Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region
104 North Belmont Street, Suite 200
Glendale, California 91206
Phone: 818.500.1918 Fax: 818.246.7353
[email protected]
PRESS RELEASE
Monday, June 26, 2006
Contact: Maral Habeshian
Tel: (818) 500-1918
California Leo Sarkisian ANCA Interns Hard at Work in the Nation’s Capitol
GLENDALE, CA – The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Leo
Sarkisian Summer Interns from California arrived in Washington, DC
during the past week to immediately begin work on current ANCA
Congressional initiatives.
Intern Coordinator Megan Young explained that the internship program
kicked-off as the ANCA is pursuing the Administration and the State
Department to provide answers about the untimely dismissal of the US
Ambassador to Armenia John Evans. Western Region participants Meri
Davtian, Babken Der Grigorian, Talar Kivork, Berj Parseghian, and
Vache Thomassian are hard at work, urging Senate Foreign Relations
Committee members to press aggressively for answers about the Evans’
recall during the upcoming confirmation hearing for the President’s
nominee to serve as the next ambassador to Armenia.
Commenting on his direct involvement in the political process,
twenty-year-old intern Berj Parseghian from Pasadena said: `Washington
DC has empowered me to another level as I have been given the
opportunity to step into the center of our nation’s political arena
and experience firsthand the struggles we face and the day to day
progress we make.’
`This is great because it is a practical application of all the
things we’ve studied in school and now we are able to apply them
directly towards Hai Tahd,’ said an equally excited Meri Davtian.
The interns will also have an opportunity to directly participate in a
conference on the conflict in Nagorno Karabgh Republic (NKR), which is
scheduled for next week and features NKR National Assembly Speaker
Ashot Ghulian and NKR Foreign Minister Georgi Petrosian.
"This year’s interns have already shown the determination and
dedication that makes the ANCA and our grassroots campaigns
successful. I look forward to spending the summer watching them grow
as ANCA activists," stressed Young.
The Leo Sarkisian Internship Program provides Armenian American youth
leaders from the across the U.S. the first-hand opportunity to learn
about the inner workings of the American political system. Now in its
23rd year, the program operates out of the ANCA headquarters in
Washington, DC and runs for eight weeks.
The ANCA Leo Sarkisian Internship Program is the cornerstone of the
expanded ANCA Capital Gateway program, designed to provide university
students and recent graduates opportunities to intern or find career
positions on Capitol Hill or at other U.S. government agencies in
Washington, DC. For more information visit the ANCA website
For more information on these and other ANCA programs log on to
or call the ANCA-WR office at (818) 500-1918