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PRESS RELEASE
Friday, September 29, 2006
34 AGBU New York Summer Interns Take on Manhattan with Great Success
A group of 34 AGBU interns from seven countries including Argentina,
Canada, England, Egypt, France, Lebanon, and the United States
immersed themselves in New York City’s culture, business, nightlife
and daily excitement as participants of the 20th season of AGBU’s New
York Summer Intern Program (NYSIP). After a rigorous application
process, these talented young men and women showed promise in their
academic achievements and diverse extracurricular interests. Through
the Program’s unique opportunities, each student not only interned at
a company related to his or her field of study, but also took on all
the challenges and excitement New York City has to offer.
In addition to a daily internship position, the eight-week Program
hosted a number of educational and cultural events for its 2006
participants, including an interactive session with Zarmine Boghosian
on the Armenian language; a lecture by sports marketing veteran, Paul
Kayaian, on the values and importance of professional networking; a
briefing on resume writing and interview tips by Ryan Herson of Young
& Rubicam; an outing to Sports Illustrated magazine for a question and
answer session with college football writer, Gene Menez; a night of
Armenian dance instruction led by the AGBU Antranig Dance Ensemble;
and community service projects at the Armenian Home for the Aged in
Queens, NY, and with local public television station Thirteen/WNET for
the Target-sponsored Kid’s Day. To expand their professional horizons,
interns attended a Mentoring Night sponsored by the AGBU Young
Professionals of Greater New York (YPGNY), where young professionals
from the community met with the students based on their fields of
interest to share their experiences in the working world.
Before the Program wrapped up, the President’s Club hosted the annual
Supervisors’ Reception at the AGBU Central Office in Manhattan to
thank the supervisors who spent their summers guiding and mentoring
the interns, teaching them valuable professional skills and serving as
role models. During the reception, twp interns Kara Boodakian from
Boston, MA who interned at Theatre Row, and John Chakardemian from
Beirut, Lebanon who interned at AXA Advisors, LLC, shared their
personal stories, lessons and memories from their time during the
Program and their stay in New York.
The keynote speaker Emmanuel Tchividjian, Senior Vice President of
Ruder Finn, Inc., shared his life story with the guests and provided
everyone with some helpful thoughts. "Everything takes, hard work,
dedication and patience. If I had to choose the one attribute that is
the most important in life, I would without a doubt choose
TRUST. Trust is at the basis of any human relation, whether personal
or corporate."
In addition, first time supervisor Stephanie Simon, Museums Reporter
for NY1News, spoke on her experience with AGBU, praised AGBU for
maintaining the Armenian culture and heritage, the importance of
connecting with people and ideas and the unexpected connection and
friendship that she developed with her intern, Tanya Baronian.
Before concluding the Program, Carol Aslanian, member of the AGBU
Central Board of Directors for the past ten years, spoke on behalf of
AGBU. Carol, who oversees AGBU’s Education Department, wished the
interns much success in the future, and praised them for their
commitment and hard work. She reminded the interns that each of them
has the potential to become great leaders of our Armenian community
and their countries’ respective societies.
To date, approximately 600 interns worldwide have benefited from this
extraordinary, life-changing program. The selection criteria is
challenging and interns must have completed their sophomore year of
college and have earned a minimum B+ average or its equivalent, for
international students. All applications and essays are carefully
reviewed to ensure that the interns are capable of meeting the
demanding internships available to them in a number of New York City’s
biggest and best employment sectors. Some of the many participating
institutions include: Columbia Records, Columbia University Hospital,
Moody’s, Merrill Lynch, NY1 News, Sports Illustrated, the United
Nations and UBS.
Sponsored by the AGBU President’s Club, the AGBU New York Summer
Intern Program () was established in 1987 by
Vartkess and Rita Balian, and is still currently under their
supervision in its 19th year. AGBU NYSIP places young, aspiring
Armenians in eight-week internships in the corporate, international,
art and medical worlds of New York, while providing a well-rounded
program of Armenian cultural, educational and community service
activities.
To obtain an application, please visit AGBU NYSIP’s website at
Please check the form for eligibility
requirements. The application deadline is December 14, 2006. For more
information, please email [email protected].
For more information about AGBU and its worldwide programs, please
visit