Winter 1995 (3.4) Page 28 Azerbaijani Student Honored Shahin Aliyev Shahin Aliyev, 21, a student selected by SOCAR to study in the US who is now a junior Petroleum Engineering student at Texas A & M University, was recently chosen as one of 200 students to attend one of America's most prestigious business conferences: the Seventh Annual Business Tomorrow International Conference in New York City, November 19-21. Shahin was chosen from among more than 600 nominees and was one of a very few foreign students who was invited to attend. The Foundation for Student Communications, a Princeton-based student group, which organized the event, asked students to submit two essays on topics related to international business. Selections were based on "how eloquently students stated and defended their beliefs." Shahin's essay dealt with the question of whether foreign companies should begin operations in Azerbaijan by bringing their own foreign personnel or by hiring local employees. The young Azerbaijani began his studies here in 1992, and after attending the English Language Institute, attended Blinn College where he was named a Presidential Scholar. He has now transferred to Texas A & M and is a member of various honor societies. "Shahin has made us extremely proud once again," said Violetta Burke Cook, Coordinator of Texas A & M's Sponsored Student Programs, who encouraged Shahin to apply to the event in the first place. Ed. Note: "Azerbaijan International" published Shahin's letter to Senator Phil Gramm (now Presidential hopeful) in our Environmental issue, (see AI: Summer 1994, V. 2:3, 54) "The Real Question: How Does Armenia Deserve US Aid?". His letter challenged Gramm's article in the "Houston Chronicle" (July 6, 1994) entitled, "US Aid Must Be Earned", in which the Senator condemned the Azerbaijani government for "strangling innocent, weaker neighbors (Armenians)" and justified aid for Armenia because "he (the Senator) had been to Armenia and seen thousands of people suffering and dying." Shahin questioned Gramm's definition of aggression (since it is the Armenians who occupy 20% of Azerbaijan's territory and not vice versa) and asked whether the Senator had ever been to Azerbaijan as he would have seen hundreds of thousands of people living in conditions far worse than Armenians. Shahin charged Gramm's analysis as "very one-sided, very undemocratic, and very unfair". From Azerbaijan International (3.4) Winter 1995. © Azerbaijan International 1995. All rights reserved. Back to Index AI 3.4 (Winter 1995) AI Home | Magazine Choice | Topics | Store | Contact us