Early Teachers & Friends
Growing up in Denizli’s (one of the beautiful cities in Turkey) public school system I had the very good fortune of being exposed to a number of incredible teachers who literally cared and had a big impact & influence on my development.
Primary School
Nalan Soylev, primary school 1st-3rd grade, I learned what discipline means from her.
Mehlika Akpinar. 4th-5th grade, I learned setting high goals from her. Besides, during that time I was also inspired by her awesome sons Cem & Anil Akpinar.
High School
The best high school teachers I have ever seen. Graduated from top colleges and came to high school to teach us with passion.
Semra Bozkurt, TEVAL High School Biology, thank you for the “Biology Olympiads” experience.
Ufuk Sultan Güleryüz, TEVAL High School Physics.
Birsen Selcuk and Kamil Burhan Karan, TEVAL High School Math, I discovered my passion for math & optimization.
Taner Hoca, College Prep Physics. Words cannot express how much I Iove and respected my dear Taner hocam.
Gurbuz Hoca, College Prep Math.
Thank you for what you had done for me!!!
Early Close Friends
When you reach your 40s, you realize the importance of your early close friends and their influence on you. I would like to express my sincere thanks to my dear friends for their endless friendship and support throughout my life. Words cannot express how much I Iove the spending the time with you guys.
Osman (since 1995). Listening music in dark nights at summer time in Denizli and Istanbul. What I learned from you? Reasoning, slowing down, intellectual perspective and reading a lot, calmness, physical appearance, good music, how to cook and food...
Baris (Since 1999). What I learned from you? Physical appearance, body building, walking, running, table tennis, music, music, music, reading, reading, reading, dignity, food,...
Unal (Since 1999). What I learned from you? Making fun of life in a better way, good jokes, bad jokes (I never forget Boston-MIT-Harvard visit :)), smiling, dealing with challenges, spirituality, dignity, frugality, ...
Huseyin (Since 1999). What I learned from you? History, reading, never giving up, spirituality, dignity, ...
Serdar (Since 2001). Thank you for making our undergrad study fun and hilarious. Group projects, company visits, presentations, project submissions phase 1, 2, 3, coding in C labs :), coding for Ufuk`s MIS and Data Processing in Industrial Systems class. Since then you always try to visit/connect me online or in-person just to check how I am doing. Istanbul, Ankara, US, Albany, Austin, New Orleans in 2023 with your wife :)...
Ahmet (Since 2001): I always cherish the time we spend together and our stimulating academic discussions. What I learned from you? Half of my academic knowledge relies on you man. Without you, everything will be extremely challenging. Making fun of life in a better way, we are living in a simulation, jokes, smiling, don't get stuck, move on, good is better than perfect, don't do too much, take time for yourself, ..