakarian of Gainesville, Florida.

Fellow intern Raffi Der Agopian, of Paris, France, who spent his summer interning at the Law Offices of Craig Avedisian, felt a similar bond. "The most important thing I've learned during this AGBU Program is that wherever you are in the world, wherever you go, you'll a have a family of brothers and sisters from different countries united by this invisible but amazingly strong link, the Armenian identity. We created our own Armenia."