A short story of thousands of miles

Merhaba!

Which translates to ‘Hello!’. It has been a while since I greeted people in Turkish, my native language. My name is Eda and I am a second year Ph.D. student in the Biomedical Sciences. After three lab rotations during my first year, I joined the lab of Adviye Ergul, M.D., Ph.D., where we study the vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia. In this blogpost, I will take you on my international adventure of applying and getting accepted to graduate school. Buckle up, y’all! 

I earned my bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biology and Genetics at one of the most prestigious universities in Turkey, Middle East Technical University. While spending my early 20s on this divine campus, I had always dreamed of going for more. But, what was more? A master’s degree? A Ph.D., perhaps? In the midst of this existential crisis, I came across the research profile of a Turkish professor at MUSC, Onder Albayram, Ph.D. After a long discussion – which lasted eight or nine months – I decided to come here to MUSC as a research scholar, and that is how my U.S. adventure started. With this choice, I was hoping to buy myself some time to decide whether I wanted to pursue a master’s degree in Europe or a Ph.D. in the U.S. During my 10 months at MUSC, I fell in love with the Ph.D. program and I decided to go for it.

Why did I fall in love with this program? The answer is simple yet strong: DIVERSITY. As an international student, one of my biggest fears was to be in an environment in which I would feel like an outsider. But my time at MUSC proved that those fears were unwarranted. As I spent more time on campus, I saw how much MUSC celebrates diversity; it was beyond my imagination. As soon as I started the Ph.D. program, I felt like I have always belonged here.

"As I spent more time on campus, I saw how much MUSC celebrates diversity - it was beyond my imagination. As soon as I started the Ph.D. program, I felt like I have always belonged here."

-- Eda Karakaya

However, my journey from Turkey, a non-European Union country, to the graduate program at MUSC was full of hurdles.

The economic hurdle was the most discouraging factor in applying to graduate school for me. Application fees, English proficiency exams, the GRE, registration fees – the list kept going. Considering the currency exchange, I spent more money just on the paperwork to get into graduate school than I spent on living while I was an undergrad. It was a heavy burden.

In addition to the economic difficulties, proving my academic background was also a big challenge. Coming from a different education system and trying to prove that I was a good candidate took me awhile. I needed to submit my official transcripts; however, I could only obtain those records in-person in Turkey. Since I was living and working in the U.S., and the COVID-19 pandemic was raging on, it was extremely difficult for me to navigate a work-around solution. But with time, a little more money, and help from my friends, my official transcripts were mailed to me.

After I was accepted into the graduate program, my biggest barrier was standing just in front of me: BEAUROCRACY. Although everything was relatively straight-forward for me, obtaining a visa still took time, there is a specific procedure you need to follow and it might take several months to finish; it takes a lot of patience and energy to overcome all the obstacles during the long, grueling process; and there are often additional fees that pop up.

However, in my case, COVID made this process unimaginably more difficult at every turn.

Every U.S. Embassy and Consulate around the world was shut down, making it difficult to file my paperwork. Additionally, I was afraid that I would never be able to enter the country because the Trump administration tried to strip international students of their visas if their coursework was online, effectively expelling them from the country. But I guess with the magical touch of karma, I was able to obtain my visa at the last minute and made it here! Yay! So, after all the hurdles, I hopped off the plane at CHS with a dream and my cardigan, like Miley Cyrus would have said.

It has been more than a year now since I started the Ph.D. program and almost two years since I stepped foot in South Carolina. I was so worried and stressed about fitting into a new community at the beginning. Also, having to think in two languages, all while learning a new culture, was daunting and become confusing and tiresome at times. But people here made it so easy! With this warm embrace, I was able to overcome the difficulties of being bilingual and experiencing a brand-new culture, and now I’m living in high cotton!

If I could go back in time and talk to myself, I would say “Don’t worry, it is all going to come together, and you will be proud of yourself!” There certainly were struggles along the way and it wasn’t always easy. But if I had to do this all over again, I definitely would! Because this is how we grow and prosper. So, be the change! Get out of your comfort zone! Don’t be afraid to take risks! And Carpe Diem!

Gorusmek uzere!
Goodbye!