Looking back, I think Doğa (Nature) Schools first sparked my awareness of ecosystems. We learned as much outdoors as in the classroom — planting vegetables, collecting eggs, and even horseback riding. It was a unique way of bonding with nature that shaped how I see the world today.
First Pets
Then came Boncuk, fostered from a shelter with her four siblings — while the others moved on, she chose to stay with us. A few years later Bal arrived, too beautiful to be left as a stray. We discovered his family had moved away, leaving him behind, so he found a new home with us. In truth, it felt less like we adopted them and more like they chose us.
First Chinchilla
In 2022, toward the end of the pandemic, Mochi the chinchilla joined our family. Chinchillas are incredible animals — with the softest fur and a resilient immune system that rarely needs treatment. They hardly ever get sick, yet while germs cannot harm them, humans have done far worse by destroying their natural habitat. Caring for Mochi opened my eyes to how near-extinct species survive — fragile not because of biology, but because of us.
My Quiet Friend
If you haven’t seen one before, this is an axolotl — my quiet companion beside my study table. Axolotls are near-extinct, yet they look like a snapshot of evolution itself: a bridge between water and land, complete with limbs and fingers. What fascinates me most is their ability to regenerate — to heal wounds and even regrow missing limbs. Hidden in their genetic code lies a mystery that feels almost like programming in nature. Did I say code? Perhaps that’s why I feel such a connection.
Me Time
A small break for some me-time. I’ve gone to the same barber since I could walk, just like my father did before me. He greets every client personally, remembers their stories, and makes each visit feel unique — almost like a masterclass in human-to-human marketing. The irony is that he has no hair himself, but what matters most is his passion for it. Sometimes, passion isn’t about what you have, but what you give.
Loved Cooking
During the pandemic, life slowed down indoors, giving me time to discover how much I love cooking. I started small — sandwiches, meatballs, and pastries — but soon found myself exploring Chinese and Korean kitchens, plating professional-level dishes. To me, every recipe feels like a few hundred lines of code: precise instructions, careful execution, and endless room for creativity. Cooking became another way to experiment, learn, and serve — only this time, the output was a meal.
Practice Makes Perfect
It feels like whatever I do, I want to perfect it. Cooking went beyond home experiments when I started joining hotel kitchens during our travels. Eventually, a two-star master chef at one of our favorite restaurants accepted me as a junior chef to train. Practice does make perfect — but when you love what you’re doing, the repetitions don’t feel like work. They feel like time well spent.
FRC Team
My father built KREA.Digital into one of Turkey’s leading tech companies, setting an inspiring example. But before I could even dream of being part of a team, I spent many hours taking coding courses and earning certificates, both online and on-campus. In 2023, after transferring to Hisar, I finally had the chance to step into after-school activities — and I volunteered to join the Hisar School FRC team. It was my first step from learning alone to building together.
A Robot For A Maze
This was one of my proudest builds — a Raspberry Pi Pico 2W robot designed to solve a maze on its own. At first, I controlled it through a simple web page, but the real challenge was making it navigate independently. Every wire, sensor, and line of code was a step toward merging theory with practice. I could turn an idea into something that moves, thinks, and acts in the real world.
Yale and VEX Robotics
After attending the VEX Robotics summer program at Yale, I built this next-generation robot. Compared to my earlier maze-solving prototype, this design was sturdier, more resilient, and ran on far cleaner code. It was still bulky and left plenty of room for improvement, but progress is visible. Robotics has taught me that each iteration matters, and that refinement is as valuable as invention.
Codefest
Since transferring to Hisar in 2023, I have proudly represented my school at CodeFest with my teammate. Our first year we placed in the top 15, and the following year we climbed into the top 10, thanks to stronger teamwork and persistence. My goal is to secure a top rank before I graduate. Improvement is a journey measured sometimes one line of code — or one year — at a time.
Go Global
Hisar supported me fully and trusted me to represent the school at global events, math and biology Olympiads. That trust motivated me to give my best and take further responsibility. I also founded a counseling club to guide other Hisar students through their journey toward higher education. Supporting others in this way not only helped my peers but also contributed to easing the path for future students.
Coding Assistant
After reaching a certain level of coding knowledge and experience, I was invited to assist in coding lessons at Hisar School. Sitting beside younger students and helping them understand programming was both an honor and a recognition of my efforts to grow. Teaching is about sharing knowledge so others can take their first steps more confidently.
Stanford Summer Session
I was privileged to be accepted to Stanford Summer Session, where I enrolled in four undergraduate courses totaling 18 credits. Balancing a rigorous schedule, I earned two A’s and two B’s. The experience was both a joy and a challenge — navigating between lecture halls sometimes felt like solving a maze, but with every step I understood how much I love learning in environments that push me to grow.
Cannes Lions
In 2024, I had the rare privilege of attending the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity — one of only two high school students with a full attendee badge, alongside my sister. Immersed in a world where marketing, design, and technology meet, I experienced firsthand how ideas can inspire global movements.
Community Hours
I spent much of my community service time at AIP, supporting projects that touched the lives of mothers and children. But I came to realize that time is like a social coin — once spent, it cannot be reused. That thought inspired me to design a mobile donor project, turning community hours into a scalable system of continuous giving. Through simple text messages, donors will be able to contribute directly, with charges added to their phone bills. The project is scheduled to launch by the end of 2025, ensuring AIP can sustain its impact well beyond my own hours of service.
BiYemek.org
BiYemek.org is the project I am most proud of — a way to give back for everything I have received so far. It is built as a system of "social business coins", designed to stay and provide free meals to those in need long after its inauguration. I am honored that the initiative has been formally accepted, and we are scheduled to launch on October 1st. For me, BiYemek.org is proof that technology can nourish communities in the most literal way.
e-Sports Enthusiast
Beyond coding, community and schoolwork, I am also an e-sports enthusiast and a proud member of a competitive gaming team. We compete in select tournaments and have ranked among the top teams in Turkey. For me, e-sports is another arena where focus and collaboration turn practice into progress.
