Hey there!

I love chaos, and here’s why.

Growing up, I was never decisive about what I wanted to become. If you’d asked eight-year-old me, my dream was to be an American singer who could belly dance—my inner oriental Hannah Montana. Then came my space era, where I kept a notebook filled with physics formulas, convinced that memorizing them would one day take me to space. High school? Total confusion. My future was in constant flux.

College began at home in Istanbul, Turkey, in a masked and hand-sanitized world. Zoom life and loneliness made decision-making more daunting, not to mention the anxiety-inducing inquiries from my parents and family about my plans. Yet, I chose chaos again. I quickly became a member of a finance club and started mentoring high school students. I took courses in psychology, economics, literature, neuroscience, biology, computer science, history, and anthropology. I volunteered at hospitals, interned at Pfizer in the business assessment department, conducted research in proteomics at the Jovanovic Lab, and taught biology as a TA.

I was a bit lost, to say the least. However, my open-mindedness and eagerness to try new things allowed me to discover my true interests in molecular biology, physiology, medicine, and education. After a chaotic yet rewarding four years, I graduated Summa Cum Laude from Columbia University with Honors in Biology on the pre-medical track. I will be working as Research Associate at the Broad Institute in the Cancer Proteomics and Cell Signaling Lab for the next two years as I prepare to apply for medical school.

Turns out, there’s a method to my madness.