Every summer, we look forward to the exciting moment when we can announce the inspiring, talented women who will be our AIWA scholarship recipients!

This year, AIWA will be distributing approximately $80,000 in scholarships to Armenian students worldwide. These women are studying subjects in law, the arts, business, health care, and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). They hail from Armenia, Argentina, Italy, Lebanon, Turkey, Canada, Great Britain, and the United States.

Over the years, AIWA’s generous members and donors have established 17 funds and endowments and distributed about $750,000 to Armenian women scholars. Some of our named endowments are targeted to a subject, for example, the Olga Proudian Scholarship in Diplomacy or the Lucy Kasparian Aharonian scholarships for science students. Some are available to students from a region or country, like the Hasmik Mgrdichian scholarships for students from California. Most, however, are open to women of Armenian descent from all parts of the world in any field of study.

The AIWA scholarship committee makes the awards based on need and merit and considers things like activism and impact. This year, we received 140 applications, and we were able to offer scholarships to 49 students.

Lilit Yenokyan, Nanor Vosgueritchian, and Julia Hintlian are 3 of the 49 students who are continuing their studies with the assistance of AIWA Scholarships this year!

Lilit Yenokyan was born in Armenia and graduated from AUA in computer science. She is now studying data science at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, and received a Lucy Kasparian Aharonian Scholarship.

In her application, she writes, “This interdisciplinary program is a unique combination of fundamental courses that will enable me to fulfill my potential among the frontrunners pushing digital technologies forward…I plan to use the knowledge, experience, and network gained in Germany to contribute to the development of the data science field in Armenia.”

Nanor Vosgueritchian was born in Bourj Hammoud, Lebanon. She is now pursuing cinema studies at New York University with the help of the Nishan and Margrit Atinizian Scholarship.

She is hoping for a career in film and writes movingly: “I cannot help but think of my mother…She curated my first movie screenings with Disney VCR tapes in our living room, slowly progressing to frequent trips to the cinema as I grew older. She has always encouraged my creative interests, and I only wish she could have formally pursued her own artistic education and career. I thus hope you can grant me—an Armenian woman who has been a first-generation high school student—the opportunity to continue pursuing my graduate studies, a building block that will help me reach heights my mother could not.”

Julia Hintlian is a graduate student in Religious Studies at Harvard University and recipient of an Agnes Missirian Scholarship.

She is driven to question and advocate for the role of women in the Armenian Church, saying, “I spend significant time thinking about how the Armenian Church can strive to be a more inclusive and empowering environment for the next generation of women, and I expect to actively support this cause in the future.”

These talented women are building the future for themselves and their communities! Investing in their education is an investment in our future!

Follow us on this blog and our social media to learn more over the coming weeks about our inspiring Armenian women students and AIWA’s Scholarship programs!