Los Angeles, CA – Marie Ghanime has had her hands on a little bit of everything while working as an intern with the Armenian National Committee-Western Region (ANC) these past couple of months. An Administration and Development Intern for the 2007 Autumn Session of the ANC-WR’s Internship-Externship Program (ANC-WR IEP), Ghanime has done everything from helping database articles about the Armenian Genocide resolution to helping with the event logistics for the ANC-WR’s annual banquet, one of the organization’s largest events of the year. A graduate of Rose and Alex Pilibos Armenian School in Hollywood, Ghanime is also a longtime member of the Glendale AYF. She is very proud of her Armenian roots and feels very passionately about the need for the Armenian American community to increase their civic engagement, particularly by getting involved in government and politics. She is currently a student at PCC where she is studying Political Science.

“By taking part in this program, I learned a great deal about what it takes to run a nonprofit organization such as the ANC,” said Ghanime. “From the outsider’s view, the ANC does accomplish a lot for the community, but it was really interesting learning about how the regional organization helps support grassroots efforts across the western United States,” she added. Her main internship project was the development of a blog space for her fellow interns. The blog space, set to launch for the 2008 Spring Session of the ANC-WR IEP, will feature blogs by current interns and provide a forum through which they can share their internship experience as well as discuss their thoughts on Armenian American issues. Established in June 2006, the ANC-WR IEP is a selective and intensive program that provides student leaders and activists with an opportunity to participate in an intensive internship designed to provide an in-depth introduction to Armenian American issues as well as advocacy efforts on the federal, state and local level. The program hosts spring, summer and autumn sessions. You can find more information about the IEP by visiting http://www.anca.org/gateway/gateway_overview.php. The Armenian National Committee – Western Region is the largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots advocacy organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country, the ANC-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.

Photo Caption: Ghanime (second from left) with fellow interns during a presentation about the Los Angeles-Yerevan Sister City Association by Judge Greg Keosian (right foreground).