Born in New York City and raised in Yerevan, Armenia, Katya Hovnanian-Alexanian is studying in the School of Public and International Affairs with a certificate in Near Eastern Studies and a minor in Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies. In recognition of her democracy-building activism with her nongovernmental organization, United Student Council, she was appointed as the Republic of Armenia’s first youth adviser to the Office of the President by Armenian President Armen Sarkissian. On campus, Katya is president of Princeton’s Armenian Society, a member of the Russian Speaking Club, E-Club’s Output Team, Business Today, as well as deputy programs director of the American Whig-Cliosophic Society. In the summer of 2023, Katya interned at U.S. Senator Robert Menendez’s D.C. office. Katya is fluent in Russian and Armenian and has some proficiency in French.