AGBU internship program brings 31 students to New York

Published: Thursday September 02, 2010

2010 NYSIP interns with supervisors at AGBU's headquarters n August 5, 2010, held.

New York - On June 13, 2010, 31 university students of Armenian descent
arrived in New York City to take part in the 23rd season of AGBU's New
York Summer Intern Program (NYSIP). Arriving from 11 countries --
Armenia, Argentina, Australia, Canada, Cyprus, France, Lebanon, Russia,
Syria, the United States, and Uzbekistan -- these individuals found a
common thread in their Armenian heritage and shared desires to gain a
substantial edge towards achieving their future career goals.

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 host institutions, which included Columbia University
Medical Center, Merrill Lynch, Near East Foundation, Rothschild, and
Sony. The AGBU NYSIP participants were housed at the dormitories of New
York University for the duration of the program.

"When I arrived in New York City, I expected to be part of an internship
program allowing me and 30 other people to get jobs and accommodations
in the city. I had no idea I was about to embark on an eight-week
journey which would prove to be the most enjoyable and enlightening
experience of my life," said Lebanese-Armenian intern Alex Vartanian,
who is an Electrical and Computer Engineering major at the American
University of Beirut and spent his summer interning with EA Electronics.

The evenings were filled with several exciting cultural events,
including a private lesson in Armenian dance by AGBU's renowned Antranig
Dance Ensemble, book presentations by authors Margaret Ahnert and
Michael Bobelian, a presentation on Armenian art by critic and curator
Neery Melkonian, and a visit to Saint Vartan's Cathedral, where
participants were treated to a private tour of the Cathedral and dinner
with Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian
Church (Eastern). Interns also attended a comprehensive array of
professional events, which included lectures and presentations on resume
writing, interviewing, business ethics, and entrepreneurship by some of
Manhattan's top Armenian industry leaders.

Following the success of a mentoring initiative started a few years ago
by AGBU's Young Professionals of Greater New York, NYSIP participants
took part in the interactive Mentoring 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 various issues and seek
general guidance. "The connections I made during NYSIP were invaluable.
Whether it was networking or the new friendships I made here, I am
leaving New York much richer than I could have ever imagined," said
Nicole Andonian, of Rancho Santa Fe, California.

Before the New York Summer Intern Program came to a close, participants
attended the Supervisor's Reception, held at the AGBU Central Office.
The event took place to honor the gracious supervisors who hosted
interns at their respective internships throughout the eight-week
program. NYSIP Co-Chair Sarkis Jebejian - who heads NYSIP alongside
Raffi Balian - attended the event. Speakers included President Berge
Setrakian, 2010 interns Alec Simone and Nora Bodassian, and main speaker
Serge Kassardjian, a Committee Member and Director of Corporate
Development in Global Digital Business at Sony. Kassardjian was a 2010
supervisor for intern Amy Parks, and is a 2000 alum of NYSIP. "The AGBU
summer program really gives the interns a transformational experience.
It is amazing to see how quickly they learn in the workplace, and use
these lessons over the course of the summer to make an impact in such a
short period of time. I have no doubt that these experiences will carry
with them for the rest of their lives," he said.

Rob Haffeman of Heavy.com and supervisor to intern Alec Simone of
Washington, D.C., added high regards for his 2010 intern and praise for
the NYSIP program, "I was so impressed with the quality of work and
positive attitude of our intern that I wanted to hire him full-time. If
I had the opportunity - and if he wasn't merely a college junior - I
would have done just that. He far surpassed our expectations and we
still reference the quality of his work. We would absolutely work with
the NYSIP program again."

With well over 700 alumni during its rich 23-year history, AGBU's NYSIP
is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, allowing participants to thoroughly
explore their future career goals in the midst of a difficult and
unstable market, and solidifying countless lifelong friendships by
bringing young Armenians together from all over the world. "When 31
young Armenians come together for two months in New York, but then are
split by oceans and separated by thousands of miles, our unique Armenian
bond will keep us linked, no matter the distance," said 2010 intern
Shirak Zakarian of Gainesville, Florida.

Fellow intern Raffi Der Agopian, of Paris, France, who spent his summer
interning at the Law Offices of Craig Avedisian, felt a similar bond.
"The most important thing I've learned during this AGBU Program is that
wherever you are in the world, wherever you go, you'll a have a family
of brothers and sisters from different countries united by this
invisible but amazingly strong link, the Armenian identity. We created
our own Armenia."

Established in 1906, AGBU (www.agbu.org) is the world's largest
non-profit Armenian organization. Headquartered in New York City, AGBU
preserves and promotes the Armenian identity and heritage through
educational, cultural and humanitarian program, annually touching the
lives of some 400,000 Armenians around the world.