Friday, August 5, 2022
No Result
View All Result
Asbarez.com
NEWSLETTER
ՀԱՅ
  • Home
  • Top Stories
  • Community
  • Arts & Culture
    • Art
    • Books
    • Music
    • Theatre
    • Critics’ Forum
  • Op-Ed
    • Editorial
    • Opinon
    • Letters
  • Columns
    • By Any Means
    • My Turn
    • Three Apples
    • Community Links
    • Critics’ Forum
    • My Name is Armen
    • Living in Armenia
  • Videos
  • Sports
  • Home
  • Top Stories
  • Community
  • Arts & Culture
    • Art
    • Books
    • Music
    • Theatre
    • Critics’ Forum
  • Op-Ed
    • Editorial
    • Opinon
    • Letters
  • Columns
    • By Any Means
    • My Turn
    • Three Apples
    • Community Links
    • Critics’ Forum
    • My Name is Armen
    • Living in Armenia
  • Videos
  • Sports
No Result
View All Result
Asbarez.com
ՀԱՅ
No Result
View All Result

Interview with AEF Scholarship Recipient: Hamlet Khenkoyan

by Contributor
November 4, 2016
in charitable, Interviews
0
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Hamlet Khenkoyan being awarded the AEF scholarship
Hamlet Khenkoyan being awarded the AEF scholarship

BY MEDEA KALOGNOMOS
GLENDALE—Armenian Educational Foundation’s (AEF) reach and impact is far and wide. For decades, AEF has provided financial assistance through scholarships to Armenian students both in the United States and in Armenia, helping them to attain their educational goals. Moreover, the effect of this assistance extends far beyond financial support; it also empowers the scholarship recipients to become contributing, caring and valuable members of their community.
I interviewed a second-year scholarship recipient, Hamlet Khenkoyan, a determined, ambitious and civic-minded young man, wise beyond his years. I hope this interview will capture the spirit and the exceptional attributes of this young man. Hamlet’s sponsors are John and Gayane Pridjian of La Cañada, California who also sponsor four additional students.
Hamlet was born in 1994 in Metzamor, in the Armavir region of Armenia. In 1999, his family moved to Russia where he attended school for two years. Upon his parent’s divorce, Hamlet returned to Armenia with his sister, but when his sister decided to move to Russia permanently, Hamlet refused to go. “I did not like Russia, I wanted to stay in Armenia and serve my people and my country,” he said with confidence. Left alone, Hamlet decided to pursue his education and after graduating from high school he was admitted to the Armenian State University of Economics in Yerevan, majoring in Marketing.
From 2012 to 2014, Hamlet served in the Army as a Sergeant, conducting reconnaissance missions among his many other duties. “I was very proud and honored to serve my country but was ashamed of young people who escape military duty.” He further added, “It’s the duty of each one of us to serve and protect our country. If we don’t, who will?”
When asked how he felt when he became an AEF scholarship recipient, Hamlet’s face lit up and he said, “I was so happy to have the opportunity to continue my education to improve my life as well as that of my people.” Adding, “AEF is an exceptional organization with high standards in education, citizenship and volunteerism. I know of no other organization in Armenia which offers so much to young people, I feel extremely fortunate to be part of AEF, they are my home and family.”
Khenkoyan with elderly man in the Grigor Lusavorich hospital in Armenia
Khenkoyan with elderly man in the Grigor Lusavorich hospital in Armenia

In addition to pursuing his education and serving in the army, Hamlet strives to give back and help others. He shared a heartwarming story with me about an elderly man from whom he bought a lemon everyday, on his way to school. After several months, Hamlet asked the elderly man if he recognized him. The elderly man looked at Hamlet with squinting eyes and said, “but my son, I cannot see you to recognize you. I am blind.”
Hamlet was heartbroken that an elderly blind man who could be his own Papik had to sell lemons to survive. He immediately thought of doing something to help him. He went to the hospital, located Papik’s health records, and through updating them, discovered that Papik was eligible for public assistance. “But now there was the question of money for his medications,” said Hamlet. He decided to raise money to buy the medications Papik would need after his eye surgery.”  I was so happy when Papik’s eyesight was restored and he had the medications he needed.”
“Everyone in the hospital was touched by the way Hamlet cared and went out of his way to help Papik who at first everyone thought was his grandfather,” said Doctor Lilit Jahangiryan, who assisted in Papik’s eye operation in Grigor Lusavorich hospital.
During my interview, I realized that I was speaking to a young man with effective leadership skills, someone who is deeply rooted in his community at all levels, and is aware of the social challenges facing it.
At his university, Hamlet decided to found a students’ association, of which he is the president, to examine and tackle social issues. Since its creation, the students have visited needy children and convalescent homes, bringing with them toys, gifts and food. “I take special pleasure in dressing up like Santa Claus because I love making children happy and seeing their smiling faces,” said Hamlet with warmth and compassion.
Last Christmas, during one of the visits, Hamlet found out that one of the children, Anna, was suffering from Leukemia and was in need of a blood transfusion. He immediately volunteered to donate his blood    and as a result, Anna is now in remission and doing well.
Since then, Hamlet has given blood every three months in order to help save more lives.
When I asked him about the effects of donating blood so often on his health, he said “these children are in much worse health conditions than I am, I’ll be alright.”
I concluded my interview by telling Hamlet that AEF is extremely proud to sponsor an amazing student and human being such as him. I encouraged him to continue on his path and to rally other young people to follow his example. I commended him for his care and compassion, his enthusiasm, his volunteerism and service to the homeland.
For more information or to make a donation, please contact the AEF office at (818) 242-4154 or email aef@aefweb.org.
GLENDALE—Armenian Educational Foundation’s (AEF) reach and impact is far and wide. For decades, AEF has provided financial assistance through scholarships to Armenian students both in the United States and in Armenia, helping them to attain their educational goals. Moreover, the effect of this assistance extends far beyond financial support; it also empowers the scholarship recipients to become contributing, caring and valuable members of their community.
I interviewed a second-year scholarship recipient, Hamlet Khenkoyan, a determined, ambitious and civic-minded young man, wise beyond his years. I hope this interview will capture the spirit and the exceptional attributes of this young man. Hamlet’s sponsors are John and Gayane Pridjian of La Cañada, California who also sponsor four additional students.
Hamlet was born in 1994 in Metzamor, in the Armavir region of Armenia. In 1999, his family moved to Russia where he attended school for two years. Upon his parent’s divorce, Hamlet returned to Armenia with his sister, but when his sister decided to move to Russia permanently, Hamlet refused to go. “I did not like Russia, I wanted to stay in Armenia and serve my people and my country,” he said with confidence. Left alone, Hamlet decided to pursue his education and after graduating from high school he was admitted to the Armenian State University of Economics in Yerevan, majoring in Marketing.
From 2012 to 2014, Hamlet served in the Army as a Sergeant, conducting reconnaissance missions among his many other duties. “I was very proud and honored to serve my country but was ashamed of young people who escape military duty.” He further added, “It’s the duty of each one of us to serve and protect our country. If we don’t, who will?”
When asked how he felt when he became an AEF scholarship recipient, Hamlet’s face lit up and he said, “I was so happy to have the opportunity to continue my education to improve my life as well as that of my people.” Adding, “AEF is an exceptional organization with high standards in education, citizenship and volunteerism. I know of no other organization in Armenia which offers so much to young people, I feel extremely fortunate to be part of AEF, they are my home and family.”
In addition to pursuing his education and serving in the army, Hamlet strives to give back and help others. He shared a heartwarming story with me about an elderly man from whom he bought a lemon everyday, on his way to school. After several months, Hamlet asked the elderly man if he recognized him. The elderly man looked at Hamlet with squinting eyes and said, “but my son, I cannot see you to recognize you. I am blind.”
Hamlet was heartbroken that an elderly blind man who could be his own Papik had to sell lemons to survive. He immediately thought of doing something to help him. He went to the hospital, located Papik’s health records, and through updating them, discovered that Papik was eligible for public assistance. “But now there was the question of money for his medications,” said Hamlet. He decided to raise money to buy the medications Papik would need after his eye surgery.”  I was so happy when Papik’s eyesight was restored and he had the medications he needed.”
“Everyone in the hospital was touched by the way Hamlet cared and went out of his way to help Papik who at first everyone thought was his grandfather,” said Doctor Lilit Jahangiryan, who assisted in Papik’s eye operation in Grigor Lusavorich hospital.
During my interview, I realized that I was speaking to a young man with effective leadership skills, someone who is deeply rooted in his community at all levels, and is aware of the social challenges facing it.
At his university, Hamlet decided to found a students’ association, of which he is the president, to examine and tackle social issues. Since its creation, the students have visited needy children and convalescent homes, bringing with them toys, gifts and food. “I take special pleasure in dressing up like Santa Claus because I love making children happy and seeing their smiling faces,” said Hamlet with warmth and compassion.
Last Christmas, during one of the visits, Hamlet found out that one of the children, Anna, was suffering from Leukemia and was in need of a blood transfusion. He immediately volunteered to donate his blood    and as a result, Anna is now in remission and doing well.
Since then, Hamlet has given blood every three months in order to help save more lives.
When I asked him about the effects of donating blood so often on his health, he said “these children are in much worse health conditions than I am, I’ll be alright.”
I concluded my interview by telling Hamlet that AEF is extremely proud to sponsor an amazing student and human being such as him. I encouraged him to continue on his path and to rally other young people to follow his example. I commended him for his care and compassion, his enthusiasm, his volunteerism and service to the homeland.
For more information or to make a donation, please contact the AEF office at (818) 242-4154 or email aef@aefweb.org.

Contributor

Contributor

Next Post

Fundraiser Collects $33,000 for ‘We Are Gyumri’ Campaign

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recommended

Construction of Road Bypassing Lachin to Begin Next Month

Residents of Artsakh’s Aghavno Village Told to Evacuate by August 25

2 hours ago
Pashinyan Accuses Azerbaijan of Wanting to End Karabakh Ceasefire

Pashinyan Accuses Azerbaijan of Wanting to End Karabakh Ceasefire

18 hours ago

Connect with us

  • About
  • Advertising
  • Subscribe
  • Contact

© 2021 Asbarez | All Rights Reserved | Powered By MSDN Solutions Inc.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Top Stories
  • Community
  • Arts & Culture
    • Art
    • Books
    • Music
    • Theatre
    • Critics’ Forum
  • Op-Ed
    • Editorial
    • Opinon
    • Letters
  • Columns
    • By Any Means
    • My Turn
    • Three Apples
    • Community Links
    • Critics’ Forum
    • My Name is Armen
    • Living in Armenia
  • Videos
  • Sports

© 2021 Asbarez | All Rights Reserved | Powered By MSDN Solutions Inc.

Accessibility

Accessibility modes

Epilepsy Safe Mode
Dampens color and removes blinks
This mode enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
Visually Impaired Mode
Improves website's visuals
This mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
Cognitive Disability Mode
Helps to focus on specific content
This mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
ADHD Friendly Mode
Reduces distractions and improve focus
This mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
Blindness Mode
Allows using the site with your screen-reader
This mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.

Online Dictionary

    Readable Experience

    Content Scaling
    Default
    Text Magnifier
    Readable Font
    Dyslexia Friendly
    Highlight Titles
    Highlight Links
    Font Sizing
    Default
    Line Height
    Default
    Letter Spacing
    Default
    Left Aligned
    Center Aligned
    Right Aligned

    Visually Pleasing Experience

    Dark Contrast
    Light Contrast
    Monochrome
    High Contrast
    High Saturation
    Low Saturation
    Adjust Text Colors
    Adjust Title Colors
    Adjust Background Colors

    Easy Orientation

    Mute Sounds
    Hide Images
    Virtual Keyboard
    Reading Guide
    Stop Animations
    Reading Mask
    Highlight Hover
    Highlight Focus
    Big Dark Cursor
    Big Light Cursor
    Navigation Keys

    Asbarez.com Accessibility Statement

    Accessibility Statement

    • www.asbarez.com
    • August 5, 2022

    Compliance status

    We firmly believe that the internet should be available and accessible to anyone, and are committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of circumstance and ability.

    To fulfill this, we aim to adhere as strictly as possible to the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1) at the AA level. These guidelines explain how to make web content accessible to people with a wide array of disabilities. Complying with those guidelines helps us ensure that the website is accessible to all people: blind people, people with motor impairments, visual impairment, cognitive disabilities, and more.

    This website utilizes various technologies that are meant to make it as accessible as possible at all times. We utilize an accessibility interface that allows persons with specific disabilities to adjust the website’s UI (user interface) and design it to their personal needs.

    Additionally, the website utilizes an AI-based application that runs in the background and optimizes its accessibility level constantly. This application remediates the website’s HTML, adapts Its functionality and behavior for screen-readers used by the blind users, and for keyboard functions used by individuals with motor impairments.

    If you’ve found a malfunction or have ideas for improvement, we’ll be happy to hear from you. You can reach out to the website’s operators by using the following email

    Screen-reader and keyboard navigation

    Our website implements the ARIA attributes (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) technique, alongside various different behavioral changes, to ensure blind users visiting with screen-readers are able to read, comprehend, and enjoy the website’s functions. As soon as a user with a screen-reader enters your site, they immediately receive a prompt to enter the Screen-Reader Profile so they can browse and operate your site effectively. Here’s how our website covers some of the most important screen-reader requirements, alongside console screenshots of code examples:

    1. Screen-reader optimization: we run a background process that learns the website’s components from top to bottom, to ensure ongoing compliance even when updating the website. In this process, we provide screen-readers with meaningful data using the ARIA set of attributes. For example, we provide accurate form labels; descriptions for actionable icons (social media icons, search icons, cart icons, etc.); validation guidance for form inputs; element roles such as buttons, menus, modal dialogues (popups), and others. Additionally, the background process scans all of the website’s images and provides an accurate and meaningful image-object-recognition-based description as an ALT (alternate text) tag for images that are not described. It will also extract texts that are embedded within the image, using an OCR (optical character recognition) technology. To turn on screen-reader adjustments at any time, users need only to press the Alt+1 keyboard combination. Screen-reader users also get automatic announcements to turn the Screen-reader mode on as soon as they enter the website.

      These adjustments are compatible with all popular screen readers, including JAWS and NVDA.

    2. Keyboard navigation optimization: The background process also adjusts the website’s HTML, and adds various behaviors using JavaScript code to make the website operable by the keyboard. This includes the ability to navigate the website using the Tab and Shift+Tab keys, operate dropdowns with the arrow keys, close them with Esc, trigger buttons and links using the Enter key, navigate between radio and checkbox elements using the arrow keys, and fill them in with the Spacebar or Enter key.Additionally, keyboard users will find quick-navigation and content-skip menus, available at any time by clicking Alt+1, or as the first elements of the site while navigating with the keyboard. The background process also handles triggered popups by moving the keyboard focus towards them as soon as they appear, and not allow the focus drift outside of it.

      Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.

    Disability profiles supported in our website

    • Epilepsy Safe Mode: this profile enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
    • Visually Impaired Mode: this mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
    • Cognitive Disability Mode: this mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
    • ADHD Friendly Mode: this mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
    • Blindness Mode: this mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.
    • Keyboard Navigation Profile (Motor-Impaired): this profile enables motor-impaired persons to operate the website using the keyboard Tab, Shift+Tab, and the Enter keys. Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.

    Additional UI, design, and readability adjustments

    1. Font adjustments – users, can increase and decrease its size, change its family (type), adjust the spacing, alignment, line height, and more.
    2. Color adjustments – users can select various color contrast profiles such as light, dark, inverted, and monochrome. Additionally, users can swap color schemes of titles, texts, and backgrounds, with over 7 different coloring options.
    3. Animations – epileptic users can stop all running animations with the click of a button. Animations controlled by the interface include videos, GIFs, and CSS flashing transitions.
    4. Content highlighting – users can choose to emphasize important elements such as links and titles. They can also choose to highlight focused or hovered elements only.
    5. Audio muting – users with hearing devices may experience headaches or other issues due to automatic audio playing. This option lets users mute the entire website instantly.
    6. Cognitive disorders – we utilize a search engine that is linked to Wikipedia and Wiktionary, allowing people with cognitive disorders to decipher meanings of phrases, initials, slang, and others.
    7. Additional functions – we provide users the option to change cursor color and size, use a printing mode, enable a virtual keyboard, and many other functions.

    Browser and assistive technology compatibility

    We aim to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible, so our users can choose the best fitting tools for them, with as few limitations as possible. Therefore, we have worked very hard to be able to support all major systems that comprise over 95% of the user market share including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and Microsoft Edge, JAWS and NVDA (screen readers), both for Windows and for MAC users.

    Notes, comments, and feedback

    Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs, there may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible. Still, we are continually improving our accessibility, adding, updating and improving its options and features, and developing and adopting new technologies. All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility, following technological advancements. For any assistance, please reach out to