The elder sister is serious like a “grown up”, well organized and balanced, while the younger one is mischievous, cheerful, and full of energy. With these big differences in their personalities and preferences, the only thing they have in common is TUMO. Karine and Maria manage to attend the same workshops and courses. 

“The son of a relative of ours was going to register at TUMO and he suggested that we join him at the orientation meeting. I really loved what I saw at the meeting, so I rushed to apply as well,” said Karine, the elder of the Andryan sisters.

The younger sister, Maria, ended up having to wait a little.

“The first thing I did when I turned twelve was to register at TUMO Stepanakert. I knew before I came to TUMO that I had very little knowledge of IT, but when I learned about the 14 thematic areas offered at TUMO, I realized that I knew virtually nothing. Thanks to TUMO, I have basic knowledge and skills in several areas,” said Maria.

The interests of the Andryan sisters at TUMO were surprisingly similar. They choose their courses and workshops after consulting with each other. Sometimes, they end up working in the same team, like during the Wikipedia work that they did.

“I was very excited about the new media and creativity courses. We were all very active, full of energy. During the creativity course, the stories we wrote even ended up being published in a book,” Maria said.

While the new media and creativity skills helped Maria choose a future career in journalism, the skills that Karine gained at TUMO served more to broaden her interests and horizons.

“Because I like movies very much, I was interested in learning more about how they’re made, and to learn how to make one myself,” Karine said.

FUN FACTS

Before they started at TUMO, the Andryan sisters had already sung in a choir, studied Latin dance and attended classes in collage making. They loved the Wikipedia workshop at TUMO so much that, after it ended, they became active contributors to the Stepanakert Wiki Club.