FLEX Alumni Coordinator of the Month for February 2009 – Ayna Palvanova

FLEX Alumni Coordinator (AC) Ayna Palvanova ’08, who works alongside with and coordinates the activities of FLEX alumni in Turkmenistan, was named AC of the month for February 2009! This award is bestowed to that Alumni Coordinator who has exhibited outstanding professionalism in one or more of the following categories: conducting alumni activities, compiling FLEX alumni successes, working with media, and finding cost-sharing opportunities.

In addition to Ayna’s organizational prowess, her commitment to sharing American culture, and her devotion to less fortunate members of her community, she is also responsible for a country, which at 188,455 square miles, is slightly larger than the state of California. Ayna’s duties partially involve keeping up to date on the activities of Turkmenistan’s four American Corners. Yet, from the southern capital of Ashgabat, Ayna graciously and easily takes the responsibility for keeping in touch with alumni leaders and their projects in locations as diverse as Dashoguz, Mary, Shatlyk, Turkmenabat, and Yoloten. Her exceptional ability to keep track of a variety of ongoing alumni projects and clubs is part of what helps to unite Turkmen alumni under the banner of FLEX.

Ayna has also been a model for integrating American and Turkmen culture, primarily through holidays. Her innovative approaches to favorite American celebrations like Thanksgiving (for which she hosted a pot-luck dinner), Christmas (during which she held a photo contest and charity night) and St. Valentine’s Day, often do more than reach out to the FLEX alumni community – they also welcome community participation. A hallmark of Ayna’s activities has been and will undoubtedly continue to be the ability to hold a high- interest value for groups outside of FLEX. Her recent celebration of Black History Month at the U.S. Embassy included a substantial portion of United States Government (USG) alumni, and also involved working closely with embassy staff.

Yet, despite her appeal to the community at large, Ayna is also a driving force for alumni, as well. Between November 2008 and February 2009, she organized and headed no less than three grant writing and project preparation seminars, specifically geared towards preparing alumni to submit to the FLEX Alumni Grant Program and the Global Youth Service Day (GYSD) Matching Grant Program, as well as playing active roles in the Colors of FLEX 15th Anniversary Initiative. As a result of her efforts, Turkmenistan submitted the greatest number of applications for GYSD. Ayna has also been a dedicated forerunner in working with the Ashgabat School for Blind Children, which was the beneficiary of the Christmas Charity Night and visits from many alumni.

Ayna has also been deeply involved in running the Ashgabat Debate Club, a new group formed in November, which meets weekly for sixteen high school participants. Among the topics that Ayna and the group have debated include the shrinking nature of the modern world, how laughter may sometimes be the best medicine, and whether teenagers should hold jobs while still in school.

Ayna deserves the award for FLEX AC of the Month for her excellence in uniting the alumni community, and acting as a positive driving force at its core.