An Ode to May 28

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Van Der Megerdichian attended Holy Martyrs Armenian High School and went on to receive his formal education at UCLA. During his time at UCLA, Van went on to intern at the Republic of Armenia’s Ministry of Economy and United Nations Secretariat in Yerevan, Armenia where he worked at the UNHCR and UNDP agencies. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa and cum laude from UCLA with a departmental honors degree in History and a minor in Armenian Studies, while also receiving college honors. At UCLA, he completed a thesis on the competing nationalism and the overlapping conflict of interest between Armenians and Kurds over a common homeland. Van is a prospective student at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs studying international finance and economic development.