ALTAY ALPAGUT
The Robbins Company-USA
It's my pleasure to write about Irmak School which I've studied for 11 years, starting with Primary School and graduating from High School. Since then, I've earned a BA in International Relations from Bilkent University in Ankara and MA in European Studies from Boğaziçi University in İstanbul. I'm currently working for The Robbins Company in Turkey after having worked for two years in USA at their headquarters.
The greatest gain of myself from Irmak was their international mindset. We acquired our skills within international context, so that from our small ages, we were connected to real-World issues which contributed to our communication and connection skills with people all around the World. I owe to Irmak, together with what I’ve seen in family, being an open-minded communicator in education and then in business life which I can express myself and my knowledge while appreciating other’s perspectives and values. I should also add that, for this purpose, Irmak put a strong emphasis on teaching secondary language in primary school and a third language in high school. My advanced level of English and fair level of German today is directly a result of the education I’ve got in Irmak.
Another aspect of studying at Irmak was, which I've realized later on, their emphasis on us formulating our own questions and researching the answers. For this purpose, as early as Primary School, we had classes for Research Methods and classes for information literacy which opened us the huge information pool of both written literature and also internet. Our projects for different classes and term projects taught me how to research and maybe more importantly, how to present what I've searched. All of these has tremendous positive effect on my performance at University and then in my work life.
Lastly, participating numerous science and social projects and representing my school at different workshops, communities and schools taught me a great sense of self-motivation and self-confidence.
Therefore, it was my chance to study in Irmak for many years, the years that shaped my character and who I am today.
In case of any additional information you may need, please feel free to contact me. Here’s my contact information below;
Altay Alpagut ‘06
(2016 ÖZEL IRMAK LİSESİ MEZUNU)