From Fear to Leadership: The Story of the Third Cohort of the WorldView Mentorship Scholarship Project

What changes when a teacher is no longer afraid of the camera, feedback, making mistakes, trying new teaching methods, or speaking in front of colleagues?

The most genuine answers to this question emerged on 29 June, during the graduation ceremony and roundtable discussion marking the completion of the WorldView Mentorship Scholarship Project 2025–2026, organized by the Visual Armenia Foundation.

Teachers who had shared the same five-month journey spoke not only about what they had learned, but also about what they had overcome within themselves. Those stories became the most meaningful discovery of the day.

From Professional Development to Leadership

The WorldView Mentorship Scholarship Project is a teacher capacity-building initiative designed to cultivate not only more skilled educators, but also a community of teachers who lead, collaborate, and mentor others.

Selected through a competitive process, participants spent several months engaged in intensive professional development, refining their instructional practices, strengthening their pedagogical skills, embracing a culture of constructive feedback, and developing their leadership capacity.

The event brought together graduates of the Project, regional teacher trainers, education professionals, and partners of the Foundation.
Opening the event, Hovhannes Ghazaryan, Executive Director of the Visual Armenia Foundation and creator of the WorldView Platform, emphasized that lasting educational change begins with teachers who are committed to lifelong learning and willing to share their experience with others.

The keynote address was delivered by Seda Kocharyan, international education expert and the Project’s lead trainer, who reflected on the true meaning of mentorship.

She recalled the famous story of American mathematician George Dantzig, who solved two problems believed to be unsolvable simply because he did not know they were considered impossible. The story became one of the defining messages of the day. More often than not, our greatest limitations arise not from our abilities, but from our fears.

“This Project Was About Overcoming Fear”

This message echoed throughout almost every participant’s reflection.

One teacher spoke about overcoming the fear of the camera. Another reflected on learning not to fear making mistakes. A third shared how she found the confidence to make her lessons public. Another admitted that she had been considering leaving the teaching profession altogether. Each story was different, yet they all led to the same conclusion: professional growth began the moment fear no longer dictated their decisions.

Perhaps that is why the words heard most often throughout the discussion were trust, support, community, and belief.
“You Have Created an Environment…”

Every story shared during the discussion was unique, yet they all revolved around one common theme: the importance of a safe, supportive, and intellectually demanding environment for professional growth.

“You have created an environment without which it is no longer simply difficult, but impossible to imagine our professional development,” said Anush Hovsepyan, Armenian Language and Literature teacher at M. Hovhannisyan Secondary School in Pokr Vedi, Ararat Region.

For Ruzanna Hunanyan, History and Social Studies teacher at Mets Masrik Secondary School in Gegharkunik Region, the Project became a source of support during one of the most challenging periods of educational reform. “I am constantly learning. My mentor guides me. I make mistakes, improve, and move forward again. When the new national curriculum was introduced in our schools, without you we simply would not have been able to navigate this transition,” she said.

For Tatevik Stepanyan, Social Studies teacher at Yegishe Charents Basic School No. 12 in Vanadzor, the impact of the Project is reflected in her classroom every day. “My students now greet me by saying, ‘Good morning to the teacher of the best subject.’ That has become one of the most meaningful recognitions I have received thanks to WorldView,” she shared.

“I Was Preparing to Leave Teaching…”

Perhaps the most emotional story came from Goharik Mkrtchyan, Armenian Language and Literature teacher at A. Bakunts High School No. 1 in Goris, Syunik Region. She shared that just two years ago she had decided to leave teaching. She felt exhausted, professionally burned out, and could no longer imagine rediscovering her passion for education. Then came the Smart Board for WorldView Schools Competition, followed by the WorldView Mentorship Scholarship Project. “I had many fears, especially about recording my lessons and facing the camera. But you brought the world into our classrooms. I will soon turn sixty-two, yet I have no intention of stopping. I still have so much to give and so much more to accomplish. Thank you,” she said.

Sometimes a single educational initiative can reconnect someone with the profession they once thought they had lost. Her story was a powerful reminder of exactly that.

“WorldView Is First and Foremost About People”

For Henrietta Hovhannisyan, Social Studies teacher at Zoravan Secondary School in Kotayk Region, the Project’s greatest value extended well beyond professional learning. “WorldView is first and foremost about people. It is about kindness before knowledge and skills. This course was about courage. It was about freeing ourselves from fear,” she said.

Meanwhile, Susanna Ziroyan, Armenian Language and Literature teacher at Gavar High School, reflected on the Project’s impact beyond the individual teacher. “WorldView is light, and you become illuminated by that light. In an education system that often felt stagnant, you gave us new hope and renewed confidence. Now that light belongs to us, and it is our responsibility to pass it on,” she said.

A Project That Has Become a Community

This year marked the completion of the third cohort of the WorldView Mentorship Scholarship Project. An additional 31 teachers from every region of Armenia earned certification as WorldView Mentor Teachers, bringing the Project’s growing community to 84 certified mentors over the past three years.

This year’s graduation ceremony also carried another important message.

Among those present were the Foundation’s regional teacher trainers, educators who only one or two years ago had themselves participated in the Project as mentees and who today train fellow teachers across communities throughout Armenia.

Mentorship has therefore evolved into far more than a professional development programme. It has become a vibrant professional community that continues to learn, collaborate, and inspire long after the formal Project has concluded.

Looking Ahead

Throughout the day, participants also reflected on the future of the Project.

They proposed expanding focus groups, introducing new mentorship formats, and ensuring the Project’s academic continuity.

David Karapetyan, History teacher at Ayb School, even suggested that the Project could one day become the foundation of a master’s degree programme.

Yet by the end of the day, an even deeper realization had emerged. The most important decision had already been made, not on presentation slides, but within the people themselves.

These teachers want to continue learning.

They want to continue sharing.

They want to continue leading.

They asked us to once again fill their cherished Mentorship Tuesdays with new opportunities to learn and grow together.

Most importantly, they expressed a shared commitment to helping other teachers overcome the very fears they themselves had already conquered.