Arzu Yüksel / Cultural Studies, Undergraduate Degree, 2005
Management Support Specialist
This is my 9th year at Sabancı University. 5 years as a student, then a return to the alma mater after an intermission of one year (had I actually ever left?), and this is my third year as an employee. I guess I can't help feeling like 'this campus belongs to me!' I ended up someone who has something to say about everything; someone who acts as an alumni as well as an employee to question everything, otherwise feel uncomfortable.
Outside of work, when I meet my friends through my social network or the Sabancı Uni-versity Alumni Association (SUMED), things change. I realize I'm up to date with eve-ryone after their commencement; I come up with answers to all criticism, and speak of recent developments. I believe there are lots we can do as alumni, as long as we are pre-pared to stand up for it.
What is consistent about this case of split personalities is defending Sabancı University, which I know by my own experience that is on the right path, and criticize this institution regardless of my happiness with it so that it can be developed.
My life had changed in July 2000 during a campus visit, when I had found out I was eli-gible for a scholarship. The countless opportunities I found to realize my potential and develop myself, my Cultural Studies degree, the self-confidence that I have the capability to discover and learn whatever is waiting for me out there... It is pure bliss (and encou-ragement) that I can give back to the institution that provided these to me, and my wil-lingness to try to come up with new ways to contribute pull me out of the workplace rou-tine. What more can I ask for?
Zeynep Bahar / Social and Political Sciences, Undergraduate Degree, 2003
Civic Involvement Projects Manager
I am one of the first students, and therefore alumni, of Sabancı University. I began work-ing at the University 11 days after my commencement, and have been working at the Civ-ic Involvement Projects office for more than five years. Being a student at a university is one thing, being an employee of the same university another, being both a student and an employee of the same university is something altogether different. Nine years have passed since my first step into this University, and lots have changed here since then; I consider myself very lucky to have witnessed them all. Sure, I go green with envy when I see current students enjoy many opportunities we never had, but I am also proud to start sentences with 'Back when I was a student...' Sabancı University values its students greatly; this is known to all students and alumni. However, it was only when I started working here that I saw how hard both administrative staff and faculty members worked to create the value. Now I am in a position to see what makes this university different, and the great effort expanded to create this difference.
One of the aspects that contribute significantly to the existence of a University is its alumni. As alumni of Sabancı University, I have a better understanding of this now that I'm also an employee. I believe that the sense of belonging felt by an employee to the institution they work in plays a large part in the success of that institution, and I'm glad that our university has actually achieved this as more and more alumni begin to work here. I am infinitely happy and proud to be a student, alumni and an employee of Sabancı University.
Eylem Balkan / Social and Political Sciences, Undergraduate Degree, 2005
Civic Involvement Projects Project Officer
Just when I thought I had gotten the university entrance exam blues out of my system, I found myself trying to adjust to the 'different' system in place at Sabancı University. Getting one's hands into the job and being a student at Sabancı University was not at all like what they wrote in the booklets!
I was just getting the hang of things when Civic Involvement Projects came up. I as-sumed it was a good thing, and listened to this third-year student introducing the program with incredible candor and cuteness in the cafeteria (I want to say hi to Mete!), and here I am today, working for those projects. It has been seven years and three months. Being a part of CIPs during my 4 years of undergraduate studies not only helped me shape my future and expectations of life, but also made me realize the skills I had and which areas I would be more successful in.
I am now working at the University I graduated from, and I try to make a difference through Civic Involvement Projects – all the while loving my job! I believe it was lucky of me to go through a smooth transition from academic training to on-the-job experience at the same institution. It's an opportunity that not only embraces me today, but also helps me develop and express myself in different ways, opening new doors before me.
My university is my dearest, both with the education I received, and being my first em-ployer.
Neslihan Ercan / Social and Political Sciences, Undergraduate Degree, 2007
Maastricht University-European Studies Graduate Degree, 2008
International Relations Office Specialist
I thought long and hard about how I should begin writing this piece; it's not easy to make an assessment of my 7 years at Sabancı University. I was instantly transported to the summer of 2002, when I had visited this campus three times prior to making one of the most important choices in my life. As the years went by, I was first a SU student, then alumni, and finally an employee. I am currently working at the International Relations Office, a division that was created by the restructuring of the European Office working as part of the RGP. My division is charged with leading the development, implementation and coordination of Sabancı University's internationalization strategy, and I am infinitely happy and excited to be working alongside very valuable people.
During my graduate studies abroad, I found the opportunity to compare the quality of education and the opportunities provided by Sabancı University with other European universities, and I was proud to realize how great the academic and social value our university instilled in us was. This motivates me to do my best in the effort to make SU a reference to the world with its creative approach to education. Being a part of the SU family gives me the comfort of being home, and the happiness to give back to SU via the knowledge and experience it equipped me with.
* This interview is taken from Issue 06 /March-May of SU Dergi
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