AGBU Yerevan Summer Intern Program's Premier Session Strengthens Global Armenian Community

On Sunday, August 5, 2007, the inaugural season of the AGBU Yerevan Summer Intern Program (YSIP) ended when the last of the 16 students returned home to their respective communities filled with a new direct knowledge of the land and people of Armenia.

During the five-week YSIP program, the participating students from four countries (Canada, Egypt, Romania and the United States) worked as interns in some of Armenia's premier institutions and corporations, including, the Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Armenia, the country's National Assembly, the Central Bank of Armenia, the American University of Armenia, the Cafesjian Foundation, the "Sharm" media company, and a number of leading medical institutions.

YSIP is AGBU's third summer intern program, joining the New York and Paris programs to offer college-aged students a perfect mix of professional and personal experiences. The program is unique in that it gives Armenians studying in different educational institutions all over the world a chance to increase their work experience and reconnecting them to their heritage.

The expenses of this inaugural YSIP session were underwritten by Mr. and Mrs. Nazar and Artemis Nazarian of Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Mr. Nazarian formerly served as Vice President and Treasurer of the AGBU Central Board of Directors; presently he is a member of the AGBU Council of Trustees.

While workdays are spent gaining hands-on work experience, in the evenings and weekends YSIP participants were given the opportunity to explore Armenia and Karabakh. In addition to the traditional tourist attractions of Garni, Geghard, Sevan, Dilijan, and Khor Virap, students visited many AGBU-supported programs in Armenia, touring the American University of Armenia and the Ultrasound Training Center, attending a concert by the world-renowned Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra, and being treated to a performance and exhibition at one of the three AGBU Children's Centers.

During a special weekend trip to Karabakh, YSIP participants also saw first-hand the great impact AGBU-funded projects in the region are having, including the rebuilt Stepanakert School #7, an apartment building for war veterans and war widows, a chess school, the Alex Manoogian monument on Alex Manoogian Street in Stepanakert, and a concert by the Karabakh Chamber Orchestra, all of which were established through the generosity of AGBU donors.

YSIP interns also took a trip to three villages in Karabakh's southeast Hadrut region that are part of the AGBU Repopulation Project. They toured the growing village of Norashen, which already has a school, kindergarten and medical clinic, and the smaller Bareshen settlement nearby. Students also saw the newly inaugurated village of Jrakn, which will be completed in the next few years. As part of their journey to Karabakh, interns had the unique opportunity to meet with Karabakh National Assembly Speaker, Ashot Ghulyan, and learn about the progress Karabakh has made towards greater stability and prosperity.

As an added feature of the YSIP summer schedule, students took part in Armenian language classes, dancing lessons, history lectures, as well as meetings with various governmental leaders of the Republic of Armenia. Some of the featured speakers and leaders who met with YSIP interns were Ashot Melkonian, Director of Armenia's History Institute; Hayk Demoyan, Director of the Armenian Genocide Museum; and Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Armenia, Armen Bayburtian. The weekly dance classes for YSIP interns at the Nork Children's Center culminated in a small July 31, 2007 performance for the local community.

Lia Sarkissian of Los Angeles interned at the Karagyozian Clinic and had a positive experience, learning the medical field in another country. "My impressions of Armenia's medical facilities were eye-opening. I saw differences, but at the same time I am proud to be given the opportunity to participate in an internship program here and gain first-hand knowledge. I cannot describe or fully explain the emotions that I felt here in Armenia. I will never forget these five weeks that I spent here." Sarkissian says she is eager to visit Armenia at the next available opportunity.

Another Armenian American, Aleen Tovmasian, interned at a legal consulting firm, Global SPC, in Yerevan. She blogged about her summer work experience on the YSIP blog. "My internship, or 'practica' as they call it here, [allowed me to] conduct research and formulate, translate, and help with sociological surveys in benchmark countries in order to determine what may be the best plan for implementation domestically. It is extremely interesting to read about the technological, political, and financial climates in Armenia, and work toward improvements in those areas. I never imagined that I would be as interested in the development of policy, but I guess much of my intrigue with the topic emerges from my newfound attachment to this country and the prosperity of its children. With more technological advancements, the children of Armenia will be able to keep up with and have the same opportunities as children in other parts of the world."

YSIP co-coordinator Tamar Shahabian is assured that the interns are all satisfied with the AGBU program and impressed with their experiences. "We were very well received here. They have a deeper understanding as to why they feel Armenian. There are difficulties here, but the interns want to come back again; that tells me that the program was successful."

Shushanik Ghaltakhchian, also a YSIP co-coordinator, was directly involved in job placement process and echoes that the program was hugely successful: "The biggest achievement of the program is that most of these youngsters have decided to come back to Armenia and this time not alone, but with their families, grandmas, sisters and other family members."

YSIP also organized a reception for program supervisors at Yerevan's local Folk Art museum on Thursday August 2, 2007. The event was designed to thank all the employers who generously opened their offices to YSIP participants and ensured that they receive a great deal of experience in their respective fields of study. Many of the supervisors asked to address the gathering and expressed their happiness at YSIP's success.

While summer internships are common in the West, they have only recently become more prevalent in Armenia. So, it is no surprise that YSIP supervisors, like Harutyun Poghossian, Head of Marketing and Quality Department of ACBA Credit Agricol Bank, also found the experience educational and rewarding. "It was a great pleasure for us to have two young people working with us whom we loved very much and whose leaving will be difficult for us. They saw all the processes going on in our bank. They got in touch with the bank employees and, what is more important, learned a lot about Armenians [in Armenia]," Poghossian explained.

For Mary Ghazarian, Executive Director of the EuroTerm company, the AGBU's offer was unexpected. "Our intern perfectly substituted our employee who was on vacation. My assessment of YSIP is very positive. Youth from the diaspora come to Armenia, get in touch with us and get acquainted with our businesses," Ghazarian said.

To keep friends and family informed about their homeland experiences, YSIP interns posted items from their time in Armenia and Karabakh on a specially prepared weblog (or blog) designed for the program. Filled with stories and photos, the YSIP blog can be found online by visiting www.agbu.org/ysip.

YSIP Intern, Lara Golnazarians summed up her summer of a lifetime in her blog entry at the end of July: "I never realized how holistically encompassing this experience would be. A five-week internship, which I expected would add to a warm extension as a young professional, has become a journey of self- realization. . .while visiting Armenia, I continuously experience a wide and varying range of feelings. Besides feeling happiness, joy and pride, I also felt pain, suffering and frustration. Although contrary to my initial intentions, I believe that one must feel all these emotions in order for a visit to Armenia to be more than just a superficial journey."

The AGBU Yerevan Summer Intern Program (www.agbu.org/ysip) places young, aspiring Armenians in five-week internships at leading institutions, organizations and corporations in Yerevan, Armenia, while providing a well-rounded program of Armenian cultural, educational and community service activities. To obtain an application or information about the 2008 program, please email ysip@agbu.org.

With reporting from Gohar Gevorkian of Azg newspaper (08/04/07).