Birthright Armenia Alumni Newsletter | Spring 2019

SPRING 2019 ALUMNI NEWSLETTER

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BOSTON

TORONTO

MONTREAL

NEW YORK

WASHINGTON D

LOS ANGELES

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Around the World with Us ........................... 3 Alumni News and Newsworthy ................... 4 Ambassador Program ................................. 10 Next Step Alumni Grant .............................. 12 Pathway to Armenia .................................... 13 Alums in Music ............................................ 14 Staff Corner ................................................. 17 Weddings and Babies ................................. 18 Armenian Volunteer Corps .......................... 20 Coming Up, AYOlingo! ................................ 21 2

CHILE

URUGUAY

UTRECHT

GERMANY

ST. PETERSBURG

MOSCOW

DC

CYPRUS

BARCELONA

AROUND THE WORLD WITH US

Oh, the Places We’ll Go! FRANCE

Birthright Armenia is taking the world by storm! We have been traveling wide and far, recruiting, reconnecting, and reminiscing.

With over 1,700 alumni from 49 countries, we love knowing that wherever we end up visiting next, an alum is waiting to greet us with open arms.

SYDNEY 3

ALUMNI NEWS AND NOTEWORTHY As a young boy Eric Millinger (2017, USA) grew up hearing bits and pieces of his greatgrandfather’s remarkable escape during the Genocide, but never knew the whole story. Eric’s grandfather told him often of a ‘manuscript’ his own father wrote. His grandfather passed away when Eric was just 12 years old, after which he forgot about the stories and the manuscript. A couple years ago he suddenly got the urge to revisit his family’s stories. Eric got a copy of the English translation from his uncle, along with its wellresearched footnotes. He couldn’t believe that the story had gone unread for so long, so he decided to publish it as a surprise Christmas present for his family.

In the process of editing the manuscript and formatting it for publishing, Eric says that he could see and feel his great-grandfather fleeing Eastern Turkey as a 14-year-old boy, leaving his family behind in order to survive.

As Eric read the manuscript and became familiar with the stories inside, he knew that he wouldn’t be here today if the protagonist of that story didn’t succeed in his mission to survive. That thought alone was a huge impetus for him to publish the book. Following the collective effort of four generations to publish Eric’s great-grandfather’s story, Eric now claims his own understanding of Armenia’s deep and rich history, and a connection to the Armenian community for the first time. His advice to all who read this, or his great-grandfather’s memoir, is to record family history while there are still people alive who know it. He says, “It will mean the world to our children and grandchildren one day to read not just some Armenian story, but their own Armenian story.” Email Eric for a free PDF copy of the book, or find The Face of Peril, Memoirs of Agazar Babigian on Amazon.

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News

Sarine Gacia Vosgueritchian (2016, Lebanon) returned to Armenia several times after volunteering to further research her architectural undergraduate thesis. With the majority of research taking place in Gyumri, her most recent trip allowed her to finish. “The help and support I received from the Gyumri staff has been the most valuable. There’s also the obvious support, meeting fellow Birthright Armenia friends and family, plus current volunteers.” Sarine’s research was selected in the top 50 from over 600 Tamayouz International Graduation Projects Award applicants in 2018. She is currently working as an assistant archivist at the American University of Beirut and at Naji Assi Architects part-time.

Nshan Thomas Kesecker (2017, USA) recently began Hayastan Podcast, the first episode of which featured a fellow alum as a guest speaker, Tigran Asriyan (2017, USA) about life in Armenia.

“So far, after just a few released episodes, I’ve received a lot of positive feedback as well as over 1,000 listens. Most are commenting how the podcast is a great bridge between the Diaspora and Armenia. I definitely want to keep it going,” says Nshan. He is working to upgrade and expand the content offered, including adding a video podcast, and additional projects that can help with expansion and greater outreach to audiences.

Click here to support his efforts and listen in.

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ALUMNI NEWS AND NOTEWORTHY

In fall 2018, Tania Sahakian (2005, USA), launched the Armenia branch of DISQO—a fast-growing tech company that is leading change in the market research industry, after the organization’s Series A of $13.5M. As Regional Director, head of strategy and operations, she put together the Armenia team from the ground up. This included employment of Armenia’s top 30 data scientists and software engineers, as well as expanding operations in 2019. Prior to DISQO, Tania spent seven years as one of the managers at TUMO Center for Creative Technologies in Yerevan, responsible for the acquisition and management of top-notch talent in the tech and creative spheres. Since 2004, she’s been involved with all major Armenian organizations in both the diaspora and public sector in Armenia, in both professional and volunteer capacities. “I have developed a comprehensive understanding of community needs at the grassroots level, as well as an extensive knowledge of the technology landscape in Armenia. I pair this expertise with a passion for bridging the divide between the Diaspora and Armenia.” To learn more about DISQO, or to join their team click here.

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Magy Avedissian (2017, USA) was selected, along with seven other “Leaders for Tomorrow” to participate in the prestigious Oil&Money conference in London this past October. “A key takeaway from an industry perspective is that the energy transition is real and we should be cognizant of the future of fossil fuels and renewables, both of which will be in the energy mix for a long time to come. Key professional takeaway is that you should try to make the most of your situation and take advantage of the opportunities presented to you. During my time in Armenia, something that became apparent to me is how diverse our energy needs are in this world. Due to infrastructure or natural resource constraints, some countries need to optimize their energy development projects to ensure they are able to provide the necessary resources to meet energy demand. This is predominately why you might still see petroleum products heavily used for years to come. Having said that, Armenia has limited capacity to draw on whatever prospective oil resource available (if any) and an infrastructure surrounding solar could be feasible in areas outside of the capital. I am interested to see where my homeland moves in its energy development, and I would be more than happy to take part in it when I feel competent enough in my field.”

Brothers Esteban Ariel Guiragossian and Ezequiel Guiragossian (2015, Argentina) believe that juggling improves concentration, motor skills, awareness, and self-expression. So they launched a project called Juggling Joy for Armenian Children.

This project allows them to share their artistic knowledge, circus skills, and good energy with children from different cities and villages in Armenia, giving them the tools to interact with others and express themselves. “We believe that art can change lives and make us better people,� stated the brothers.

After starting a fundraiser campaign online, they were able to purchase clubs, rings, and balls for village children to learn and practice. Here is a video they put together to showcase their work.

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ALUMNI NEWS AND NOTEWORTHY As a farmer from Minnesota, Sophie Vranian (2015, USA), has been working on familyowned organic vegetable farms since 2012. In 2017, she helped start the Central Minnesota Young Farmers Coalition (CMNYFC), a chapter of the National Young Farmers Coalition (NYFC), a group of young farmers lead by young farmers, working on special challenges and issues they face. “Our chapter’s members are diverse. We pride ourselves in working across differences, whether it’s organic and conventional, Republican and Democrat, urban and rural, because if we don’t work together we won’t achieve progress. I am new to the process of politics, which started with the organization of CMNYFC and passage of our Beginning Farmer Tax Credit, but am also inspired by the massive grassroots effort in Armenia over the last year to elect leaders that the people actually trust to represent them.”

In mid-November, NYFC hosted their annual Young Farmers Convergence conference and CMNYFC had the opportunity to be one of the only groups in DC immediately following the mid-term elections, and used that time to speak with representatives about passing a Farm Bill. 100 NYFC chapter delegates from all over the US came to participate in four days of agriculture discussions about race, land access, grassroots organizing, lobbying, and many other important topics. The Minnesota delegates were able to speak with key policy makers. “We had productive conversations with all, and are feeling hopeful that a Farm Bill in favor of programs necessary for young farmers to be viable in US agriculture will be passed.”

You can read more about Sophia in an article she wrote for the Armenian Weekly here.

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Mary Ajamian (2008, USA) received a Fulbright 2015-2016 Scholarship to undertake biomedical research at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. Her initial research project progressed into a PhD thesis, which was recently submitted for examination.

The thesis is entitled “Investigating Markers of Intestinal Barrier Dysfunction in Gastrointestinal Diseases.” She evaluated current blood-related protein markers in several human disease or experimental models of intestinal injury to determine their relevance and clinical utility alone or in combination. An excerpt of her thesis has been recently published in the journal PLOS One. “My experiences as a volunteer at Arabkir Hospital in Armenia contributed and inspired me to pursue biomedical research alongside clinical care and shaped my career aspirations to pursue a MD/PhD.” Mary is currently a first-year medical student at the University of Sydney. She is looking forward to continuing research in conjunction with clinical training.

Co-Founded by Shant Meguerditchian (2013, USA), Inovine, is a software development studio based out of Yerevan that provides mobile app, website, and custom software development. “Our priority is to create a positive company culture and focus on providing clients the best experience when working with a team in Armenia.

Inovine is ready to help you with your tech needs!” Inovine is growing fast and has plans on making social corporate responsibility a core value in order to contribute to the development of Armenia.

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AMBASSADOR PROGRAM In the first quarter of this year we had two regions that were up for re-election, namely Los Angeles and France. In June, we will open up the nominations for the remaining regions of Washington D.C., Boston, Montreal, Toronto, and Australia. We happily introduce our newest co-Ambassadors:

LOS ANGELES

I’m a San Fernando Valley dweller of Granada Hills who currently works as a structural design engineer at Northrop Grumman, in El Segundo. I received my B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from UC Santa Barbara in 2015, after which I luckily took part in my fond and unforgettable Birthright experience. As a Diasporan (currently at least) who is heavily involved in my Armenian community, I believe that being actively Armenian is a part-time job in and of itself; as Armenians living outside the homeland, we have a duty to be engaged in whatever capacity. I hope to help bridge the gap between Birthright alumni and local Armenian involvement, as well as to continue to promote participation in the program and repatriation for fellow LA alums.

- Elia Bilemjian (2016)

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To this day, my Birthright experience has been the very best experience of my life! Every Armenian I met, I always encourage them to apply and tell everyone they know about the program. I get REALLY excited! I have my Masters of Public Health and did my volunteer services while in school. Now that I have graduated, I have been working for over 4 years as a Dietitian Consultant in LA. I have flexibility with my job which is great. I also love socializing and networking at different Armenian events around town. I would love to recruit and get others excited about volunteering and living in Armenia. I have only positive things to say about my entire Birthright experience and love enlightening others on how amazing Armenia is and how they need to go ASAP!! Armenia needs more awareness and people to spread around the goodness it has to offer. Live. Love. Armenia!

- Sascha Sabrina Aref (2013)

FRANCE

In all the times I had been to Armenia, never was it like my time with Birthright Armenia.

For the first time ever, I LIVED in Armenia, I LEARNED about humanity, friendship, and ambition, I MET people from all over the world, I FELL IN LOVE with my country, my language, and my people more than ever before. This is exactly what I want to transmit to the Armenians in France, and elsewhere.

After completing a study abroad in the USA, I will return to France in June and look forward to sharing my experience with fellow Armenians in my community. It is difficult for many diasporas to stay in touch with their heritage, therefore I think that encouraging young people to do BR would lead them to create this link.

- Nora Barghoudian (2018)

My experience with Birthright Armenia changed my life in many ways, and I would like to encourage my fellow Armenians in France to make the step to come to our beautiful country. I graduated from la Sorbonne, where I obtained two Masters, one in Business Law and one in Intellectual Property Law. I understand how the French educational system works and how little it values volunteering experiences. However, I believe that we could encourage more French Armenians to get involved by putting the emphasis on the professional aspects of the experience. But the real highlight of my experience was the friendships I created with people who shared the same values and came from all around the world. I was also lucky to have met my soon to be husband, Areg. Currently, I work as a legal counsel in an international IT group. As Ambassador, I would love to share my experience and show others all that Armenia has to offer, in the end we receive way more than we give.

- Astrik Aroutiounian (2016)

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NEXT STEP ALUMNI GRANT After announcing the expansion of our Next Step Alumni Grants, we were excited to review many submitted proposals of quality. The decision to break it down into two rounds was more a formality, and therefore moving forward for the 2019 submission year we will only have one proposal deadline of June 30th, 2019. Click here to learn more.

Round one submissions yielded four awarded projects, which we were proud to announce in the fall, and they are all currently well underway. Now we proudly introduce the two awardees resulting from Round two submissions, namely Alin Dermirdjian and Anahid Yahjian.

“One Province, One Song” is a project aimed at sharing the musical culture of Armenia and Artsakh, while broadcasting its landscapes and traditions. Alin Demirdjian (2011, Argentina), is a singer/songwriter with a background in teaching, who will explore every province in search of local musicians and bands to collaborate with to create a 19part video series showcasing the 11 provinces of Armenia and eight provinces of Artsakh.

Birthright Armenia will finance $9787 of Alin’s $14,575 project.

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After the unexpected passing of her grandfather, Anahid Yahjian (2012, USA) made it her mission to preserve his legacy of over 40 published books and more. She will be hand-delivering an archival grade book scanner to the State Museum of Literature and Art named after Yeghishe Charents in Yerevan this summer, which was purchased as part of the $500 Next Step grant she won.

Anahid will train the museum staff and work towards ensuring there is a digital version of her grandfather’s and many other works the museum houses. Her mission is for the museum to have its 300 years’ worth of Armenian cultural legacy indexed and available for researchers around the world.

PATHWAY TO ARMENIA

Noor Varjabedian (2018, USA) “I am grateful for the Pathway Program as it has given me the opportunity to live and work in Armenia. After volunteering this was the perfect transition program. Armenia offers job positions for young employees that would be much harder to obtain back in the States.

This is one reason I’ve decided to take advantage of working in my field of marketing while living here.”

Lori Pogarian (2018, USA) “As a Speech and Language Pathologist, volunteering with Yerevan State Pedagogical University, I was very excited when they offered me employment as a professor. Pathway to Armenia allowed me a more comfortable transition from volunteer to working professional here in Armenia.”

Narine Aharonian (2016, Lebanon) “Applying to the Birthright Armenia program was one of the best decisions I’ve made. In 2018, I finally decided to move and live in my Motherland. Pathway to Armenia helped me find a job in a short amount of time I am working for a start-up company as an operations manager, whose co-founder is also an alum. This is Birthright Armenia: connection, friendships, professional growth, discovering and paving the way for your journey of self-discovery.”

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ALUMS IN MUSIC Monica Paraghamian (2015, Canada) is a vocalist and one of four co-founders of LOTUS Collective, an equality-seeking, expanding community of Montreal-based female and femme musicians. They support artistic development through collaborative music composition, mentoring, skill-sharing and performance. LOTUS represents a budding network of amateur and professional musicians who are working together to increase representation in the Montreal music scene. To learn more about LOTUS click here and to connect with them you can email lotuscollectivemtl@gmail.com. Monica (bottom left) is pictured here with fellow LOTUS members.

After returning home from his volunteer journey Isaac Baronikian (2017, Canada) worked as a small-scale vegetable farmer, a bike mechanic, and built a straw bale passive house. In July 2018, he was hospitalized for two weeks for a mental health crisis. The bittersweet product of this hospital stay was a musical project called F.A.W.Y. or Find Acceptance Within Yourself.

The music touches on themes of loneliness, mental health, love, and alienation in the world of social media. Currently, Isaac is back in school, working on finishing up his last year in Architectural Conservation and Sustainability Engineering at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. To listen to F.A.W.Y, you can check out his Bandcamp, Soundcloud, or Apple Music.

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For more than 20 years Sevan Baro Arevian (2015, France) has been practicing Sapta Swara, which means “the seven colors” and comes from Nada Yoga, a branch of classical Indian music. Sevan had an idea to combine this music with Butoh, an emotional and slow dance from Japan, allowing performances to become improvised, minimalist, and meditative, and at times even bringing in Armenian sounds! “We play each tone one at a time to recharge the kundalini energy, so that the listener can enjoy an introspective moment. There is no need to go fast like everything in our modern cities, just relax and let go, fill yourself with fresh powerful energy.”

In addition to Sapta Swara, Sevan and his wife traveled to Armenia to develop their project, Chepeti Mehredi, a mix between clowning and music therapy. The project allowed them to visit numerous hospitals over the course of two months, offering conferences on music therapy and workshops to children with disabilities and severe illnesses, and their parents. For the past three years they have continued this project in pediatric hospitals all over France. They look forward to returning to Armenia, to continue their project and train others to take over.

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ALUMS IN MUSIC

Sima Cunningham has been keeping very busy with different aspects of the music world since volunteering. In 2014 Sima, a solo performing and recording artist, released a record called the wolf that eats the sheep. In 2015-2016 she toured in the US, Australia, and Japan with Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy as part of his project Tweedy. She contributed vocals to a number of artists and records since then including Richard Thompson’s Still, Chance the Rapper’s Coloring Book, Twin Peaks’ Sweet ‘17 Singles, and more. On top of all this Sima works as a festival producer

and presenter for the Pitchfork Music Festival, has helped open and manage two music venues in Chicago, and runs her own DIY farm festival in Wisconsin called Postock, which Bambir headlined in 2015! Currently she and Macie Stewart make up the duo OHMME, and are touring after the release of their debut fulllength record Parts in August of 2018. Sima has managed to return to Armenia seven times to play concerts, participate in festivals, and stay deeply connected to the people she has come to know and love!

Karinne Andonian’s (USA, 2006) first solo album, "Acoustic Armenia” is a collection of traditional folk music, with one original composition. It is arranged to honor the environment that this music was birthed in: an organic, acoustic, home experience.

Along with the wonderful talents of Roger Mgrdichian, Vahe Sarkissian, and Haig Hovnanian- Karinee attempted to breathe life into old music, making it new again. You can purchase this album digitally through iTunes, Amazon Music, Google Play, or Spotify, or order a hard copy from her directly.

“I hope you enjoy listening with a nice glass of cognac or wine and I thank you for helping me continue keep the beautiful music of the Armenian heritage alive in the home.”

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STAFF CORNER

We are so very excited to have a new Deputy Director at Birthright Armenia. Meet Shushan Paremuzyan, who joined us in late fall 2018.

She who holds a BA from Yerevan State University in Languages and World Literature and an LL.M. from the American University of Armenia. Shushan has been employed in educational and cultural institutions, valuing the importance of both in the development of Armenia. Her work experience extends from American University of Armenia, Cafesjian Center for the Arts, and for the past six years serving as the Event and Special Projects Manager at TUMO in Yerevan. She is a fan of sports and fitness, and truly believes that we are all limitless in our physical, spiritual and intellectual capacities and can achieve a lot as long as we keep moving forward. You may connect with Shushan and welcome her to the BR/DH team by emailing her at shushan@birthrightarmenia.am.

Artsrun Pivazyan holds an MA in Peace Studies from the University of Rome 3, has been a fellow student at Rondine Citadella della Pace, and volunteered in Romania teaching origami and doing clinic animation for children. As a believer of “once a volunteer, always a volunteer,� he joined our organization as Assistant to the Alumni Program in August. Pop by to meet him in person at our Yerevan office or send him an email at artsrun@birthrightarmenia.am.

Our new Program Coordinator, Taguhi Karapetyan, studied linguistics at the European Academy in Armenia. She has experience in business development, is passionate about music, winter sports, and is always looking to learn a new language!

Connect with Taguhi by emailing taguhi@birthrightarmenia.am.

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WEDDINGS AND BABIES

Congratulations to these alumni couples who are preparing to walk down the aisle‌

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Raffi Wartanian (2007, USA) and Anahid Yahjian (2011, USA) married in a civil ceremony on Valentine’s Day.

Raffi Berberian (2015, USA) and Izabel Sarkissian (2015, Kuwait) first met during an excursion in September 2015. They got engaged on January 25th, 2019 and are planning to marry in Armenia in 2020.

Sarkis Narinyan (2018, USA) and Lilit Arutyunyan (2018, Moscow) met as volunteers this past fall. They got engaged on December 22, 2018, and will be getting married before the end of this year.

Arno Keshishi (2017, USA) and Alik Kandaharian (Lebanon, 2017) met during their time as volunteers. They got engaged during this past holiday season.

Babies, babies, and more babies!

Alvaro Klarian (2013, Chile) and wife Ani welcomed twins Pedro “Bedros” and Manuel “Manuk” on December 6th, 2018.

Lily Abagyan (2009, USA) and husband welcome baby Lucy Elena Hovsepyan on March 14th, 2019.

Cintia Sarkissian Astardjian (2010, Brazil), husband Hagop, and big brothers Gabriel (4) and Mikael (2) are proud to introduce Mari Anahid Sarkissian, born December 29th, 2018.

Shahan Nercessian (2009, USA) and wife Ani welcomed baby Taleen Elize Nercessian on March 10th, 2019.

Dalar Messerkhanian (2006, Canada) welcomed daughter Yeraz on born May 4th, 2018, and is planning for a baptism in Armenia in 2020.

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AVC alum Tamar April Arevian (2015, USA) has always been passionate about shoes. As a young girl in her school uniform, she felt that her shoes were the only part of her outfit that allowed her to express her individuality. Her journey to a full-fledged line of shoes began in 2013, when she enrolled in an artisanal shoe-making workshop in Barcelona. During that workshop Tamar first experienced the entire process from sketching, hand-stitching, and designing on her very own handmade pair of shoes for the first time. “My soul felt completely alive throughout the entire process.” In the following months, Tamar had a vision of walking into a boutique and seeing a pair of sandals with multiple strap options. In her dream state she asked herself, “Why didn’t I think of that?”, and upon waking realized that she had, in fact, thought of it herself! She immediately tried to replicate her dream design using a pair of flip-flops and some odd straps from her closet, eventually leading her to 20

launching her own footwear line, vohky, which is Armenian-inspired and Spanish-crafted.

Coming to Armenia with AVC was also a crucial part of the journey to making vohky shoes a reality and a visit to the Areni-1 cave complex, home to the oldest leather shoe in the world, was part of it. “After experiencing the energy at the cave, it validated why pursuing this new passion deeply captivated me. This historical and cultural fact also lent itself to naming my footwear line vohky, which means spirit in Armenian. I was inspired by the spirit of my ancestors and their shoemaking artistry that dates back to over 5500 years ago.” Vohky is based on the idea of a woman connecting her spirit to the sole, where she can express herself through the dozens of styles created with the interchangeable straps. “Based on our ancestral history, the footwear line focuses on quality material and craftsmanship to ethically create extremely comfortable and expressive shoes.”

Coming Up, AYOlingo

We are happy to announce the release of AYOlingo, our Eastern Armenian language app!

Capitalizing on our 15+ years of teaching Armenian to our volunteers, we’re making it that much easier to work at your pace, in your own free time, plus share this fabulous resource beyond our program participants to make it available to the general public. The more Armenian speakers the better!

With AYOlingo you can master Eastern Armenian easier than ever imagined. It fits into your busy lifestyle as you can learn on the go. The app is absolutely free—download it and immediately begin to practice your vocabulary and conversational skills. With easy to use tools and quizzes you’ll complete sentences, match words and fill in the blanks to advance you through the modules.

AYOlingo provides pictures and pronunciation exercises to better your learning experience. From the basics to conversational Armenian, these first 30 modules allow you to learn with your friends, advance through module and lesson achievements, and share how much you’ve learned on social media! There are hours of words and sentences to learn and master.

Modules 31 – 45 are already in the works, so by the end of summer once you’ve completed modules 1-30 you’ll be able to segue right into the next level.

STAY CONNECTED

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