“When I think of how this organization started, I reflect on myself at 16 years old,” Karina Khadarian, founder and CEO of Engineer Armenia, said, “when I went to Armenia and Artsakh for two and a half weeks with my school. I loved every minute of it, but I left feeling like I was merely a tourist in my own homeland. I still felt a sense of disconnect.” In 2015, Khadarian spent her summer in Armenia and Artsakh as an AYF Youth Corps volunteer. This was the first time she truly formed a connection with the land and its residents on more than just a surface level. She immersed herself in the communities of Armenia, and that connection was liberating for her.
She was just two years into college as a chemical engineering undergraduate when she decided that she had to do something to impact change in the homeland. While staying with host families, she gained insight into the challenges they faced on a daily basis. She knew that infrastructure, water and waste management in Armenia were in need of serious improvement. She believed she could tie these issues together through education. In July of 2015, she founded Engineer Armenia. “To engineer is to use innovation, creativity, knowledge and resources to find a sustainable solution to a problem. We are to engineer our homeland,” Khadarian told the Weekly.
“You have to actively be Armenian. It’s not enough to preserve our culture and learn and share about our history. It’s not only about the genealogy. Patriotism is not just loving your country blindly,” Khadarian said. “You have to see the homeland for all its beauty, but also its flaws, and work proactively to get it to the level that it deserves.”
She was 20 years old, and she knew that her homeland needed her. She went back to foster relationships with her former host families and students. She investigated potential projects and grew the Engineer Armenia network with local municipalities, authorities and residents. Were the residents ready to invest in themselves and their own communities? Could they donate their time, skills, equipment or money? These were areas to discuss and seriously consider.
She developed a team at the University of California, Irvine, (UCI) starting with 19 volunteers, most of whom were not of Armenian descent and had no relationship with Armenia. As a student volunteer in other engineering organizations on campus, she began by networking with and recruiting UCI students. As someone who had volunteered her time and skills for projects in Madagascar and Honduras, countries she did not have a personal connections with, she knew she could engage both her Armenian and non-Armenian peers by presenting it as the hands-on experience all engineering students needed to become desirable candidates for future employment opportunities.
“We have to be strategic in how we get both our own community members and our non-Armenian friends, colleagues and even strangers involved in such development projects. Sell it as a hands-on experience, or a networking opportunity, or a way to grow your list of references,” Khadarian urged. “Do what you can to engage more people and secure more resources, whether it be for intellect and skills, or for financing and connections. Be strategic, be smart, and above all, always think of ways to help our beloved homeland.”
Since its inception and early years, Engineer Armenia’s membership, network and projects have grown. Engineer Armenia has projects in Gyumri, Tavush and Meghrashen in Shirak; Vanadzor, Jrashen and Hartagyugh in Lori; Hatsik and Karakert in Armavir; Goris in Syunik; and Nngi in Artsakh. Projects address water, waste management, infrastructure, engineering, education or consulting. They include design-heavy initiatives to renovate or retrofit civil or commercial infrastructure, treat and improve drinking or irrigation water quality, and install proper waste management processes.
Engineer Armenia also has education programs such as their annual summer engineering camp. During the camp, students are immersed into different engineering fields through interactive activities and competitions to demonstrate their new skills. At the end of camp, students present their original projects addressing how they can use engineering to develop the homeland. The projects involve at least one field of engineering and include detailed project scope, estimated costs, labor, materials and project timeline. This final project not only highlights the topics and skills students learn at the camp but also fosters a collaborative environment, improves their public speaking and presentation skills, and inspires them to take ownership of their work. This is a wonderful way of working on a growth mindset to encourage innovation and engage the next generation of Armenian engineers in homeland development, self-reliance and sustainability projects.
Engineer Armenia has also collaborated with start-up companies for prosthetics and 3D printing. “There are a lot of brilliant minds in Armenia with great ideas, but sometimes there is a gap between the conception of the project or business idea and the actual implementation and scale-up,” Khadarian said. To help bridge that gap, Engineer Armenia has helped with business proposals and grant writing. One of the groups secured a $10,000 grant to use for a startup.
Engineer Armenia is committed to helping our homeland with its dedicated volunteer staff throughout the Diaspora, Armenia and Artsakh.
“The concept of being actively Armenian is on all of us. We all have something we can bring to the table to help our homeland. In fact, it is our civic duty to do so,” Khadarian said.
Talar Keoseyan
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We highly appreciate any work you do for the motherland, on behalf of the general population of Hartagiugh, I thank you for all the programs you have implemented in Hartagiugh, today we have a great Playground and last year we had a highly organized camp program. Thank you, your entire team and to all those who stand beside you in the development of Armenia. Administrative head of Hartagiugh Ashot Gabrielyan