YEREVAN, Armenia – On June 3, the Agribusiness Teaching Center (ATC) and the EVN Wine Academy held their commencement ceremonies for the Class of 2022, in which ATC Master of Agribusiness program (MAB) and EVN Wine Academy’s “Enology and Wine Business Program” students received their degrees and certificates.
Graduation is a special time for our students, as it marks the end of their degree. With cap and gown in tow, our graduates were signifying to family, friends, and proud onlookers that they are finally graduates. This moment that they have worked so hard to achieve did not come without some hardship. The endless hours of studying, the restless nights, losing out on sleep, and stressing over exams have finally come to an end.
Graduating Agribusiness Teaching Center (ATC), and the EVN Wine Academy is a major accomplishment meant to be celebrated both for our graduates and also for our professors, staff members, and of course ICARE supporters.
The ceremonies were welcomed by Artur Grigoryan, ICARE/ATC Director; Vardan Urutyan, ANAU Rector; Rebecca R. White, Deputy Mission Director, USAID Armenia; Dr. John Nichols, Professor, Texas A&M University, ICARE Board Chairman; Jon Hanf, Professor, Geisenheim University and of course families and friends of our graduates.
The ceremony began with Mr. Grigoryan’s opening speech. ‘’Today we deliver on our promise! Students of the Master of Agribusiness program and of the EVN Wine Academy, you are leaving your… “nest” today to continue your paths to your dreams. And while you do that, you will see that if your dreams and goals are big and ambitious, there will be people who will say “That will not work! No way! No one before did that!”. But let that not discourage you. Some people would just not comprehend the scale of your goals and dreams. However, you will also see people around you who will share your vision, and support you in every action.’’
Ms. White and Dr. Nichols had their captivating speeches as well sharing their excitement about the graduation of ICARE students mentioning that the laters will definitely enter the labor market as a new group of innovators, impactful leaders, and thinkers for the future of local and global communities.
‘’Today, standing before this honorable audience, I would like you to take a minute to think about the people and organizations that made your high-quality education possible. USAID, GIZ, Texas A&M University, Geisenheim University, and your instructors have made an outstanding investment in your future, which means the future of Armenia, which will be bright despite the unprecedented current economic and political challenges. You are some of the young bright Armenians who will bring that bright future of our Motherland closer thanks to the quality of education MAB and EVN have provided for you,’’ said Mr. Vardan Urutyan, ANAU rector. Dr. Urutyan used this special occasion to also award Dr. John Nichols, Professor, Texas A&M University, with the ANAU Gold Medal.
‘’I want to thank our professors for their passion for wine and winemaking. Behind the glass of amazing wine, there is an epic hard work chain. They could tell us the truth without breaking our dreams. Because now we know how hard it is and still, they could make us believe that we can make better wines,’’ said EVN Wine Academy student Tatev Khachaturyan.
‘’Above all, let us express our gratitude to Aharon, our classmate, and all those beautiful and courageous souls who sacrificed their lives for our country and for our peace, who didn’t live to give us the opportunity to live, who didn’t graduate to give us that chance, who gave up on their dreams so that we could achieve ours and theirs,’’ Lilith Ghazaryan, the MAB graduate said in her valedictorian speech.
The commencement continued with traditional cap throwing and gift sharing. Once again, we congratulate our new graduates on this big achievement and wish them a career boost.