I am a queer woman of color. I was born in Istanbul, Türkiye (formerly known as Turkey). When I was 3 years old, my parents and I became refugees and had to flee Turkey and seek asylum in London, England. I now live in Northern California with my non-binary partner. The different parts of my identity come out in my writing. I am currently studying for my MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Hamline University. It is a low residency MFA. (I transferred from the same program at the Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) due to internal problems VCFA was having at the time.) I am a professor in computer science but I want to write diverse books for children and young adults with LGBTQ and BIPOC characters that reflect their identities, struggles, and lives. I have always wanted to write for young people and it was just not possible before. Growing up as a refugee, my family was all about survival. You need to pick the most secure jobs that pay the bills. But a few years a health scare changed everything. I started to write, I couldn’t stop, all my past: the seeking asylum, the homelessness, the discovery and denial of my sexuality, the racism—everything started to pour out. That’s when I decided to learn formally with an MFA. I tell you all of this to say: I have found my calling. I want to write for young people of color and LGBTQ youth. I want to show them a way through. I want them to see themselves reflected in the pages of books. I want them to explore the intersections of their identities. This is why I am doing this program. It means everything to me. I am ready to finally move from surviving—to living. I have won the following awards/grants for my writing: • Summer 2023 Picture Book Award from Vermont College of Fine Arts • Fall 2023 We Need Diverse Books awarded me the Walter Dean Myers Grant • Fall 2023 I was awarded a Fellowship by the Center of Arts and Social Justice at the Vermont College of Fine Arts • Fall 2023 BIPOC LGBTQ Scholarship from Point Foundation • Spring 2024 Writing in Nonfiction Award from Vermont College of Fine Arts • Spring 2024 Brandon Terrell Scholarship (for exceptional promise in the writing of middle grade fiction in the science fiction or comic genre). • Spring 2024 Frances and Kermit Rudolf in Nonfiction Award I love to write in all sorts of genres, I particularly love to write novels in verse with lyricalism and magical realism. I find that adding some magic to the real world brings a levity to heavy issues such as becoming a child refugee. It brings children and young people some hope while exploring topics that many young people relate to, such as being torn between two cultures or feeling like an outsider. I would be truly honored to receive the Mid-Career Writing Scholarship and I promise I would honor the importance of this through writing for young people with care, love, and hope.