My recent journey to Armenia was a transformative experience that spanned a variety of activities, each enriching my understanding of both my heritage and the broader impact of community service. During my time there, I engaged in several meaningful volunteer projects that allowed me to leverage my skills and passions in diverse ways.
FAST
During my time in Armenia, I worked at a nonprofit called the Foundation for Armenian Science and Technology (FAST). I chose FAST because I can apply my skills from my major (computer science) to helping the nonprofit. There are a few programs run by FAST that seemed interesting to me. First, they have a program where they pair angel investors to Armenian tech startups; with this, they help promote the economy and entrepreneurial hub in Armenia. Second, they have a high school AI education pilot program. I was originally brought on board to be a financial automation engineer (with the idea that I would help FAST automate their budgeting with software development). Although I did do some work on this project, I wasn’t able to fully work on this to the best of my ability because the software that FAST uses for budgeting did not have a public API. Therefore, I shifted my focus during the 8 weeks I was with FAST to the high school AI program.
In order to make the most out of my time volunteering with this nonprofit, I decided to focus on the tech and backend work for this project. As I was informed by FAST, although they are a tech nonprofit, they don’t have in-house software developers. As presented to me by the director of this project, I realized that there was a huge need for automation of data for this project. At the moment of the pilot program, there are around 30 school participants and around 200 students. However, next year, the pilot program will double in size because it’s expanding from just 10th graders to both 10th and 11th graders. This means double the number of test scores, double the number of questions, etc. So, I created a software that became both a communication system and efficient and secure test score tracking system for the program. I built both the front end (which included a login page to ensure secureness) and the backend for this project. What this means is that I helped create a website on which teachers can communicate with the head admin, on which they can get reminders for important dates, and most importantly on which they can submit test scores and student information in an organized and efficient manner to help with the expansion of the high school AI program.
Volunteering: Camp Javakhk
I also signed up to volunteer at Camp Javakhk, which is a day camp sponsored by the Armenian Relief Society to help bring joy to Armenian children living in the region of Javakhk. The camp is located in four villages/cities that are in historic Armenia. At this camp, volunteers taught children Armenian songs, dance, history, culture and heritage. I was assigned to the city of Akhatskha, which was one of the more developed cities.
First, all the volunteers (who were mostly from the US, Canada, and Australia) traveled to Tbilisi from Yerevan and got a walking tour of many of the historical sites there. I learned that there used to be 20+ active Armenian churches in Tbilisi; however, the Georgian government claimed that the history of these churches were “contested” (arguing that it may have been Georgian churches). Because of this, many of the churches have been closed down and instead there’s only two active Armenian churches left. This is the type of suppression seen throughout Armenian inhabited areas in Georgia. Moreover, Armenians in Georgia are not allowed to freely express themselves.
For instance, after camp in Akhatskha, I met with a local named Ashot, who was an “oknagan” (which means helper) at camp. Ashot explained to me that Armenians were restricted in participating in memorials and protests during Armenian Genocide Memorial day. He gave me a tour around the city, and we stopped at a beautiful golden structure in the middle of the city. He explained how that building used to be an Armenian church and had been converted into a Georgian governmental building. Ashot also explained after taking me to the church that the Georgian government is continually enforcing more Georgian culture to be taught at the Armenian school: for instance, 10 years ago, 80 percent of the school used to be dedicated to teaching Armenian and 20 percent to teaching Georgian; now it’s 60 percent Georgian and 40 percent Armenian. He worries that this trend will continue until Armenian is banned from being taught at the school. Moreover, he discusses how 50 years ago, the city used to be 90 percent Armenian, and he explained how the city is now only 30 percent Armenian. Armenians are leaving the region because of the oppression and restriction they face in the city.
Because of what Armenians in Javakhk must face on the day-to-day basis, I made sure I did all I could for the Armenian kids in Akhatskha. For example, after camp, I would find a camper who was walking home alone, walk them back, and buy him or her ice cream on the way. Or after camp, I ran on the track with one of my campers (a local champion runner) at the local stadium. It’s memories like these that helped me remember the reason that I chose to volunteer throughout Armenia and Georgia this summer.
Visited Monasteries for Khachkars
Traveling through the historic landscapes of Armenia, I embarked on a journey that combined my passion for art, technology, and cultural heritage. Aside from volunteering at FAST, I also have interests in art history. Therefore, as another project, while I’ve been exploring this beautiful country, I have been also delving into the intricate world of khachkars—Armenia’s iconic stone-carved memorials. My goal was to conduct in-depth research on these unique artifacts and incorporate their designs into a potential art AI research project through an innovative machine learning cluster group.
My traveling began in Yerevan, Armenia’s vibrant capital, where I acquainted myself with the basics of Armenian history and the significance of khachkars in the local culture. I also learned how khachkars are made by participating in an internship wide class in Gyumri about khachkar making. Khachkars, with their distinctive cross designs, are not merely decorative stones but also carry profound religious and historical symbolism. Often appearing in ancient monasteries, remote villages or even decorated urban spaces, they serve as silent witnesses to Armenia’s rich history and her beautiful Christian art.
As I journeyed through different regions of Armenia, each khachkar I encountered told a different story. From the meticulously crafted khachkars of Noravank Monastery to the weathered yet striking stones in Goshavank Monastery, I was captivated by the artistry and craftsmanship of these creations. I documented each khachkar with photographs and detailed notes, ensuring that every nuance of their design was captured.
The research phase of my journey involves analyzing the various patterns, symbols, and inscriptions found on the khachkars. I note the regional variations in style and technique, which reflect the diverse influences and historical periods of Armenia. This analysis was crucial for understanding the context of each design and how it could be translated into a digital format for my AI research.
So what’s next? I hope to incorporate these designs into an ML cluster group that requires a systematic approach. I will categorize the khachkars based on their geographical location, age, and stylistic features, with the possibility of incorporating these designs into an ML cluster group through a systematic approach. This categorization will allow me to create a structured dataset that could be used to train AI models. The objective is to develop an algorithm capable of recognizing and replicating the intricate designs of khachkars, preserving their cultural essence while pushing the boundaries of AI-generated art.
I’m excited for what the future holds for the exploration and research of Armenian art, which holds a unique part of Armenian history that must be preserved. As we stand on the cusp of a new era where technology and tradition intersect, we can continue to deepen our understanding and appreciation of Armenian artistic heritage. My enthusiasm for Armenian art and khachkars reflects a commitment to honoring the past while embracing the future, ensuring that the legacy of Armenian art continues to thrive and inspire long after our time.
Fuller Center for Housing Armenia
For a week, I volunteered on the Fuller House project. The Fuller Center for Housing Armenia mission is to help build and renovate homes for people in need so that all Armenians may have a safe, comfortable, simple home which is affordable to own and to maintain. Fuller Center for Housing Armenia is a non-government charitable organization that supports community development in the Republic of Armenia by assisting in building and renovating simple, decent and affordable homes, as well as advocating the right to decent shelter as a matter of conscience and action. The construction programs of Fuller Center Armenia include but are not limited to the following: completion of half built house, purchase of an affordable apartment, roof reconstruction, heating and sanitation system installation, interior renovation.
The project I worked on was in Artashat, 45 minutes away from the heart of Yerevan. Here, there was a family whose house had been destroyed 20 years ago from a natural disaster, and so they had been rebuilding ever since. Our team helped build a new house: this included planning and blueprinting, building the framework, installing windows, doors, AC/heating units, etc., putting up drywall, and making and pouring concrete. What I worked on during my week there was creating and pouring concrete. Unfortunately we didn’t have any large machinery to move piles of soil and sand for the concrete, so my primary job was shoveling the soil into the buckets and carrying them to the concrete mixer. As of today, I learned that the building itself is finished, and the volunteers at the site are beginning to move all the furniture into the house. The project leader expects the house to be completely finished in November of this year.
Conclusion
During my time in Yerevan, I made connections with several other volunteers. Through the program I signed up for, I was able to meet and learn from other American volunteers. With this cohort, we did several activities together like hiking and camping down in Lastiver, cooking together, visiting several monasteries and churches, climbing Mt. Aragats (the tallest mountain in present-day Armenia), attending Armenian festivals where I learned ancient Armenian group dances, and so on. Through this experience, as an Armenian American, I was able to not only learn about my heritage and where my ancestors came from, but I also learned about myself.