Donation Type: Graduate Class Scholarship

Please tell us about yourself. When did you graduate and what did you do afterwards?
My name is Işıl Hacıarifkaptanoğlu Karababa from the class of UAA’93. After university, I worked in different fields from translation and trademark registration to shipping, restoration and tourism. I now work with my husband in the tourism and real estate sector. I am closely involved in politics and I have two amazing daughters.

What does it mean to be a UAA alumnus? What do you remember from your high school years? How did UAA make a difference in your life?
I see being an Üsküdar American Academy graduate as a part of my life that made me who I am for better or worse. I believe the school had a role in building my self-confidence, critical thinking skills, prioritizing tolerance, not fearing new starts, my love of books and caring for solidarity among women.

How did you as a class decide to donate for education and to your school? What affected your decision?
To tell the truth, we were envious of the other classes’ donation decisions! We said, 'Come on sisters we can do it too' and we set off. I contacted nearly all of my classmates. I realized that I had missed them all very much. They had become lovely women, riding the waves of life. I liked how they had gained new skills and experiences. We agreed that they would follow this scholarship and join in whenever they wanted. Finally, we gave the scholarship our class name and everyone has the right to follow it. I am in charge of coordination and communication. Our common desire when we established this scholarship was to ensure that it would find the right recipient. I think our scholar truly deserves the scholarship and has a wonderful mother too.

We regard our scholarship as 'casting our bread upon waters.' We wholeheartedly hope that it will have positive reflections on our scholar and the community but we do not have control over how life unfolds so we are watching the film evolve. Our greatest happiness would be for our scholar to become a self-sufficient adult and support another individual on the same journey. We did not impose any conditions but if something like this happens, we will be delighted.

What is your message to potential donors?
We would recommend them to envy us and donate; relations within the class improve greatly.

Interview Date: November 2017

Röportaj Tarihi: Kasım 2017