Armenian National Committee – Western Region
104 North Belmont Street, Suite 200
Glendale, California 91206
Phone: 818.500.1918 Fax: 818.246.7353
PRESS RELEASE
: July 31, 2007
Contact: Haig Hovsepian
Tel: (818) 500-1918
ANCA Leo Sarkisian Intern Focus: Dzovak Kazandjian
Washington, DC – Dzovak Kazandjian, a member of the South Bay ANC and a
participant in this year’s Leo Sarkisian Internship (LSI) program, is in
Washington this summer working to advance the Armenian Cause. Dzovak was
selected in May of this year to be one of four individuals from California
to serve in the distinguished ANCA "Leo Sarkisian" Internship (LSI) Program.
The ANCA-LSI Program is funded by the Armenian National Committee – Western
Region (ANC-WR). Named after long-time ANC activist Leo Sarkisian, the
program brings together young Armenian Americans from across the United
States and Canada to gain first-hand experience in the American political
system while working on issues of concern to the Armenian American
community.
"Dzovak Kazandjian epitomizes the strength and potential of our community’s
youth," commented ANC-WR Chairman Raffi Hamparian. "We are very proud of
Dzovak’s efforts in Washington and look forward to her incorporating her
skills and experiences to assist the local community when she returns to
Southern California," Hamparian added.
Kazandjian is an English and Sociology double-major at the University of
California, Irvine. She currently serves on the executive committee for the
South Bay ANC and has interned with the Asbarez daily newspaper and Orange
County Register.
During her time in the nation’s capital, Kazandjian has greatly assisted the
Armenian Cause in her work. Like her intern colleagues, she has played a
prominent role in working with ANCA staff to build support for the Armenian
Genocide Resolution (H. Res. 106). Each LSI participant was assigned the
task of working with local communities to obtain cosponsorship support from
five Members of Congress from around the country for H. Res. 106. Kazandjian
has also traveled to Capitol Hill to accompany Armenian American media and
to personally meet and interview Members of Congress including Adam Schiff
(D-CA-29), Brad Sherman (D-CA-27) and Frank Pallone (D-NJ-06). In addition
to the enriching LSI program lecture series, Kazandjian and her fellow
interns have also visited the Library of Congress. Levon Avdoyan,
specialist on Armenia and Georgia at the Library, provided the interns with
a presentation on authentic and rare artifacts, including manuscripts and
bibles from the 16th century, and a letter from Talaat Pasha to Ambassador
Henry Morgenthau in French requesting a dinner meeting on April 24, 1915.
Now in its 23rd year, the ANCA LSI Program provides student leaders and
activists an opportunity to participate in an intensive 8-week program
designed to give them the tools necessary to effectively 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.
In addition to Dzovak Kazandjian, the 2007 LSI Program participants from the
Western United States are Alex Der Alexanian, Shant Hagopian and Chris
Yemenidjian. Joining interns from Canada, Europe and the Eastern United
States, the LSI participants from the Western Region have conducted
significant and groundbreaking activities in just their first week in our
nation’s capital.
The Armenian National Committee – Western Region is the largest and most
influential Armenian American grassroots advocacy organization in the
Western United States. Working in coordination with a network of offices,
chapters, and supporters throughout the Western United States and affiliated
organizations around the country, the ANC-WR advances the concerns of the
Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.