Ambassador of Goodwill Aram Nadjarian ’06 Was Accepted into the Capital Fellows Program as an Executive Fellow Aram Nadjarian ‘06 is headed to work in the Office of the Governor in Sacramento this fall through the Capital Fellows Program. The selection of the Executive Fellows was announced in July.
“It’s a great honor to be accepted as a fellow,” Nadjarian said. “The program has been around for more than 50 years, and it’s a key opportunity to explore my interests in the political arena and experience learning opportunities beyond the classroom.”
The program is designed for graduate students and provides an opportunity to integrate work experience in state government with academic and professional development. Fellows work in state government offices, attend weekly university graduate seminars and are paired with mentors who oversee their work and provide guidance. The fellowship program is sponsored by the Center for California Studies at California State University, Sacramento.
Sacramento is not an unfamiliar place for Nadjarian. While at LMU, he was the student representative on the California Student Aid Commission’s Grant Advisory Committee. His responsibilities included regularly lobbying and providing guidance related to the Cal Grant Program to legislators in the state capital.
“I was proud that my input was being taken seriously and that our hard work was protecting the Cal Grant,” Nadjarian said. “Financial aid made my college experience at a private institution possible.”
Nadjarian was succeeded by Ricardo Tejeda, making it the second time in a row that an LMU undergraduate filled the position.
Nadjarian’s Sacramento experience will complement not only his LMU education but his recent international experience. He completed a master’s degree in International Relations at the University of Sussex in Brighton as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar.
“International relations is vital especially in today’s constantly changing world,” Nadjarian said. “It is important to be an ambassador of goodwill and to work towards building better relations between people, no matter where they live or who they are.”
Nadjarian says that his foundation for service and politics was laid at LMU, an experience he felt he wouldn’t have received at another university.
“LMU has a great reputation for providing a solid education that promotes academic progress with a concern for social justice,” Nadjarian said.
Nadjarian plans for a career in public service and wants to pursue law school, but he says that he’ll wait to see where the experience in Sacramento leads him.
“LMU enabled me to dream big,” Nadjarian said. “With hard work and dedication, anything is possible.”
For more about Aram, click here(article and link supplied by Fred Puza)