European Computer Olympiad champion was accepted to MIT University in the USA
Bergüzar Yürüm, who graduated from Osman Ulubaş Kayseri Science High School last year, will go to the USA in August and receive a 100 percent scholarship for 4 years.
Yürüm explained that he wanted to study in a project-oriented school while preparing for the High School Entrance Exam (LGS).
Explaining that he walked around with a project file in his hand in secondary school, Yürüm said, “That’s why I wanted to be among the researcher students who wanted to do more projects. That’s why I chose Osman Ulubaş Kayseri Science High School. I participated in many competitions such as composition and book reading. TEKNOFEST held in Istanbul” “I competed as a finalist with our earthquake-related project.” he said.
Stating that he got tired of team work and focused on individual work and participated in TÜBİTAK’s computer Olympics, Yürüm said, “My goal was always to achieve the best. I did not have a goal like going to this school or achieving that. My goal was to do my best.” he said.
Bergüzar Yürüm stated that she participated in the TÜBİTAK Science Olympics in the field of computers and passed 3 Olympic qualifications, and stated that she both worked hard and received support from the mathematics teachers at school during this process.
Stating that Turkey is on the European Girls Computer Olympics team, Yürüm said, “We represented our country in different places. In the first year, I won a bronze medal in Antalya. In the second year, I won a silver medal in Sweden. In 2024, we will participate in the 4th European Girls Computer Olympics held in the Netherlands.” “I won a gold medal in the Olympics,” he said.
“When I was a kid, I used to tamper with the computer in our house”
Yürüm said that he did not take the Higher Education Institutions Exam (YKS) in his senior year of high school to apply to universities abroad.
Stating that he received acceptance from other schools as well, Yürüm continued as follows:
“My dream has always been the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) university. It is probably the biggest dream of all Olympians. I prepared my application to MIT, took the necessary exams. Last week, the results were announced and I received an early acceptance from MIT. I will go to the USA in 8 months. You discover yourself more in the first year, you choose your department from the second year and it takes 4 years. I will probably advance in computers. I was very interested in computers when I was little, I would start tinkering with the computer in our house. “With the experience I gained from TEKNOFES, I participated in the Computer Olympics and started to learn more about coding.”
Emphasizing that after he received acceptance from the USA, his family was a little worried that he would study abroad, but they supported him, Yürüm stated that he aimed to work as a researcher and help young people after his university education.
“THERE WERE DIFFICULT TIMES, BUT WE GOT THE RESULT”
Osman Ulubaş Kayseri Science High School mathematics teacher Ergün Erdoğan stated that they met Bergüzar Yürüm in the 9th grade.
Pointing out that his student received invitations from various universities after his international success in the field of computers, Erdoğan said, “The first target we set was MIT. We set our goal in the 9th grade and we reached it in the 12th grade. My role was to guide our student, to help him with the problems he experienced. There were times when we had difficulties, but “We got the result. Bergüzar is the only student from Turkey who was accepted to MIT this year.” he said.