BOSTON — The Armenian International Women’s Association (AIWA) has announced the names of more than 40 recipients of a total of over $80,000 in scholarship aid for the 2024-2025 academic year. Applications are now open for the 2025-2026 academic year.
The AIWA scholarship program is international, and recipients this year hail from eight different countries. Most students are from the United States and Armenia, but several other countries are represented as well: Lebanon, Canada, Great Britain, France, Turkey and Germany. The higher educational institutions attended by these students are equally international, ranging from North America to Europe, the Middle East and Armenia.
The fields of study pursued by scholarship recipients this year are also diverse, including law and politics, as well as biology and medicine, arts, social sciences, and education. In addition, a number of awardees are advancing in traditionally male-dominated fields such as finance, management, computer science, and engineering.
AIWA scholarships are based on financial need and merit, and are funded by endowments as well as ongoing donations. Scholarships are available to women of Armenian descent who are attending higher educational institutions at the level of college junior or above. Applications are due on April 18, and awards are announced in the late spring.
New in 2024 was the establishment of the Arline Arpine Kharajian scholarship endowment, thanks to the generosity of the Kharajian family of Arlington and Watertown, Mass. and Nashua, NH. With this scholarship fund, the Kharajian family and AIWA will support Armenian women pursuing studies in health care with a focus on eradicating diseases, and those studying to become social workers focused on the well-being of women and children. The family seeks to support scholars in Syria, Lebanon, and the United States, and to have a meaningful impact on communities facing challenges related to health and social welfare.
The new Arline Arpine Kharajian scholarship endowment, in the amount of $20,000, honors the values and commitment to service of its namesake, who passed away in 2021. She was born in Aleppo, Syria, and came to the United States in 1969, settling in Arlington with her husband Eli and children Ani and Ara. She was a welcoming and enthusiastic supporter of AIWA and other Armenian organizations, events and initiatives in the Greater Boston area. The Kharajian family continues her legacy of service: her daughter,Ani Kharajian, was an AIWA board member and former AIWA president; one granddaughter, Torie Kharajian, served as AIWA board treasurer, and another, Rebecca Kharajian Abruzzese, is former AIWA New England treasurer.
