Leadership & Service

BLIS Tennis Working Group (informal) · Founder · Grade 12 (2026–present)

I started playing tennis in 2016 and competed in Turkish Tennis Federation junior tournaments. When the pandemic stopped competition in 2020, the cost of competitive training kept me from going back. I know firsthand how quickly a sport can become out of reach. In 2023–24, I taught tennis to younger children.

At BLIS, I kept meeting students who wanted to play but had no way in. The school had no tennis club, and an official one could not be approved for security reasons; in Ankara, tennis usually means paid club memberships and private lessons, which many families can't afford. So in my final year I founded the BLIS Tennis Working Group as an informal student group. I called Bilkent University myself to arrange free court access, and now five of us meet every week to play matches and small tournaments at no cost. I set the schedule and the pairings, and I help newer players with what I learned in years of training and competition.

Model United Nations

MUNESCO Conference, Ankara · Grades 9–11 Deputy Chair, 21st MUNESCO (March 2026). Delegate, 19th MUNESCO (March 2024) and 20th MUNESCO (March 2025). 

Teaching Younger Students

• Reading volunteer, Ankara Support Facility (ASF) Community Library: reading with younger students, Grades 3–5

• Summer Reading Program, Ankara Support Facility (ASF) Community Library: 1st place for most books read, summers 2020 and 2021

• Private lessons: piano and tennis for younger children, 2023–24

Volunteer Tutor

Okul Destek Derneği (ODD) · Grade 11 (2025–26) Two hours a week of math lessons and question sessions for 5th-grade students from low-income families.

Afforestation Volunteer

Doğa ve Çevre Vakfı (DOÇEV) · May 2026 Tree-planting field campaign.

Family

Since Grade 8, I've helped care for my grandparents for about eight hours a week: groceries, errands, meals, and managing their daily routine.

Work

Server, Apple Garden (open-air swimming pool), Ankara · Summer 2024 (about two weeks)

Earlier Leadership

At DoDEA Ankara I was elected class president. In 2020 I received the President's Award for Educational Excellence, presented by U.S. Ambassador David Satterfield.