AGBU Press Office
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022-1112
Website: www.agbu.org
PRESS RELEASE
Wednesday, August 8, 2018
AGBU EXTENDS SCHOLARSHIPS TO APPLICANTS IMPACTED BY CLOSURE OF LUYS FOUNDATION
On August 7, 2018, AGBU announced its decision, in coordination with My Step
Foundation, to extend scholarships to select students recently accepted to some
of the top universities in the world. Many of these high achievers had been
counting on receiving scholarships offered by the Luys Foundation, a non-profit
established by key figures of the previous administration to help ensure that
top-performing Armenian students from around the world could fulfill their
dream of graduating from an elite learning institution and help strengthen
Armenia's competitive standing in the process. Luys announced its dissolution
soon after the new government was installed, leaving the applicants' academic
futures uncertain.
My Step Foundation was launched by journalist, activist and spouse of the new
prime minister Anna Hakobyan with the mission of finding solutions for issues
that cannot be fully addressed by government. The charity was set up to serve
as a connector, matching funds to projects either internally or
externally-generated. Hakobyan could not have anticipated that the first test
of the new model would be coming to the aid of these students who had little
time left to meet their financial obligations for the 2018-2019 academic year.
She promptly reached out to the international community and, shortly
thereafter, AGBU responded with $200,000 in scholarship funding. It also agreed
to assume responsibility for administering the scholarships directly with the
universities involved-Oxford University, Cambridge University and University of
Chicago among them.
Berge Setrakian, president of AGBU, noted that AGBU's decision to make such an
exceptional contribution this year was based on the reality that the academic
fates of these exemplary scholars were on the line. "We cannot let the goals of
the these hardworking and intellectually gifted students be impeded because of
circumstances beyond their control. We applaud My Step for reaching out so
promptly and we are grateful to all our education-minded donors who make it
possible for AGBU to extend the needed financial support."
Hakobyan expressed her thanks to AGBU for stepping up. "Partnering with AGBU
was a natural choice, given that it has awarded thousands of scholarships to
Armenian students over many decades. We unanimously recognized the potential of
this extraordinary pool of students to contribute their knowledge and skills to
help transform Armenia into the competitive nation it aspires to be in the
world economy. We are truly grateful that AGBU, among our other partners, was
so quick to affirm its longstanding commitment to higher education in this
unexpected way."
While My Step Foundation found a quick way to support some Armenian students, a
more sustainable solution is sought to streamline young people's access to
scholarships.
Established in 1906, AGBU 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
programs, annually touching the lives of some 500,000 Armenians around the
world. For more information about AGBU and its worldwide programs, please visit
www.agbu.org.
