Welcome to the first episode of a very exciting project, in which I, your host Christopher Crowson, a participant of the Birthright Armenia program, am conducting interviews with my fellow Birthright Armenia volunteers. In these interviews, I hope to get our listeners acquainted with the Gyumri volunteers, see what their doing here in Armenia and see what kind of insights they can offer us into life in Gyumri and Armenia today.

 In today’s episode, we are joined by a very special guest, our first ever guest, Ani Martirossian! Ani hails from the state of Maryland, USA and has just graduated from the University of Maryland with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. In her post-graduation haze, she packed her bags and set off halfway around the world to give the Birthright Armenia program a whirl. In this episode, Ani tells us about her close ties with her Armenian ancestry, why she decided to come and volunteer in Gyumri, her impressions of the city, how she has grown even closer to her Armenian roots as a result of the program and much more.