The Armenian Volunteer Corps (AVC) program was an amazing opportunity for me to work, volunteer and gain experience in a specific field of my choice. At the time I was a new-graduate from the Electrical Engineer program. I had a hard time finding work in my own field, companies wouldn't even except me if I wanted to work for free (Volunteer). They would say I will be a liability for them, or they said they had trade secrets and since I won't be a member on their payroll, they couldn't accept me! So, having to deal with that type of responses and hundreds of failed replies to job postings, I decided to apply to AVC. I got a response very quickly and within a week or so I had an interview with them via skype. I mentioned in my interview with them, that I needed to find a volunteer work placement in the Electrical Engineering sector of the country. Surly withing a week they got back to me with a position at the American University of Armenia (AUA), working on reviving a giant HVAC system that 60% of its power was generated by the solar panels on the rooftop of the AUA.
Once I heard the news I was jumping for joy, since the position was in the sector of electrical engineering that I really wanted to gain experience in and have a career in. I was in Armenia for 4.5 months, from April to August. It was a life changing experience for me. I could literally write a book if I were to talk about all of my experiences, adventures and amazing encounters with the people of Armenia. Besides the work experience that I gained, I learned so much more about myself, it was like I was discovering my self for the first time. I owe all of this to Armenian Volunteer Corps, and to Birthright Armenia (Depi Hayq) organizations.
Thank you Thank you and Thank you :)
What would you improve about this program?
I wouldn't change anything, but add to an already existing program within AVC. Once a month we would have a community project, where we would clean a small area somewhere in Armenia (either in the summits of Mt. Aragats, or a village, or somewhere within the city). For example one of the cleaning projects involved a lake shore area in a village, after cleaning the lake shore we installed a sign for the locals and the tourists to keep the sites clean, green and garbage free.
I would want to have this event every week. We were usually free on Sundays, and the volunteers usually explored the capital city, Yerevan. I'm sure that if we had this clean up project going on every Sunday we would have the volunteers join the group at least every other Sunday in a rotating schedule. We could even have local youth come out and help us out. There are many youth groups in Armenia, all wanting the same thing, the prosperity of their fatherland. By having them joining us, we would have more "man" power but also in this way we could interact with one another, and make new friends. It's win win :)