WASHINGTON, DC— Recent university graduates from Michigan, California and Pennsylvania arrived in Washington, DC last week, to embark on careers in the public policy sector as part of the ANCA Capital Gateway program. The program, announced in May of this year, provides job-placement resources for Armenian Americans from across the country interested in working in the fast-paced world of Capital Hill and the key foreign policy think tanks in the nation’s capital.

Angineh Babooian, Vahan Callan, Seta Hovagimian, and Steven Karapetian are the most recent participants in the program, which builds on the successes of the 19 year old ANCA Leo Sarkisian Summer Internship. Working with Capital Gateway coordinator Arsineh Khachikian and ANCA staff, each has begun networking with key Congressional offices and utilizing specialized resources geared toward increasing civic participation by young Armenian Americans and strengthening the role they will play in shaping public policy in Washington, DC.

Babooian, a graduate of California State University, Northridge-with a degree in Political Science and a former Leo Sarkisian intern explained why she decided to participate in what she described as “one of the most innovative programs of the Armenian-American lobby to date. The ANCA has taken a bold forward-looking step in bringing young, Armenian-American activists to the Capital. I am confident that with the ANCA’s help, young people like myself will discover the vast opportunities that are available in Washington, D.C.” Hovagimian, also a former Leo Sarkisian Internship participant, concurs. A History-Politics Graduate from Drexel University, she explained that, “the ANCA Capital Gateway was the perfect opportunity to make the move to Washington, DC. Not only does the ANCA provide me with a place to stay and the resources of the ANC office, but, most importantly, a group of individuals devoted to helping me start a career on the Hill.”

Karapetian and Callan, both Michigan natives, also shared their thoughts on the Capital Gateway program. A graduate of Western Michigan University with a BBA in Economics, Callan wanted to move to Washington, DC after participating in a Congressional Quarterly program in 2001. “I chose to participate in the Capital Gateway program because I wanted to take advantage of this extraordinary opportunity to use my skills to give back to the Armenian American community.” Karapetian, a political science graduate from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, concurred, commenting that “It is encouraging to know that ANCA has such high hopes for us as we make our transition into the nation’s capital.”

The ANCA Capital Gateway Program is made possible through a grant from the Cafesjian Family Foundation, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. For more information about the program, visit the ANCA website – www.anca.org