June 23rd, 2026
On May 16th, 2026, I graduated from the University at Buffalo with my degree in Computer Science (Bachelor of Science) and minor in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE), with the honor of Magna Cum Laude as a first-generation student and a woman in STEM. I was also honored by the Department of Computer Science and Engineering with the Faculty Choice Award, which is “awarded to one or more graduating seniors who have been a most vital presence in the department and whose departure will be sorely missed, not only by the faculty, at whose discretion the prize is awarded, but by the department as a whole.”
These past four years have taught me a lot, both inside and outside the classroom and have allowed me to grow as a person. Before coming to UB to study, I did not know much about Buffalo – besides the wings and the wind, and not even the Bills, and to be frank, I was nervous stepping into this new journey and unsure whether I would truly find my community here. Contrary to this initial uncertainty, I was able to build a community of my own.
Yazgi, my name, in Turkish, means fate. Unfortunately, it is often mistakenly translated as destiny despite the important conceptual difference between them. While destiny considers a person’s agency within the predetermined course of events, fate often encompasses the inevitable factors we cannot control. While success requires hard work, there is a certain part of it that is luck and beyond your control. While there is a significant amount of hard work behind this important milestone, I also have been very fortunate with the people I met and the encounters I had at UB. So, this reflection will mainly be a tribute and a thank-you to my experiences, community, and support system throughout my time here.
REFLECTIONS
on my time
at
University at Bufflao
Starting my degree, I felt at times uncertain whether I “belonged” or fit the stereotype of a computer scientist. Building software projects of my own for the first time, I was intimidated, and I was being challenged like that for the first time. My department guided me especially through these moments of doubt, and I felt always embraced by them. After attending several office hours, spending many late nights, and receiving guidance, I achieved success in many of my computer science courses and became an Undergraduate Teaching Assistant at the beginning of my second year of university. Being an undergraduate teaching assistant allowed me to develop and improve in various ways. Collaborating with dozens of peers allowed me to further develop my teamwork skills; the mentorship I received from my professors (special thanks to Atri Rudra, Ethan Blanton, Carl Alphonce, Paul Dickson, and Jesse Hartloff) allowed me to develop both professionally and personally. I learned to address conceptual gaps in students' understanding through clear, concise explanations tailored to each student’s level. As a TA, I also became surrounded by several wonderful people, who then became my close friends. By graduation, I had served as an undergraduate teaching assistant for several computer science courses, including Intro to Computer Science I and II, Systems Programming, and Distributed Systems.
I worked as a research assistant under Dr. Atri Rudra for the last year and a half. His guidance and mentorship have greatly helped me grow, shape my approach to research and industry, and carve my path forward. Over two years ago, when I showed up at his door to express my interest in getting involved in research and academia, he welcomed me and has been very generous with his guidance and mentorship.
This past semester, I was a project manager for two teams of CSE 370: Human-Computer Interaction through the course I took, CSE 404: Project Management. Having held leadership positions before, I did not anticipate such a steep learning curve in this course. However, I had room to grow, to say the least, and I am beyond grateful to have taken this course in school. Through this course and my professor Alan Hunt’s guidance, I grew tremendously, further developed the leadership skills to manage technical projects, track progress, and manage other developers, and made wonderful friends in the process.
Alan also mentored me during my tenure as Director of UBHacking, UB’s student-run hackathon. During this time, we brought together 500+ participants at Davis Hall for the weekend. At this time, we focused on computing for social good, coordinated workshops and judging with faculty, trained and managed an 80% new organizing team, oversaw fundraising and bud-
During my time at UB, I also worked as a Community Assistant at Hadley Village, an Orientation Leader during the summer of 2024, and as a student assistant at the Office of International Education starting from my first semester. Through each of these experiences, I made lifelong friends in classrooms, workplaces, and the many spaces in between.
This semester, as the Sabres doing really well, my friends and I often ended up going to the watch party at Canalside. As a result of the past four years, now I am officially a football and hockey fan. I have also been running more frequently this semester, which I hope to continue in the next chapters of my life.
I am beyond grateful for the time I had at UB. There was never a moment when I wanted to step outside of my comfort zone or take a leap of faith and was not encouraged to do so. At every stage of my journey, I felt embraced, loved, and supported by a community both within and beyond UB. It truly does take a village.
I would especially like to thank the Yıldızlar Education Fund family; my host mom, Ann Ford, and my host family; Şeniz abla and Halit abi, for supporting me in every aspect of this journey; my parents and my host mom, for instilling in me the values, courage, and curiosity to explore the world; the Darüşşafaka family, for providing the education and the experiences that helped me become who I am today; and my teacher, Nilüfer Kavaklı, who introduced me to the Yildizlar Education Fund family.
As I step into a new chapter, I know this is not an ending. I look forward to passing on the goodness that was given to me, supporting others as I have been supported, and continuing the positive impact and legacy of the communities that shaped me.