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Ahnert Scholarship Student Talks About her Female Role Models



“Nothing happens by chance or luck,” said Ani Minasyan with a glimmer in her eyes. “Those who cross our path have a message for us. When I first learned about Margaret Ahnert and her book The Knock at the Door while watching Voice of America, I couldn’t have imagined that five years later I would receive Ahnert’s support through the Ester Ajemian Scholarship Program.”

Ani Minasyan is currently a first-year graduate student in journalism at Yerevan State University where she is supported by FAR’s Ester Ajemian Scholarship. “On September 2, I got a call from FAR to tell me the good news. Since then, I have grown so much. I now take full ownership of my life and my studies. I want my benefactor, Mrs. Ahnert, to feel pride when speaking about me as one of the students she supports. If it weren’t for her, I would have had to stop my education after my undergraduate studies,” she said.

Cutting her studies short had been a likely possibility that had deeply distressed Ani as she worried about her family’s finances. The 22-year-old comes from a well-rounded family; her parents have technical backgrounds and her sister specializes in archeology. Ani's grandfather, a well-known education specialist named Vladimir Kirakosyan is her self-proclaimed "guru" and the person who has greatly supported her studies.

Ani said that her experience working in TV alongside anchors, directors and editors has allowed her to develop professional versatility. “I have been able to explore subjects specific to my major, in addition to but to other fields. I will work around-the-clock to bring my readers comprehensive coverage on subjects and events that will call them to action, just like Ester Ajemian,” she said, referring to Margaret Ahnert’s mother, whose life is chronicled in The Knock at the Door.


In 2016, Ani became one of five young female graduate students to be awarded the Ester Ajemian Scholarship. Each year, the fund provides full tuition and monthly stipends to female graduate students of journalism in Armenia.

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