AYF Seminar: The time is now, the power is yours

By Adi Asadoorian

AYF Senior Seminar, held each year at Camp Haiastan, is always an opportunity for members to learn from not only invited lecturers but their peers. This year, the weekend was dedicated to learning about both Armenia’s vidjag (condition) and the AYF’s vidjag.

Unger Zohab Khaligian’s lecture on the AYF’s vidjag in particular, resonated with me. We were reminded of the clear message of AYF, the different types of AYF members, how to better our communication skills, identify our personal role in the organization, and about team work strategies.

The goals and aims of the AYF are clearly stated, but do AYF chapters really act to achieve those goals? We learned that all of the Senior AYF chapters need to work on strengthening our own chapters before we attempt to reach any of the AYF’s broader goals. Khaligian had us look at our chapter roster and identify what type of member each person was. This exercise made us realize that we need members to take on a more active role and become leaders. With many previous camp staff members in attendance, Camp Haiastan was used as an example of how the AYF executive board and its entire membership should function. With many of my peers having worked at camp in the previous years, the topic instantly became more relatable.

Khaligian’s lecture made me think: What is my role in the AYF? What type of member am I? How can my Detroit AYF Chapter function like camp? We left the lecture were motivated and anxious to introduce these concepts—and the ensuing discussion—to our chapter.

At both our Junior and Senior chapter meetings in November, the Senior chapter recreated Khaligian’s lecture: We went through how to identify oneself as an AYF member and why we are in the AYF, and got input from all members on what they would like to see the chapter accomplish. I am very glad that we were able to share the information we learned from Senior Seminar weekend, instill a sense of value in every member’s participation and, ultimately, take on a more active role in our chapter.

“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other,” John F. Kennedy said. The more we learn, the better leaders we will become. Our AYF chapters are only as strong and effective as we make them. After all, the time is now, the power is yours.