The Kharajian family, who funded an AIWA scholarship endowment this year, photographed in January 2020. Left to right: Arline Arpine Kharajian, Ani Kharajian, Westley Abruzzese, Becca Kharajian Abruzzese, and Torie Kharajian.
December 3, 2024
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BOSTON – The Armenian International Women’s Association (AIWA) has announced 50 recipients of a total of over $80,000 in scholarship aid for the 2024-2025 academic year.
The AIWA scholarship program is international, and recipients this year hail from eight different countries. Most students are from the United States and Armenia, but several other countries are represented as well: Lebanon, Canada, Great Britain, France, Turkey and Germany. The higher educational institutions attended by these students are equally international, ranging from North America to Europe, the Middle East, and Armenia.
The fields of study pursued by scholarship recipients this year are also diverse, including law and politics, as well as biology and medicine, arts, social sciences, and education. In addition, a number of awardees are advancing in traditionally male-dominated fields such as finance, management, computer science, and engineering.
AIWA scholarships are based on financial need and merit, and are funded by endowments as well as ongoing donations. Scholarships are available to women of Armenian descent who are attending higher educational institutions at the level of college junior or above. Applications open in January and awards are announced in the late spring.
New this year is the establishment of the Arline Arpine Kharajian scholarship endowment, thanks to the generosity of the Kharajian family of Arlington and Watertown, Massachusetts and Nashua, New Hampshire. With this scholarship fund, the Kharajian family and AIWA will support Armenian women pursuing studies in health care with a focus on eradicating diseases, and those studying to become social workers focused on the well-being of women and children. The family seeks to support scholars in Syria, Lebanon, and the United States, and to have a meaningful impact on communities facing challenges related to health and social welfare.
The new Arline Arpine Kharajian scholarship endowment, in the amount of $20,000, honors the values and commitment to service of Arline Arpine Kharajian, who passed away in 2021. Arline Arpine Kharajian was born in Aleppo, Syria, and came to the United States in 1969, settling in Arlington, Massachusetts with her husband Eli and children Ani and Ara. She was a welcoming and enthusiastic supporter of AIWA and other Armenian organizations, events and initiatives in the Greater Boston area. The Kharajian family continues Arline Arpine Kharajian’s legacy of service: her daughter Ani Kharajian was an AIWA board member and former AIWA president; her granddaughter, Torie Kharajian, served as AIWA board treasurer, and her granddaughter Rebecca Kharajian Abruzzese is former AIWA New England treasurer.
AIWA’s scholarship program was initiated in 1996 with an award in memory of Bentley University professor Agnes K. Missirian, an early AIWA member and advocate for women’s rights. Over the years donations have been made in the names of Lucy Kasparian Aharonian (for students in the sciences), Nshan and Margrit Atinizian, Ethel Jaferian Duffett, Rose “Azad” Hovannesian, Arpine Kharajian (for a student in the health sciences), Eva and Jack Medzorian (with a preference for students from the Tavush Region), Arshalous Tashjian Medzorian, Dr. Carolann S. and George Najarian, Hripsime Parsekian (for a student in the field of International Relations), Azniv Melidonian Renjilian, and Mary V. Toumayan.
The AIWA-Los Angeles Affiliate awarded five Hasmik Mgrdichian Scholarships this year, along with an additional grant and four Glendale Community College scholarships. AIWA’s New England affiliate awarded four scholarships including the Olga Proudian Scholarship for diplomacy, and the Nina and Raffi Festekjian scholarship.
AIWA, along with its San Francisco affiliate, also supports tuition aid for students at the American University of Armenia for studies in computer science. The John Mirak Foundation also supports scholarships in memory of Alice Kanlian Mirak.
AIWA scholarships provide unique opportunities for donors to remember a loved one while at the same time providing recognition and much-needed financial assistance to young Armenian women students pursuing higher education and preparing for careers.
A full list of this year’s scholarship recipients and the schools they are attending can be found here.
