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Basak Yavuz

5x

Finalist

1x

Winner

General information

Hobbies & Interests

  • Badminton
  • Piano
  • Cooking
  • Baking
  • Music
  • Travel And Tourism
  • Photography and Photo Editing
  • Reading
  • Finance
  • Business And Entrepreneurship
  • Marketing
  • Movies And Film
  • Coffee

Reading

  • Drama
  • Romance
  • Action
  • Novels

I read books multiple times a month.

Bio

Hi there! My name is Basak Yavuz. I am currently on my senior year at CWRU. I moved to the US five years ago from Turkey. I grew up in Iskenderun, Hatay, known for its multicultural landscape, where one values and respects different lifestyles. Yet, as everywhere else, Hatay is burdened with poverty and unequal educational opportunities. Even under those opportunities, I am a person who always has a lot of dreams about her future. Finally, I have achieved one of them by going to CWRU. Every day is an opportunity given to me, and I feel so lucky to be one of their students. I know myself as hard-working and passionate about what I am doing. My music, dream career, travel goals, and volunteering are the things that fill my heart with happiness. To pass the first step, which is going to university in the US, I needed to work hard, and I did whatever I could and will do until I achieved my goals. I am presenting myself to reach my goal successfully and with less financial aid stress. I filled my college list with need-based aid universities instead of my dream college list. There were common colleges like CWRU, but for medical school My goal is to apply to my dream college list for medical school. I know it is possible, just like me being able to be here with my family. I know that it can be possible to help from people like you. I appreciate every donation that is made to my peers in the same situation as me, whose family cannot afford it, but people like you, who have the biggest hearts on earth, help us. Thank you for every second to read about me, Best, Basak Yavuz

Education

Rutgers University-Newark

Master's degree program

2026 – 2027

Majors:
  • Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Other

Case Western Reserve University

Bachelor's degree program

2021 – 2025

Majors:
  • Neurobiology and Neurosciences
Minors:
  • Chemistry
  • Music

Leonia High School

High School

2019 – 2021

Miscellaneous

Graduate schools of interest:
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Columbia University in the City of New York
Majors of interest:
Neurobiology and Neurosciences, Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Other
Medical school interest:
Yes

Career

  • Undergraduate Researcher

    Research · Dr. Collins Lab

    Jan 2024 – Jan 2025

  • Patient Care Nurse Assistant

    Hospital & Health Care · Cleveland Clinic

    Jan 2023 – Present

  • Secretary

    Information Technology and Services · Yavuz Inc

    Jan 2018 – Jan 2018

Miscellaneous

Dream career field:
Hospital & Health Care
Dream career goals:
Neurologist
Has nursing license:
No

Future Interests

  • Volunteering
  • Philanthropy
  • Entrepreneurship
Ismat's Scholarship for Empowering Muslim Women
As an immigrant, I always kept this saying from Jay Shetty, “I train like I never won, and I had to compete like I never lost.” She says and applies this for her own goals, but I, as an immigrant, had to remember this all the time because this was my reality. When I came to the United States, all of my achievement back in Turkiye was not counted anymore or was not going to be seen. My classes didn’t have specific titles that admission offices could understand, or understanding why my english proficiency level did not met their minimum requirements. When I was privileged to move to a country with freedom of speech, I was extremely happy. However, little I knew that COVID was going to be second most challenging aspect of my life. I had to learn English at home by myself during the pandemic. When I have started CWRU, I have realized that I didn’t fully speak my effort was still not enough. I have lost my confidence since. I was not only included because I couldn’t speak but also I carried a different culture. In the United States, being kind and welcoming to people was misunderstood. Something that was part of my culture and part of me felt like I had to change and adapt to American way of ‘welcoming’. I made many friends, but when I needed help, suddenly, I have lost them. This was my turning point of my perspective I had since I have been growing up. I have realized that I was on my own like COVID at my new college in a place without my family, my old friends, and my own language and culture. It was time to train like I never achieved and I had to compete like like I never failed in my exams. I told my self that in the future no matter what my dreams become my reality or not, I will be there for people who need help like me. As an inspiring physician, my goal is to help to muslim community and those who are in need of care for free one day. This may sound very cliche to one, but to another, it has been my dream forever. I always wanted to be the ‘hope’ of another because I knew how it felt without it. No matter what this scholarship goes to who, thank you so much for helping me or my peers, because one day I hope to return it as well. PS: I added a photo of the women who surround me in my family because, as I have grow up, I came to understand how powerful, important, and irreplaceable they are in my life.
Nervo "Revolution" Scholarship
Ever since I started to understand what I am capable of doing, I have never given up on playing piano. There were times, I couldn't find my concentration, but I always learned to give time to myself. Like everyone else who lives in this world, the quarantine was not the best time I have ever had. There were times I tried to ignore the fact that we cannot go out or having the good times of being a teenager was getting skipped, talking about almost being at the end of teenage and mature at the same time. My ambition definitely was music. It does not matter which way you are interacting with your art, but my style was actually having the first time in my life just focusing on piano. I finished pieces just by myself and realized that I am in this second phase, in other words, I call my alone journey with piano. Of course, it was not a choice that people had to find things to do in those really free time instead of saying staying alone. To keep our bodies normal, we had to either starting home workouts or gaining weight. And I would be proud to say, I kept my mind without having any anxiety by playing piano. My piano was my best doctor during quarantine. To be honest, I have never planned a future depending on the music, but I always know that if I fail one day about the future I am planning on, I can always come to my home, music.
SkipSchool Scholarship
If I name her as my favorite, it will be a very light compliment to make because she has a very big influence on my life. Canan Dagdeviren is an excellent scientist who inspired me about who I want to become in the future. She is the best idol I can have, and she showed what women are capable of.
Future Leaders in Technology Scholarship - High School Award
There are a couple of factors behind why I chose neuroscience. The first is my role model, Canan Dagdeviren. Her journey started by coming to the US from Turkey. She is a researcher at MIT Media Lab, and whenever she comes back to Turkey, she finds the time to visit high schools to talk about her life and her work. The fundamental reason for telling her life to various communities was to inspire people; it was also to show people that nothing is impossible. Once she said, “When I talked about my pacemaker that works by piezoelectricity, they called me a crazy Turkish lady. After concretely showing my project, they understood that I was an ordinary person.” She became my inspiration, both for her dedication to her field and for the subject of her projects. I can’t imagine how many people she impressed, but I know that she reached her goal. When I had a chance to meet her face to face, I remember how excited I was, and how lucky I felt. I have always thought that I was a dreamer, but she made me realize how attainable my dreams were. She influenced me not only by her field of research, but also by her endeavors to share scientific knowledge with young students, and empowering especially female students to pursue careers in science. Meeting with her changed my life. I understood how scientific knowledge has significance in our lives. I also want to be a scientist, and give back to my community at least as much as she does. Wanting to be just like Dr. Dagdeviren, I was drawn to neuroscience because of my cousin. She has Niemann-Pick disease type C. NPC is a rare and degenerative genetic disorder. The early diagnosis comes with a low life expectancy. The progression of NPC can be slowed down with a single medication, but individuals with NPC can rarely be cured. Also, the medication is not available for everyone. This is the major reason why I am interested in neurobiological research. The relations between and age differentials among my relatives are some of my quirks. The not-so-quirky reasons behind and consequences of these guide me towards my research interest. I do not share or cannot share the values of the community I grew up in regarding endogamy, child-brides, and I would like to contribute to the research, diagnosis, and treatment of neurological diseases/disorders related to endogamy if not inbreeding, in the future.
Bold Moments No-Essay Scholarship
I grew up in the Hatay, Turkey, known for its multicultural landscape, where one values and respects different lifestyles. Yet, Hatay is burdened with poverty and unequal educational opportunities. During my sophomore-junior year, my friends and I helped a village primary school to build a library. Unable to fix the whole system, we did whatever we could. We held food fairs and sold Turkish food after school. With the funds, we ordered library shelves, books, and a table to turn an abandoned room into a student activity space. Seeing smiles in the children’s eyes was something I can never forget.
Basak Yavuz Student Profile | Bold.org