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WHY SHOULD YOU EMBARK UPON A JOURNEY WITH TEACH FOR ARMENIA?

THOMAS TOGHRAMDJAN

“I was born in the US in a diaspora Armenian family and grew up in Minnesota’s small Armenian community. During my years as a student, I had the chance to visit Armenian several times, and I gradually became more committed to learning the Armenian language and participating in the life of our people. After graduating college I wanted to move temporarily to Armenia and find work that would both contribute to our country’s development and prepare me to play a greater role in our nation’s future. I considered various programs, including Birthright Armenia, the Peace Corps, and the Fulbright Scholarship. But I felt that only Teach For Armenia could give me the exact opportunity I was looking for, and in the end I only submitted one application. 

In 2019, I became a TFA teaching fellow and after completing the training I moved to the village of Debet in Lori Province to teach English there. As the only English teacher in the school, I bore a great deal of responsibility and every day brought new challenges. However, thanks to the TFA staff’s unwavering support, I never doubted that I would complete the two-year program and succeed in my work. I am deeply convinced that to understand Armenia’s current reality and the people’s spirit it is necessary to live and work outside of Yerevan, in the provinces. Over the course of two years in Lori, my way of thinking and my self-conception changed a lot. As a teacher in a village school, I no longer felt like a visitor or a foreign volunteer. Rather, I became an inseparable part of a community, complete with real roots, duties, and long-lasting relationships. 

During the second year of the program I realized that I no longer wanted to return to the United States. In historical terms, it is a very exceptional circumstance for us Armenians to have an independent state of our own; our parents, grandparents, and ancestors waited for many years to see this day. However difficult the country’s current situation may be, I feel very lucky that I am able to live in an independent Armenia, surrounded by Armenians. 

From the TFA leadership development program, I have received substantial work experience, wide professional and personal networks, status as a permanent resident in the Republic of Armenia and, most importantly of all, a familiarity with the language, country and people whose value is impossible to estimate. I no longer feel like a foreigner in my own homeland. At the start of 2019, it would have been hard for me to imagine living independently in Armenia. Now it is hard for me to imagine living anywhere else. I am currently a master’s student at Yerevan State University, in the department of Armenian philology. Besides my academic work, I am preparing to publish English translations out of our rich literary tradition. After finishing my current course of study, I would like to return to teaching in Armenian schools, possibly as a teacher of Armenian literature.”

 ARUSIK ZEINALYAN

“I was born and raised in Moscow, Russia, and my biggest dream had always been moving to Armenia and living my life in our Homeland. I knew I needed to take the best out of being from the Diaspora and I invested a lot in my education, studying for my bachelor’s degree in Moscow and for my master’s in London. In 2017 I finally moved to Armenia determined to never leave and contribute to its development the best I can. Joining Teach for Armenia was a very important decision and a valuable experience as it has taught me a lot about the life in Armenia outside of the comfort that Yerevan can provide. The life that I lived in Lori, the joy and struggles I experienced and witnessed have changed a lot how I saw myself in Armenia: Yerevan was no longer my final destination, the idea of decentralisation has become my new passion and driving force. Apart from that, it was during my TFA fellowship journey that I co-founded and am currently leading an NGO called Gradarak Libraries that creates innovative multifunctional libraries across Armenia and Artsakh. TFA fellowship was an unforgettable journey that I’ll be forever grateful for.”

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