ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date:

Contact: Danielle Saroyan

Telephone: (202) 393-3434

Web: www.aaainc.org

ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY COMPLETES EXCEPTIONALLY VIBRANT INTERNSHIP
PROGRAM IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Armenian Assembly of
America's (Assembly) Washington, D.C. summer internship program ended on a high
note in a year that motivated interns experiencing an unusually rich calendar
of extraordinary events, such as the Centennial Celebration of Armenia's First
Republic and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival Featuring "Armenia: Coming
Home." This summer was especially valuable to our community's next
generation of promising leaders. This year's participants interacted with
government officials, policymakers, local leaders from various fields and
organizations, and internship program alumni.

Founded in 1977, the Terjenian-Thomas Assembly Internship Program
in Washington. D.C. was the first internship program offered by an Armenian
organization in our nation's capital, and has over 1,000 intern alumni. For
eight weeks each summer, the program gives college students of Armenian descent
an opportunity to learn about the policy-making process.

The Terjenian-Thomas Assembly Internship Program class of 2018
included:

·        
Tamar Barsamian from Sherborn, Massachusetts attending Loyola
University of Maryland, interned at the Smithsonian Institute's Center for
Folklife and Cultural Heritage.

·        
Franklin Chelebian from Palos Verdes Estates, California attending
Chapman University, interned with Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA).

·        
Catherine Conrow from Ross, California attending University of
California Berkeley, interned with Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-CA).

·        
Ariana Cruickshank from Edgewater, New Jersey attending Ramapo
College, interned with Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ).

·        
Artin DerSimonian from Kittery, Maine attending Champlain College,
interned at the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia to the United States.

·        
Robert George from Bethesda, Maryland attending Fairfield
University, interned at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

·        
David Karamardian from Newport Coast, California attending Duke
University, interned at Applied Predictive Technologies.

·        
Victoria Khederian from Bloomfield Township, Michigan attending
University of Michigan, interned with Congressman Paul Mitchell (R-MI).

·        
Alexander Keledjian from Los Angeles, California attending
Southwestern Law School, interned with Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI).

·        
Aidan Mussalli from Glendale, California attending Glendale
Community College, interned with the Armenian National Institute (ANI).

·        
Azniv Nalbandian from Andover, Massachusetts attending
Pennsylvania State University, interned at the Eurasia Foundation.

·        
Nick Norian from Corte Madera, CA attending California Polytechnic
University, interned at the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia to the United
States.

·        
Lena Richardson from Shaker Heights, Ohio attending University of
Dayton, interned at the Armenian Assembly of America's Public Affairs
Department.

·        
Mireille Samra from Boca Raton, Florida attending Lynn University,
interned with Congressman Gus Bilirakis (R-FL).

·        
Gurgen Tadevosyan from Yerevan, Armenia attending New York
University in Abu Dhabi, interned with the Armenian National Institute (ANI).

·        
Lincoln Zaleski from Boston, Massachusetts attending the College
of William and Mary, interned with Senator Ed Markey (D-MA).

"As the summer comes to an end, so does my internship for
Armenian Caucus Co-Vice Chair Representative Gus Bilirakis. This internship was
invaluable and truly exceeded all of my expectations. I was able to learn so
much being in a fast-paced environment with an office of Floridians, who made
the office feel like home," stated Mireille Samra.

Through the Terjenian-Thomas Assembly Internship Program,
participants are offered extensive educational opportunities via the Capital
Ideas program, which provides interns a forum to ask questions to elected
officials about current topics, national and international. This summer's
participants met with Senator Ed Markey (D-MA), Senator Chris Van Hollen
(D-MD), House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Representative Ed Royce
(R-CA), Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Rep.
Jackie Speier (D-CA), House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Ranking
Member and Armenian Caucus Co-Vice Chair Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), Armenian
Caucus Vice Co-Chair Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Rep.
Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA), and the office of Rep. Brenda Lawrence
(D-MI).

With the backdrop of recent developments in Armenia, this summer's
class had the unique opportunity to meet with Armenia's President Armen
Sarkissian and First Lady Nouneh Sarkissian. In addition, Armenia's First
Deputy Prime Minister Ararat Mirzoyan also met with the Armenian Assembly
summer internship participants and engaged in a conversation about democratic
developments in Armenia and the Velvet Revolution.

The group met and heard directly from Ambassador of Armenia to the
United States Grigor Hovhannissian and Artaskh (Nagorno Karabakh)
Representative to the United States Robert Avetisyan. These Representatives
offered their insights on the development and goals for the future, and held
in-depth conversations with the participants.

"The experience of working in Washington, D.C. this summer
with the Armenian Assembly of America was truly unmatched," stated Lena
Richardson. "The opportunity to learn so much about U.S.-Armenia relations
in the nation's capital through meeting with numerous prominent leaders and
professionals was a very unique experience, especially right after the Velvet
Revolution in Armenia. The Assembly provided us interns with unparalleled
experiences that taught us so much," she added.

The students were in Washington, D.C. for an exceptional year,
including the chance to see Armenia featured on the National Mall as part of
the Smithsonian Institute's 2018 Folklife Festival. They attended the Folklife
Festival's narratives and talks about important topics, participated in traditional
dancing, and enjoyed the cooking demonstrations of food most familiar to them.

"Working at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival was really
touching and special to me. I had the opportunity to introduce Armenian culture
to everybody, both Armenian and non-Armenian, who came to visit Washington,
D.C. It was heartwarming to witness Americans learning about and appreciating
Armenian culture," stated Tamar Barsamian.

As part of the Assembly's Lecture Series, the intern class learned
about U.S. foreign policy toward Armenia and Artsakh. The Armenian Assembly
invites experts and leaders in their fields to review current political issues,
with a focus on the South Caucasus. This year's group met with U.S. Department
of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection Program Manager Noris
Balabanian, Library of Congress Armenian and Georgian Specialist Dr. Levon
Avdoyan, Federal Communications Commission Attorney-Advisor and Armenian
Assembly intern alumna (class of 2002) Lauren Garry-Boggio, Eurasia Foundation
Program Manager Hrach Topalyan, American Jewish Committee (AJC) Political
Outreach Director Julie Fishman Ryman and Assistant Policy Director Benjamin
Rogers, and Armenian National Institute (ANI) Director Dr. Rouben Adalian.

The students explored Washington with special tours of the U.S.
Capitol, the Library of Congress, and the U.S. Department of State. They
attended hearings, briefings, and conferences, including the 22nd Vardanants
Day Lecture at the Library of Congress, the Congressional Briefing to
Commemorate the 44th Anniversary of the Illegal Turkish Invasion of Cyprus, The
Wilson Center's Annual Haleh Esfandiari Forum: Protecting America's Global
Leadership with Senator Chris Van Hollen, and more.

Following the success of last year's week-long high school
internship pilot program, Colette Nishanian from Newport Beach, California and
Tiffany Martirossian from Ashburn, Virginia interned in the Armenian Assembly
of America's office.

"Being interns at the Armenian Assembly of America, we are
provided with many opportunities to get a close look at what is happening in
our world today. We were also fortunate enough to visit the Library of Congress
and attend the 22nd Vardanants Day Armenian Lecture Series," Nishanian and
Martirossian said. "Opportunities like this one, which we would not have
been given without the Armenian Assembly, occur once in a lifetime and are extremely
valuable in building our future careers," they added.

The Armenian Assembly of America Summer Internship Programs – both
in Washington, D.C. and Yerevan, Armenia – have been celebrated and strongly
supported by the Armenian community with major gifts from the Richard Tufenkian
Memorial Fund, the John Hanessian Scholarship Fund, the Armen Astarjian
Scholarship Fund, the Ohanian Memorial Fund, Ann Hintlian, Ann Nahigian, James
and Connie Melikian, the Knights of Vartan, the Estate of Haig J. Boyadjian,
and the Estate of George Judge Karabedian (George Kay), as well as generous
contributions in memory of former Assembly Board Members Dr. Lionel Galstaun,
Peter Kezirian, and John O'Connor. In 2003, the Armenian Assembly's Summer
Internship Program was renamed in honor of Aram and Florence Terjenian and
Annie Thomas after the announcement of their pace-setting $1 million donation to
the program.

"It has been an honor for me to coordinate the Armenian
Assembly of America's Terjenian-Thomas Internship Program this summer. I am
very happy to have witnessed how rich the Armenian American community is with
the next generation of active and inquisitive students, and how passionate they
all are about strengthening U.S.-Armenia relations. These interns proved to be
wonderful young professionals, and all performed wonderfully at their
individual internship placements," stated this summer's internship program
coordinator, Milena Davtyan. She is a Terjenian-Thomas Assembly Internship
Program alumna (class of 2017) from Salt Lake City, Utah who attends the
University of Utah.

To find out more about the 2018 summer interns' journey in
Washington, D.C., visit the Assembly's Intern Blog, Facebook, Instagram, and
Twitter. Stay tuned for updates on the Armenian Assembly's summer internship
program in Yerevan, Armenia!

Established in 1972, the Armenian Assembly of America is the
largest Washington-based nationwide organization promoting public understanding
and awareness of Armenian issues. The Assembly is a non-partisan, 501(c)(3)
tax-exempt membership organization.

###

NR#: 2018-037

Photo Caption 1: Some of the Terjenian-Thomas Assembly Internship
Program 2018 participants on Capitol Hill

Photo Caption 2: (Clockwise) Lincoln Zalenski and Senator Ed
Markey (D-MA); Rep. Paul Mitchell (R-MI) and Victoria Khederian; Ariana
Cruickshank and Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ); Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) and
Catherine Conrow; and Franklin Chelebian and Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA)

Photo Caption 3: (Clockwise) Terjenian-Thomas Assembly Internship
Program 2018 participants with Foreign Affairs Chairman Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA),
Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Rep. Jamie Raskin
(D-MD), Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA), and Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA)

Photo Caption 4: Terjenian-Thomas Assembly Internship Program 2018
participants with (top) Armenia's President Armen Sarkissian and First Lady
Nouneh Sarkissian and (bottom) Armenia's First Deputy Prime Minister Ararat
Mirzoyan

Photo Caption 5: Terjenian-Thomas Assembly Internship Program 2018
participants enjoying the Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the National Mall

Photo Caption 6: Terjenian-Thomas Assembly Internship Program 2018
participants with (top) Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and (bottom) Rep. Adam Schiff
(D-CA)

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