Ani graduated with a major in political studies and a minor in English literature from ¹ú²ú91ÓÈÎ︣ÀûÔÚÏß¹Û¿´â€™s, where she was also the Arts and Science Undergraduate Society’s (ASUS) Social Affairs Commissioner and received the ASUS Volunteer Award for her many contributions to the association and the university.
After ¹ú²ú91ÓÈÎ︣ÀûÔÚÏß¹Û¿´â€™s, Ani spent nearly two decades in national and international human-rights advocacy as a leader in communications and fundraising. In her work, the rise and impacts of misinformation were becoming increasingly clear and she knew it was time to tell her family story.
With the support of the Jean Royce Fellowship, Ani is researching and writing a novel based on her family’s lived experiences of genocide – drawing from her paternal Armenian side, who were the target of mass killings, and her maternal Austrian side, who were connected to the oppressors.
By bringing to light the human story, her book shows our shared humanity, the traumas we endure, and the ways we can become complicit in dangerous policies and social behaviours. It serves as both a timely warning and a call for empathy and understanding in the face of anger and division.
