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Buoyed by greater access to the country than their parents
had and a gradual retreat from the constraints of community
institutions, young Diaspora Armenians have been flocking
to Armenia annually to provide some type of support or
assistance to the country.
Many volunteer by providing
tangible support. For this there is a plethora of possibilities,
ranging from teaching English to building houses with
Habitat for Humanity. In these scenarios the assistance
rendered is more apparent, whether it is smiling faces
in a classroom or the sight of even a partially-completed
home. Volunteer opportunities in Armenia also include internships
from an array of professions. These include, but are not
limited to, internships with organizations such as the
Armenian International Policy Research Group (AIPRG), USAID,
and a variety of information-technology firms.
The clear opportunity is that of an internship- something
that looks great on resumes, reflects experience, and becomes
a talking point during job interviews. An internship in
Armenia provides volunteers a competitive advantage. Whom
will law school admissions find more compelling, the legal
intern at a New York-based law firm, or an intern from
the Constitutional Court of Armenia? Does an internship
with the AIPRG or Armenian Foreign Ministry go further
than an internship with a Congressman in Washington DC?
An internship in Armenia reveals the working mechanisms
of another country, exposing a volunteer to completely
different political, work, commercial, and social cultures.
Furthermore, volunteers can assist in bringing their American-university
training to Armenia. The methods used by American-trained
interns offer a new dynamic to Armenia-based organizations
and institutions; similarly, those same interns are then
introduced to a mix of Soviet-style and Armenian methods
that they would not learn in the US.
Richard Antaramian (USA),
AIPRG volunteer and BR/DH participant
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