Integration
In Turkey, social service is held to be very important, especially in high schools, but are advertised as helping to build a good CV. However, I have seen that the real value of service is not understood, and thus students do not serve their societies to their fullest extent. Working with the Special Olympics, I have seen that my peers with learning disabilities are not at all different from me, but everyone does not know what I have learned.
Mathematics, on the other hand, is viewed as the study of geniuses. While this subject requires great intellectual prowess, mathematics is for everyone. In my talk, I will bring together principles of mathematics as analogies for the need for social service.
Alp Köksal
student at Üsküdar American Academy
I am a senior at Uskudar American Academy. I am the vice president of my school’s Student Association, the president of the French MUN Club, captain of the swimming team and founder of the League of Schools, a platform for high schools in Turkey to come together through various projects...but these are just titles. I am a person who dearly values happiness, and seeking everyone’s delight. That is why I appreciate social service so much. I am a unified partner athlete at the Special Olympics Turkey; I regularly run in marathons with my friends and raise money for Toplum Gonulluleri Vakfi, and volunteer in the Aziz Nesin Foundation’s Children’s Festivals, painting faces, and T-shirts. I adore sharing my experiences with others, expressing myself and standing up for others.