2011 New York Summer Intern Program Retrospective

On Sunday, June 12, 2011, 33 Armenian university students arrived in New York City to take part in the 24th season of AGBU's New York Summer Intern Program (NYSIP). Arriving from nearly a dozen countries -- Argentina, Armenia, France, Greece, Lebanon, Qatar, Russia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the United States -- the eager students found a common thread in their Armenian heritage and shared desires to gain a substantial edge towards achieving their future career goals and building lasting friendships.

AGBU New York 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 professional contacts, which this year included institutions such as Amber Capital, AXA Advisors, Columbia University Medical Center, First Solar, Interaudi Bank, Massey Knakal, and Rothschild. NYSIP participants were housed at the dormitories of New York University in Manhattan's Greenwich Village neighborhood, while exploring the city's landmarks and sites with NYSIP staff. Associate program director Michael Hovsepian led the group, along with activities coordinators Mariana Mekbekian and Stephan Terjimanian. Both Mekbekian and Terjimanian participated in NYSIP in 2008.

"This internship has been such a great experience for me, and the best part has been becoming so close with people I didn't know eight weeks ago," said 2011 intern Gassia Guiragossian of California. A psychology major at the University of California, Irvine, Guiragossian interned at NYU Medical Center's Epidemiology Department.

Work Experience and Expanding Horizons

Each year, NYSIP is geared towards providing distinguished students with a rewarding professional experience and opportunities for enhancing career development and contacts, which are invaluable tools in today's intensely and increasingly competitive global marketplace. Following the busy work days, the evenings and weekends were filled with several exciting events, including a citywide scavenger hunt, a private lesson in Armenian dance by AGBU's renowned Antranig Dance Ensemble, a book reading by author Michael Bobelian, a presentation on Armenian art by art historian and curator Neery Melkonian, a lecture by writer and film director Andrew Goldberg about his breakthrough documentary, "The Armenian Genocide," and a visit to Saint Vartan's Armenian Cathedral, where participants were treated to a private tour of the New York landmark and dinner with Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church (Eastern). Interns also had the opportunity to meet with Raffi Balian, who, along with Sarkis Jebejian, is the co-chair of the New York Summer Intern Program. Balian, who is a foreign service officer at the US State Department, spoke to the students about the value placed on quality internships in today's job market, as well as how to make the most of their time in New York. He also stressed the importance of giving back in general -- and to AGBU in particular -- after each student begins to make a mark in his or her respective profession.

As part of NYSIP and its mission to give the interns a full experience of New York, the local Armenian community, and what it means to be a member of the global Armenian community, the interns volunteered at the New York Armenian Home in Queens during an annual event organized by the AGBU Young Professionals of Greater New York (YPGNY) called "Sunshine for Seniors." During the Sunday event, the students perform and entertain the residents of the senior living facility, while taking time to get to know the seniors as individuals and appreciate their contributions to the Armenian community. NYSIP participants also attended a comprehensive array of professional events, which included lectures and presentations on resume writing, interviewing, business ethics, and entrepreneurship by some of the city's top industry leaders. As part of AGBU's University Outreach program, NYSIP alumnus Serge Kassardjian spoke to the college students regarding the importance of online networking and social media platforms as invaluable tools in their job search both now and throughout their careers. An executive at the tech giant Google, Kassardjian, who has extensive experience in the online sphere, addressed questions the interns had about the ins and outs of professionalism and the Internet. AGBU Central Board Member and career expert Arda Haratunian also spoke to the NYSIP participants, giving them valuable instruction on the characteristics of a successful job search. She spoke about maximizing contacts in order to forge a larger network, and using both those personal and professional networks to access opportunities.

Interns also met with Shant Petrossian, senior editorial producer for the Piers Morgan Tonight television program on the CNN network. Petrossian, who has also worked for numerous other television projects, including Rachael Ray, spoke to the students about his career path and how he broke into a very difficult field through hard work and perseverance. A key message Petrossian gave to the interns was to know when to walk away. He illustrated his point by explaining why he left a stable position at Rachael Ray for a new and unknown show on CNN.

Local Mentors

NYSIP's 2011 interns benefited from an interactive Mentoring Program & Mentoring Night organized by YPGNY. During a six-week mentorship 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 career-related issues and seek general guidance during their time in New York. As has been the case over the past few years, many of the interns continue to keep in touch with their mentors once NYSIP concludes.

On July 21, a "Mentoring Night" was held, which invited a large community of young Armenian professionals across various industries for a night of collective mentoring and discussion. The Mentoring Program, along with the Mentoring Night, has been increasingly successful in helping to put the interns on the right career track and make the right contacts in order to facilitate career direction during their educational pursuits.

Honoring Supervisors

On July 28, more than 70 people came together to show their appreciation and honor the gracious supervisors who hosted NYSIP interns at their respective workplaces throughout the summer. The evening, which is known as the "Supervisor's Reception" and takes place at the AGBU Central Office, began with a dinner reception, followed by a tribute program comprised of several speakers.

Interns Alex Baghdjian of Doha, Qatar, and Jasmine Schembri of Banstead, United Kingdom, shared the experiences they had over the summer and thanked everyone responsible for their time in New York. Michael Amirkhanian, first vice president at Massey Knakal, also spoke to the group and touched on his collaboration with AGBU and the internship program. Other speakers included AGBU Central Board Member Carol Aslanian and NYSIP Committee Member Serge Kassardjian.

With over 700 alumni throughout its rich 24-year history, AGBU's NYSIP is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, allowing participants to thoroughly explore New York City and their future career goals in the midst of this difficult global economy. The program is well known to help foster countless lifelong friendships by bringing young Armenians together from all over the world.

"During my NYSIP experience, I learned the value of camaraderie combined with professionalism -- it will move you forward in life to places that you may never have expected to go," said intern Nieri Avanessian of Michigan, who interned at the Harboring Hearts nonprofit organization and is currently a linguistics and political science student at the University of Michigan. Fellow 2011 intern Hovan Agopian of Syria added, "The AGBU Intern Program gave me an unforgettable experience of life in New York City, and the skills required to develop my career in my future endeavors."