|
ANCA Leo Sarkisian Interns Take
Washington by Storm
WASHINGTON—After the excitement of last week’s House and
Senate hearings, ANCA-Eastern Region Leo Sarkisian interns
Nieri Avanessian and Zori Eurdekian reflect on their new
experiences and first week in Washington, D.C.
Avanessian is a Michigan native who completed her freshman
year at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor as an English
and political science major. Active in various organizations
including the University of Michigan Armenian Students
Cultural Association, the AYF, the Hamazkayin Dance
Ensemble, and the University of Michigan Arts Chorale,
Avanessian has already shown strong leadership roles and
efforts to help advance the Armenian cause while interning
with the ANCA.
“I applied to this internship program to gain a more
intimate knowledge of the American government and the way
that lobbying groups affect it,” Avanessian said on being
accepted into the program. “I really hope to make a big
difference in the Armenian cause and I think that by working
in Washington, D.C. with the ANCA, I can accomplish that.”
Following her first week, in her weekly journal, she
reflected, “Being involved in Hai Tahd is great no matter
where you are, but when you’re in Washington, D.C., in the
thick of it all, it is just that much more personal and
close to your heart.”
Along with helping with day-to-day office activities,
Avanessian will be researching U.S. aid to Armenia and
Nagorno-Karabagh and the Millennium Challenge Account.
Having an opportunity to already hear from Ara Hovsepyan,
the CEO of the Millennium Challenge Account-Armenia,
Avanessian is enthusiastic about working on this project.
Eurdekian, born and raised in New York, is currently a
junior at Babson College. Heavily involved with school
campus affairs, including the Babson Campus Activities
Board, the Babson Armenian Student Association, and the
Babson Admissions Assistant Program, Eurdekian is a team
player, even sacrificing attending the House Hearing on the
Caucasus this past Wednesday to assist at the ANCA office.
In his personal statement in applying for the internship
program, Eurdekian wrote, “As Armenian-Americans, we should
be proactive by working within the American political
system. I am hoping the ANCA summer internship program will
help give me the tools and the knowledge to work within the
system and introduce me to the ways of how policies are
shaped and influenced. I am also hoping to meet other
American-Armenians from different regions of the country to
establish a network of lifelong friends with common goals
and ambitions.”
Reflecting on week one of the Leo Sarkisian Internship,
Eurdekian said, “After a successful, informative, and
enjoyable first week, I am more enabled and capable of
carrying out the mission of the ANCA. I look forward to
working with all the interns, ANCA staff, and all the
Capitol Hill staff in the upcoming weeks.”
Eurdekian will be working with the ANCA staff in helping to
send out and collect ANCA 2008 Questionnaires for the
upcoming House and Senate races.
Last year’s Eastern Region interns, Nyree Naljian and Alidz
Oshagan, have been called upon by ANCA-ER executive director
Karine Birazian to help guide Avanessian and Eurdekian
through their own experiences from interning with the ANCA
in 2007. Both graduates of the Leo Sarkisian Internship
(LSI) Program will offer guidance and help to all the LSI
participants.
“We are excited, confident, and honored that Nieri and Zori
will experience working to help advance the Armenian cause
by interning for the ANCA this summer. Both activists
exhibit strong skills in the political arena and have shown
vast commitment to their Armenian heritage,” said Birazian.
Now in its 24th year, the ANCA LSI Program provides student
leaders and activists an opportunity to participate in an
intensive eight-week program designed to give them the tools
necessary to advance issues of concern to the
Armenian-American community on the federal, state, and local
level. The LSI Program is a competitive and prestigious
internship program, and is widely considered to be the best
program of its kind for Armenian-American college students.
|
|
 |
