I am Shoghik Mikayelyan from Gyumri, Armenia. In June 2009, I visited a local orphanage for the first time with a group of volunteers. We had an amazing day with the orphanage kids. At the end of the day, one of the adolescent girls turned to me and said, “We had an amazing time. However, as soon as you leave, you will forget about us.” I immediately told her that we wouldn’t forget about them. She replied, “Everybody does. They come whenever they remember and then they leave and forget about our existence.” I was shocked and could hardly find the words to say, “I promise I will be back.” She immediately responded, “Don’t promise something that you can’t keep,” and left. I was left standing in shock. There was a bitter truth in her words, and that truth was painful.

Upon my return, I shared the story with my group members. Fortunately, or as people say, it was meant to be, there were two Diasporan Armenians in my group who introduced me to the idea of Big Brothers Big Sisters. They also highlighted that they would like to start something in Armenia if I was interested in taking the initiative. I spent four months conducting research on various types of mentoring, which resulted in establishing Nor Luyce Mentoring Center for Youth NGO (Nor Luyce NGO). In January 2010, I launched the first meetings with adolescent girls from orphanages and socially vulnerable families. I remember going back to the same orphanage, finding that girl, and she became one of our first mentees to join the program.

So Nor Luyce NGO is the first and only mentoring organization in Gyumri, Armenia working with adolescent girls from orphanages and socially vulnerable families. We recruit 13-16 years old girls to provide them with mentoring relationships, skill-building, career planning skills, and scholarships to pursue a college degree. Nor Luyce is a three-phased program that promotes empowerment and the opportunity for girls to reach their full potential. The girls are not only provided with a safe space to share their challenges and gain emotional well-being but they are also provided with support to feel empowered to bring social and economic changes both in their communities and throughout the country as well as build a community of strong, thoughtful, creative young women who are the future of Armenia.

The research shows that children who receive any type of support tend to be more emotionally stable. And we are aiming to reach this emotional stability for our girls through our program. When a person is emotionally stable she can have career, financial, and educational success. We not only recognize the link between these aspects but we also address them. The research shows that adolescents who receive life skills, soft skills tend to exhibit positive self-esteem and self-confidence. To further support the growth within the girls as well as promote future prosperity we provide them with scholarships to pursue a college degree.

All these three phases are directed towards the empowerment of young girls. This is essential because as we see Armenia as a patriarchal society faces significant challenges in supporting and empowering socially vulnerable adolescent girls. So structured mentoring programs that provide emotional, educational, and career support are needed. The lack of such programs results in a skills shortage, where many young women are unable to reach their full potential. 

Through completing the Human Development and Education Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, I will gain invaluable knowledge, experience, and networks. The networks I hope to build at Harvard will connect me with global leaders and experts in education and human development, providing opportunities for collaboration and support.

I will acquire advanced skills in education, and social change, and develop a deep understanding of the cognitive, emotional, and social factors that influence learning and development. This knowledge will be very important in supporting Armenia to reach Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), especially SDG 4: quality education and SDG 5: Gender equality.

I am aware that Huys Foundation is granting the Huys Scholarship to me with the anticipation of my good faith pursuit and implementation of the projects and undertakings described in this letter, to which I hereby commit.