On August 19-21, 2024, in the “Concept Hotel by COAF” situated in the beautiful Debed River valley, PH International Armenia hosted a 2-day Graduation Camp for 40 students of Aygehovit and Bagratashen schools to celebrate their accomplishments and graduation from the 2-year English Access Microscholarship Program funded through the Department of State Public Diplomacy Section grant.
During the camp, the students had sessions on essay writing, cross-cultural understanding, the importance of reading, and teen mental health. The sessions were led by invited trainers Inna Ghabulyan and Hripsime Manukyan from the American Councils for International Education (ACCELS), Christina Sargsyan from the International Center for Human Development (ICHD) as well as Deepika Gohil from the Armenian Volunteer Corps (AVC). The students were offered educational visits to the COAF SMART Center and Hovhannes Tumanyan House-Museum in Dsegh between the sessions.
Nathan Austin, the Cultural Affairs Attaché of the US Embassy in Armenia, and Hasmik Mikayelyan, the Embassy’s Educational and Cultural Specialist, were the honorable guests of the camp. They congratulated the students on their successful completion by awarding them Certificates of Achievements and discussed with them the impact of the Access program on their lives.
The students enthusiastically reported a wide array of new knowledge and skills, as well as a sense of freedom and access to new opportunities as an impact of the Access Program. They acknowledged the importance of their teachers' dedicated work and thanked the U.S. Embassy for investing in the development and empowerment of youth development, especially in rural Armenia.
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