Armenian Sisterhood Organization at UCSB (Summer 08)

Adrienne Qasabian
Qasabian@ucsb.edu

What happens when you throw a small group of young, motivated Armenian women into a large university setting? The answer is, they find each other.

The Armenian Sisterhood Organization of UCSB is a byproduct of the tendency that Armenians have to seek each other out for comfort and familiarity, in unfamiliar settings.

Founded four years ago by a group of female Armenian UCSB students, the young, vibrant women of the Armenian Sisterhood Organization took the initiative to recruit other Armenian girls on campus and form a group.

Their intention in starting ASO was to provide Armenian women who attend UCSB with an opportunity to meet and bond with each other, as well as provide a support system, as many of them were living away from their homes and families for the first time.

Chief among the goals of the ASO is to give back to the Armenian community in which we were raised. This entails working closely with both the Armenian Diaspora in Los Angeles, as well as various organizations in Armenia. We believe that one of the principal elements that molds our individual characters as women is our strong Armenian upbringing.

Since it’s founding, the ASO has worked vigorously, both on-campus and off-campus, to raise awareness about the Armenian culture and community. Undoubtedly, our proudest achievement has been the philanthropic work we have dedicated ourselves to throughout the years.

This year, our philanthropic undertaking has been raising and donating money to Mer Doon ("Our Home") NGO, an organization that provides young adults, especially adolescent girls, with a home, in addition to teaching them skills and providing them with an education.

Mer Doon enables these young women, who have either outgrown their previous homes in orphanages, or have come from seriously destitute lifestyles, with the tools and skills to enter the Armenian workforce and to be able to provide for themselves. Mer Doon is one of the several non-profit organizations that the Armenian Sisterhood Organization works with.

Charity work is something that all of our members are passionate about and it is one of the fundamental aspects of our organization.

The Armenian Sisterhood Organization is a close-knit group of students, and colleagues, but first and foremost, of friends who share the common vision of making a positive impact on the Armenian Community as a whole. Although we are small, each member works hard, and contributes something different to the organization.

In the future, ASO hopes to expand as an organization, and with the starting of each new school year this is made possible. We hope that the new wave of Armenian girls coming to UCSB this September will seek us out, so that we may be a source of support and guidance for each other.
The ASO hopes to be an inspiration in not only the way we conduct ourselves as an on-campus organization, but more importantly, in the way we carry ourselves as strong-minded, outspoken Armenian women, who are taking the initiative to create change