|
||||||||||
Anna Pkhrikian Memorial Internship
The Anna Pkhrikian Memorial Internship was created in memory of Anna Pkhrikian who began her work at the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) in Washington, DC, in 2003 as a project coordinator on the Secretariat staff of the World Movement for Democracy. She passed away on September 7, 2007, after a brave battle against leukemia. The Internship was established by NED and her alma mater, Syracuse University’s Maxwell School, to provide an opportunity for college students to gain knowledge and experience, in the fields of democratization and democracy promotion, in light of Anna’s deep commitment to the values of democracy and human rights, and to nonviolent efforts to advance those values. All undergraduate and graduate students in the Maxwell School Program are eligible for consideration for the Internship position, which will be filled not less than once each year.
Following her work with the World Movement for Democracy, Anna assumed the position of a grants administrator at NED in August 2006, a position she held until her untimely death, and that she pursued diligently despite her deteriorating health condition. Throughout her work at NED, Anna’s perseverance in assisting those struggling for human rights and democracy around the world was matched only by her determination to fight the disease that sadly took her life. Her sense of optimism and hope, and her genuine camaraderie, were traits for which she will always be remembered by her family and friends around the world, and those who truly loved her at NED. The National Endowment for Democracy and the World Movement for Democracy express their deep gratitude to the Maxwell School at Syracuse University for its commitment to and cooperation on the establishment of the Anna Pkhrikian Memorial Internship.
Anna Pkhrikian Memorial Interns, 2008 - 2008
Lauren E. Parnell, Summer 2008 In December 2008, Lauren will complete her Master of Arts in International Relations at the Maxwell School for Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in Syracuse, NY. Concentrating in Global Development Policy and U.S. Foreign Policy, much of Lauren’s research and writing has focused on U.S. aid and development work in the Western Hemisphere. Simultaneous with her graduate degree, Lauren has also earned a Certificate of Advanced Study from Syracuse’s Program on Latin America and the Caribbean. In her extracurricular time, Lauren served on the graduate student Executive Board, administering the class budget, representing graduate students' interests to the university administration, and planning and organizing social and professional events at the Maxwell School. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA which she completed in 2006 with a double major in Latin American Studies and Spanish. During her time at Virginia, she studied abroad twice, attending the Pontifica Universidad Católica in Lima, Peru and the Universitat de Valencia in Valencia, Spain where she worked as a translator while taking classes. In Charlottesville, Lauren volunteered with Migrant Aid to teach basic English lessons for migrant workers on Virginia farms, and traveled to Guatemala annually with the Alternative Spring Break student group to deliver donated items and to volunteer at the Albergue Hermano San Pedro orphanage for disabled children. Lauren speaks fluent Spanish and basic Portuguese. She travels regularly, especially to Latin America. During her time with the World Movement, Lauren assisted in developing the Latin American and Caribbean Network for Democracy and in researching and writing on the integration of minority peoples in the political process for an installment of What's Being Done On..., a section of the World Movement Web site that highlights the activities of various organizations in different global regions, and links to important resources, that are focused on a particular theme or area of democracy work. |
||||||||||
|
|| || Site map || |
||||||||||
Prior to coming to NED, Anna Pkhrikian was a 1996 Remembrance Scholar at the Maxwell School at Syracuse University. She attended the Maxwell-Washington International Relations semester program in Washington, DC as an undergraduate student, and received a graduate assistantship during her Master's program in International Relations. Anna brought to her World Movement work a dedication to help facilitate exchanges of knowledge and experiences among those in the World Movement, especially among participants from Central-Eastern Europe and Eurasia, and made invaluable contributions to the organization of World Movement global assemblies held in Durban, South Africa, in 2004 and Istanbul, Turkey, in 2006. Following her work on the Durban Assembly and her other efforts on behalf of World Movement participants, Anna was promoted to Assistant Project Manager. In her work for the World Movement, Anna was especially focused on the important linkages between conflict resolution and democracy, and all those who worked with her, both in the U.S. and abroad, knew that her motivation always stemmed from her deep love of peace and justice.