The living legacy of Apo Saghdejian: ANCA youth empowerment
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Earlier this year, our Armenian community — our sacred Armenian Cause — lost a proud patriarch, a great patriot and visionary benefactor: Fresno’s Abraham “Apo” Saghdejian.
A longtime community leader and prominent farmer in California’s abundant Central Valley, Apo — alongside his loving wife, Rosine — selflessly served numerous Armenian civic and spiritual institutions, setting a strong example for their two children, Nayiri and Hovig. He was a lifelong member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) and a longtime advocate for the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), maintaining strong personal and political ties to leaders and legislators across the San Joaquin Valley.
The Saghdejian family transformed the tragic loss of their son Hovig in a 2004 car accident into a beacon of hope for Armenian American youth through the ANCA Hovig Apo Saghdejian Capital Gateway Program. Over the past two decades, this signature ANCA youth program has empowered hundreds of recent graduates to land full-time positions in the nation’s capital: in government, politics, policymaking and media. The presence today of an unprecedented number of Armenian Americans serving in Washington, D.C.’s foreign and domestic policy circles is a tribute to the core values and vision of Apo and his loving family.
Today, the ANCA Hovig Apo Saghdejian Capital Gateway Program is a world-class leadership and youth empowerment program, respected and replicated by other ethnic groups, headquartered at the ANCA’s Aramian House, located in the heart of downtown Washington, D.C. Gateway Fellows are selected via a highly competitive selection process. Successful candidates benefit from free housing, enrichment seminars, personal mentors, professional networking and much more.
“Apo’s legacy is alive and well — reflected in the smiling face of each new Gateway Fellow, reinforced every time one of these young men or women takes their first bold steps into a fulfilling career in public policy,” said ANCA Chairman George Aghjayan. “His mark — in memory of his son, Hovig — will remain an enduring tribute of what each of us can achieve, the good that each of us can leave behind.”
“The Gateway Program — named after my dear brother, Hovig — is smart and straight from the heart, just like my father,” said his daughter Nayiri. “I feel their presence each time I visit with Gateway Fellows or learn of their professional success. Our family has been blessed to empower so many young Armenians to make personal progress in their own lives, to make history in the life of our homeland and heritage. I look forward to all that the ANCA Hovig Apo Saghdejian Capital Gateway Program will achieve for generations into the future.”
The ANCA is accepting applications for the Winter 2026 session of the Hovig Apo Saghdejian Capital Gateway Program through December 1. The session begins on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. For more information and to apply, please visit anca.org/gateway.
