AEF: Sponsor Highlight

We are pleased and honored to highlight Hagop Koujakian and the Koujakian

Foundation as this month’s featured AEF sponsors.

Hagop was born in Beirut, Lebanon, the eldest of four children, to Abraham and

Vergine Koujakian. After a childhood in Beirut, he and his family immigrated to

the U.S. just in time for him to be drafted into the Army. In his words, it was a real “eye-opener” for this kid from Beirut.

After leaving the military, he enrolled in college (on the GI bill) and successfully

completed his BS degree in Marketing.

He met and married Sonia Mirigian, who was a teacher at Los Angeles’s Ferrahian

High School in its early years, and they soon moved to the San Francisco Bay

Area.

Hagop and Sonia were introduced to AEF by their dear friends Vahik and Alice

Petrossian, who spent time explaining the mission and good works of the

Foundation.

Inspired by this introduction, and being the careful investor, Hagop did his “due

diligence” of the AEF, and he even asked a family member accountant to audit

AEF’s financial statements. After careful examination, the audit and search

resulted in a resounding “two thumbs up!”

Thanks to several years of increased success in his work and through wise

investments, Hagop and Sonia were able to establish the Koujakian Foundation

and began their philanthropy by sponsoring 30 four-year AEF scholarships.

They were able to travel to Armenia and meet with their sponsored students. This

personal meeting was both heart-warming and inspiring. The Koujakians were so

impressed and satisfied with the caliber of their students that they have since

increased their sponsorship numbers to 60 students a year.

Although for many, this would be more than enough, Hagop learned more about

the dire circumstances of schools in the various border villages. This included a

desperate need for school supplies such as books, white boards, sporting equipment, and technology.

Working with the staff in the Yerevan AEF office, Hagop and Sonia gifted four

village schools with small grants to help provide these much-needed supplies. It is

his hope that these schools will serve as a pilot program that can expand the helpful reach of the AEF.

We appreciate Hagop and Sonia Koujakian’s dedication and commitment to our

students, and we wish them continued good health and success, as well as a long

relationship with AEF.

Learn more by visiting aef.org