My final reflection as an AYF member

The journey has come to an end. 

My time as a member in the AYF-YOARF concluded with the adjournment of the 90th Annual Convention in North Andover, Massachusetts.

I began documenting my experiences in my final year in the AYF not only to preserve my thoughts and emotions as a lifelong member but also to provide younger ungers with a glimpse of what this incredible organization has in store for them. No new AYF-YOARF member can fathom what this organization will do for them, from establishing lifelong friendships to developing professional skills. There is no Armenian organization doing more for our diasporan youth than the AYF.

As I headed to the 90th Annual AYF-YOARF Convention to complete my third and final term as Central Executive chairperson, my initial emotion was a bit surprising: disappointment. There was so much I set out to accomplish that I never had the time to complete. In conversations with other AYF alumni, I learned that this feeling is normal and natural. It comes from a place of love and devotion to our Armenian Cause, which is cultivated within us from a young age. 

However, as the Convention came to a close, the final review of the minutes was completed, and all unforeseen questions were addressed, there was one last action to take place: adjournment. Tradition holds that the eldest AYF-YOARF members motion to end the Convention, second the motion and strike the gavel. I shared this honor with my fellow 28-year-old members, Unger Daron Bedian and Ungerouhi Niree Kaprielian. That moment felt like a sigh of relief, as the weight of my unaccomplished initiatives was lifted off my shoulders. The baton had officially passed to the newly elected Central Executive and the future leaders of our organization.

I have participated in nearly everything under the sun that the AYF has to offer, including serving on my local chapter executive for four years, various Central Councils for six years and the Central Executive for three terms. I was an intern in the AYF Internship program, served as director the following year and participated in Camp Javakhk three years in a row. I attended eight Annual Conventions and competed in 10 AYF Olympic Games.

Through these opportunities, I learned something vital that I think all current AYF members must remember. Yes, we are a hardworking and results-oriented organization, busy bees to no end. However, in retrospect, I don’t believe that work is the defining factor of success within the AYF. 

What I believe determines success is the continuation of new Armenian relationships, networks, families and communities. As long as Armenian youth continue sharing unique, humorous and unexpected memories through the AYF, the organization will never die.

I realized what it really was about — the unimaginable experiences:

• Staying up until 2:00 a.m. the night before Junior Seminar to pack folders with your fellow council members,
• Watching the sunrise above Ararat during the AYF Internship,
• Driving in a dodgy 15-passenger van around the potholes in Javakhk,
• Cutting grass outside the school in Arajamugh with a literal scythe in 90-degree weather,
• Hatching a plan to infiltrate the summer office at AYF Camp Haiastan and play Armenian revolutionary music over the PA at 3:00 a.m.,
• Walking the halls of Congress, meeting with elected officials to advocate for our nation,
• Grueling summer AYF Olympics practices with new and veteran members, even in the years when the chances of victory seemed slim,
• Searching for quarters in a pitch-black field at Junior Seminar as punishment for sneaking out,
• Shoveling two feet of snow at 6:00 a.m. to clear the field for a flag football tournament,
• Cooking khorovadz at your homestay in Shushi and washing it down with the strongest tuti oghi you’ve had in your life,
• Sleeping on a basement floor with 130 other smelly kids at JWO
• Approaching strangers on the streets of New York to educate them about the Armenian Genocide,
• Junior Seminar bus rides filled with laughter and mischief,
• Staying up late after a long Convention day, talking well past midnight,
• Proposing in the mess hall at Camp Haiastan at 6:00 a.m. following the “passing of the gavel” tradition…

and much, much more. 

These are the memories that will stay with you when your time in the organization is complete. I promise that nobody will remember how neatly you wrote your meeting minutes as secretary. It’s definitely not the end of the world that your council forgot to order t-shirts for a regional event.

Now, don’t get me wrong—get the job done. Do your part to contribute to our cause, but don’t get caught up in the minutia. Enjoy the journey.

Don’t even think for a second that you can guess where this organization will take you. Throw any and all expectations out the window. One day, you’re a 21-year-old kid heading to the AYF Internship in Armenia. The next, you’re married to a devoted fellow AYF member, with a beautiful son and another child on the way. This organization has given me everything I have to be grateful for in life. 

To the AYF—thank you for allowing me to be a supporting actor in even the smallest moments of your magnificent history. I hope I did my part to further the work of our visionary ungers who catapulted this organization into existence 92 years ago.

To my fellow ungers currently in the organization, the cliché is real, and I’m going to use it: don’t take your time for granted. In the blink of an eye, you’ll be in your last year, wondering where the time went. Don’t worry, though—the organization will find its way to suck you right back in.

When you graduate, remember this timeless quote from my fellow Providence Varantian alumnus, Kenny Topalian: “You never really age out of the AYF.”

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Nareg Mkrtschjan

Nareg Mkrtschjan is the current Chair of the AYF-YOARF Central Executive and a member of the Providence “Varantian” Chapter. He has held many leadership roles throughout his AYF career, participating as an AYF intern in 2017 and director in 2018, Javakhk counselor in 2016 and 2017, serving on central councils and his local executive. Nareg met his wife, AYF Camp Haiastan Executive Director Kenar Charchaflian through the AYF and even popped the question to her at AYF Convention at Camp Haiastan. They happily live in Rhode Island with their son Mshag, a future unger.

Latest posts by Nareg Mkrtschjan (see all)

• My final reflection as an AYF member - February 18, 2025
• Documenting AYF history in the Hairenik and Armenian Weekly - November 19, 2024
• Reflecting on my last AYF Olympics as an AYF member - October 8, 2024