Huys Foundation 2020 Annual Report

2020 ANNUAL REPORT

One hundred years from now, how will the year 2020 be remembered?

FOREWORD

One hundred years from now, how will the year 2020 be remembered?

As one of isolation... or also of self-reflection? As a year plagued with loss and sorrow... or also one that made us more resilient and tough? As a harbinger of destruction… or a herald of revival, rebirth, and fundamental change to come?

Surely, as one of Hope triumphing over Despair.

It is the power of Hope that propels us in the face of all adversity. History has shown us that what Humanity needs to push forward is not proof that tomorrow will be better than today, but the hope that tomorrow could be better than today.

These rays of sheer possibility are all that we need to continue, and one only need to look around to notice that such rays abound.

It is with this conviction that Huys Foundation shares the 2020 Annual Report with you, to impart to you the rays of opportunity that we see abound around us.

In our second full year of operations, these rays of the future present themselves through the shining eyes of the five Huys Scholars of the 2020-2021 academic year: a team of bright minds embarked on studies in Biology, English, Epidemiology, Armenian Studies, and Law in four countries. We invite you to meet them here, get to know their stories, and read about how they envision our collective future.

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Starting with this Annual Report, we will also present highlights of the achievements of Huys Scholars from previous academic years, as one way of portraying to our community how support from Huys is translating into impact beyond individuals. Over the past year, our Huys Scholars have been invited to speak at the American Physical Society, completed their program with distinction, launched an interactive media studio that’s reinventing storytelling, ranked top 10 in their class, got promoted to Head Learning Assistant, and studied neural circuits of the brain, serving not only as leaders dedicated to causes larger than themselves, but also as sources of inspiration for us to continue serving our collective cause: making educational excellence more accessible to talented young minds, in service to Armenia, the Armenian Nation, and Humanity.

After all, in the year 2120, how will the year 2020 be remembered? The verdict on this question shall ultimately be delivered by Time, but it is to be written by the current generations.

By you. By us all. Each doing our part.

Starting today, and onward to tomorrow.

ANNUAL REPORT 2020

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MISSION, VISION & IMPLEMENTATION Mission Huys Foundation supports Armenian youth achieve educational excellence, with an academic and professional commitment to Armenia and the Armenian nation.

Vision Huys Foundation pursues a vision of an academically and professionally interconnected and collaborating Armenian nation.

Implementation Huys Foundation focuses its work exclusively on educational excellence, achieving this through the scholarship program and building global networks of academic and professional potential.

Scholarship Program Huys Foundation supports students selected through a competitive selection process by an independent Scholarship Committee. To be eligible, the applicant shall be: An individual within the ages of 18 to 40, both inclusive, of Armenian descent (regardless of location of permanent residence or citizenship); an Armenian citizen (regardless of ethnic origin or location or permanent residence); an Armenian resident (regardless of ethnic origin or citizenship) or a person who has consistently demonstrated a strong commitment to preserve and advance Armenian heritage and culture, Admitted full-time to an academic degree program which is considered a globally-ranked top degree program in that specific academic field, regardless of the ranking of the educational institution which offers the academic degree program, Able to show and substantiate how the learning, experience, and networks gained through the applicant’s academic degree program can be used to address an immediate need, skills shortage, or target area for Armenia, for the Armenian nation, or for humanity.

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Accountability All directors of Huys Foundation should be accountable for their actions. They should take full responsibility for them and should always be able to justify them to the public and the authorities.

Independence Independence and impartiality are the cornerstones of Huys Foundation’s activities.

Huys Foundation is not affiliated with or controlled by any political party, association, or governmental agency.

Transparency Huys Foundation works in a transparent manner and will provide timely, comprehensive, and accurate information to all stakeholders including donors, the authorities, the media, and the public.

Ethics Huys Foundation is fully committed to the practice of honesty, integrity, truthfulness, and adherence to safeguarding the public trust in all its transactions.

ANNUAL REPORT 2020

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HIGHLIGHTS

Gender of Applicants

For the 2020-2021 academic year, Huys Foundation received a total of 150 scholarship applications.

As it does not limit applicants to a particular ranking system, Huys Foundation welcomed applications from a variety of educational institutions and academic programs, inviting applicants to substantiate how their learning and experience is to bring about real impact.

Male 42%

Female 58%

The selection of the Huys Scholarship recipients was conducted by an independent Scholarship Committee comprised of eighteen Luys alumni.

Country of Residence of Applicants

Degree Program Applied For

125

PhD 11.1% 100

Bachelor's 37.3%

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Master's 51.6%

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Countries Where Scholars Study

As a result of a meticulous review process, five Huys Scholars were awarded a total of $10,000 in Huys Scholarships for the 2020-2021 academic year.

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Huys Foundation remains committed to dedicating virtually all funds raised to the cause of education, through Huys Scholarships or contributions to an endowment fund for long-term sustainability.

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2020 Financial Overview Operating Expenses

Countries Scholars Are From

5.3%

8 Donations Accrual for 2021

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37.5%

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Huys Scholarships

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57.2%

ANNUAL REPORT 2020

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Meet the Huys scholars and alumni.

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Kristina Akopyan University of London London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Master of Epidemiology Huys Scholar 2020

Studying at the Epidemiology program at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, a leading Public Health school worldwide, will help me to advance my skills and knowledge in the field of modeling and advanced statistics of infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases, as well as designs of cluster randomized trials. I am confident that by learning advanced epidemiology and communicating with world leading experts in the field I will acquire essential skillset and networking important to advance and develop the field of epidemiology in Armenia and beyond.

In addition to research activities, I plan to contribute to the development of the human capital in the field of epidemiology and public health in Armenia, through teaching, supervising Master’s thesis projects that target advanced epidemiological designs and methodologies, as well as through increasing role and understanding of the modern epidemiology among various stakeholders of the healthcare system, including nurses and physicians.

Read Kristina’s commitment letter in full: https://huysfoundation.org/scholars/kristina-akopyan/

ANNUAL REPORT 2020

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Eduard Petrosyan ETH Zurich MSc in Biology Major: Molecular Health Sciences Huys Scholar, 2020

One of my main aims is to advance my knowledge and experience in cell biology, molecular genetics and immuno-oncology, acquired at King’s College London, by gaining more theoretical knowledge and practical skills in bioinformatics, biotechnology and bioengineering. This will help me to establish new laboratories in Armenia that are equipped with state of art technologies aiming to increase the accuracy and effectivity of cancer diagnosis and its prevention as well as potentially develop new anti-cancer therapies and vaccines. In addition to my expected input into Armenia’s science and healthcare systems, I am sure that this course will give me an opportunity to contribute to the advancement of academic infrastructure of Armenia. Moreover, I want to invest the knowledge and experience acquired at ETH Zurich in development of the “Armenian national cancer database”, which, I believe, will increase the effectivity and the specificity of cancer treatment. ... These are irreplaceable in helping researchers to conduct scientific analysis and clinicians to stratify patients in order to maximize the beneficial effect of anti-cancer therapies.

Read Eduard’s commitment letter in full: https://huysfoundation.org/scholars/eduard-petrosyan/

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Meri Baghdasaryan University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School Master of Laws (LL.M) Huys Scholar 2020

I am certain that the experience at Penn Law would serve as an incredible and invaluable investment in my further advancement as after completion of the graduate program I intend to focus on the field of Internet Law and Policy. In particular, I will conduct strategic litigation in Armenia and on an international level aimed at shaping the policies on such issues as data protection and online privacy, platform regulation, online content moderation, censorship, information disorders and intermediary liability. Additionally, I will use my enhanced skills to continue advocating for more sound policies on these issues in the [Internet Governance] ecosystem as well as in Armenia. In other words, I will dedicate my future professional activities to making the digital technologies and online services more responsible, so that applicable human rights norms and standards are respected.

Read Meri’s commitment letter in full: https://huysfoundation.org/scholars/meri-baghdasaryan/

ANNUAL REPORT 2020

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Stephanie Pambakian University of St Andrews and Université de Genève School of History PhD in Medieval History Huys Scholar 2020 (Armenian Studies Scholarship)

My work entails a historical introduction to the context in which Anania Širakac‘i lived and operated, which helps setting the author within a wider geographical and historical milieu. I have updated and amended the list of works traditionally attributed to him, in order to offer a tool for colleagues in Armenian studies and other historical disciplines who would like to approach the corpus, including manuscript tradition (when known), secondary literature, and translations.

Within the context of Armenian Studies, it is my hope and ambition to prompt more scholars to engage with Anania’s corpus. Placing my endeavour in a broader context, it shall certainly allow colleagues across disciplines to be able to gain access to the fundamentals of Anania Širakac‘i’s work, a key intellectual figure whose role in the History of Science, of Philosophy, and of Humanity at large is still awaiting the reassessment and attention it deserves.

Read Stephanie’s commitment letter in full: https://huysfoundation.org/scholars/stephanie-pambakian/ Established in 2019, the Armenian Studies Scholarship is awarded to a deserving scholar focusing on the interrelation of global civilization and Armenian heritage and the contributions of the Armenian nation to humanity

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Danielle Mikaelian Columbia University Columbia College Bachelors in English Huys Scholar 2020 (John Aroutiounian Scholarship for Service to Humanity)

Throughout my life, I have come to understand that leadership involves recognizing a need for change and taking action. It relies on innovation, creativity, ethicality, and morality. Most importantly, it means looking beyond yourself and looking at how you can leave a tangible, denotative impact on the communities around you. To be such a leader, an individual must be relentless in their aspirations and driven to maximize their impact.

My educational pursuits have taught me how to critically analyze different issues and voice my visions. At the same time, they have allowed me to learn how to spearhead initiatives and lead projects. I know I have the drive and determination to enact positive change for the Armenian community. More importantly, I am excited to manifest these ideas into reality.

Read Danielle’s commitment letter in full: https://huysfoundation.org/scholars/danielle-mikaelian/ Established in 2019, the John Aroutiounian Scholarship for Service to Humanity is awarded to a deserving scholar with a demonstrated commitment to ethical leadership and service to others. To learn more about John's legacy, visit: https://huysfoundation.org/in-memory-of-john-aroutiounian/

ANNUAL REPORT 2020

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ALUMNI HIGHLIGHTS

Hayk Mikayelyan Huys Alum 2019 New York University MPS in Interactive Telecommunications

Hayk Mikayelyan is Director of Tech and Innovation at Artemakar Productions. He brings his multidisciplinary background in interactive media arts to reinvent how to tell stories through emerging mediums of art. He also works for a major publishing company in the US as Digital Accessibility Analyst where he oversees production of accessible digital products to extend the power of education to all users.

This year, Andrea has been working as a Learning Assistant at UCLA for one of the preparatory biology courses and has learned about various pedagogical techniques centered on fostering collaboration in order to create an inclusive learning environment for all students. Recently, Andrea was promoted to the role of Head LA, which has given her more of a voice in how the program works on the whole, and she is currently working on creating more opportunities to promote equity in education.

Mikael Yeghiazaryan Huys Alum 2020 University of Oxford MEng in Engineering Science

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Andrea Simonian Huys Alum 2020 UCLA BS in Psychological Sciences

Since receiving the Huys Scholarship, Mikael’s second year exam results have been published according to which he was in top 10 in the class of 159 students. He joined the research team of one of his professors. The team is working on a computer vision project which will help an ANYmal robot to navigate in a multi-floor building and recognize various objects.

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Emilia has finished her second year of studying Veterinary Medicine at the University of Cambridge and is now doing an intercalated year in Neuroscience. She is currently doing a research project on computational modeling of visual discrimination learning in mice, which allows her to advance her coding skills while also doing research that can further our understanding of how the neural circuits in the brain work. This year she will graduate with an undergraduate degree in Neuroscience, and will then continue her Veterinary Medicine course to become a fully qualified veterinarian.

Ofelya Gyozalyan Huys Alum 2020 University of Cambridge MPhil in Economic Research

Hrachya was an invited speaker at Young Modellers’ Forum 2019. Two months later, he successfully defended his MPhil/Ph.D. transfer thesis and a paper that will soon be published. In January 2020, he was invited as a speaker at the American Physical Society March meeting in Denver (which, unfortunately, was canceled due to COVID-19) to talk about his ongoing research. In the spring of 2020, Hrachya started a new project in collaboration with the Pharmaceutical department of King’s College London, related to cancer treatment, which will be in his final thesis topic.

ANNUAL REPORT 2020

Emilia Simonian Huys Alum 2020 University of Cambridge BA in Veterinary Medicine

Since receiving the Huys Scholarship, Ofelya completed the Advanced Diploma in Economics program with Distinction and continued into MPhil in Finance and Economics. Now she is looking for exciting job opportunities in consultancy and finance.

Hrachya Ishkhanyan Huys Alumn 2020 King’s College London MPhil/PhD in Physics Research

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DONORS & PARTNERS Huys Foundation is immensely thankful to its donors for their support in our second year of operations.

Albert Tamazyan

Jacqueline Karaaslanian

AmazonSmile

John Aroutiounian's family

Anahit Papyan

Liudmila Ovcharova

Anna Srapionyan

Mhair Orchanian

Anonymous donors

NortonLifeLock

Anushavan Hambardzumyan

Paul Garibian

Archbishop Hovnan Derderian

Stepan Khzrtian

Armen Khachikyan

Symantec

Artyom Kosyan

Tigran Shahverdian

Bank of America*

Vartan Bezhanyan

Grisha Khachatryan

Vitali Avagyan

Google*

VMWare (on behalf of Mikael Manukyan)

* Donations under an employer gift-matching program

Huys Foundation is immensely thankful to Gerard Mekhsian, Partner at Hutchinson & Bloodgood LLP, for providing accounting support.

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BOARD AND TEAM

Board

Stepan Khzrtian President Luys Alum 2011

Vitali Avagyan Board Member, Secretary Luys Alum 2016

Team

Anna Srapionyan Board Member Luys Alum 2014

Jacqueline Karaaslanian Board Member

Grisha Khachatryan Board Member, CFO Luys Alum 2019

Anahit Galstyan Director of Communications Luys Alum 2012

Hayk Mikayelyan Director of Technologies Huys Scholar

Vartan Bezhanyan Board Member Luys Alum 2011

Advisory Board

Emmanuel Tchividjian Ethics Advisor

ANNUAL REPORT 2020

Amalya Kostanyan Science Advisor Luys Alum 2012

Ani Kharajian Finance Advisor

Nadine Koobatian Fundraising Advisor

Sevag Kazandjian Finance Advisor Luys Alum 2014

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Throughout our history, Armenians have persevered and prospered by virtue of their knowledge and wisdom. For this reason, the Huys Foundation espouses educational excellence as the path forward, striving to serve and guide the Armenian nation

through Education, to Eternity.

Have your impact for the future. Donate online at huysfoundation.org or by check to: Huys Foundation 8605 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 11005 West Hollywood, CA 90069 United States

Huys Foundation is a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Donations to Huys Foundation are 100% secure and tax-deductible for U.S. tax purposes as provided by law.

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Surely, as one of Hope triumphing over Despair.

THANK YOU