Selin Ergeneli is living the American Dream. The first person to come to CMU from Turkey, she is a junior architecture major studying abroad in Pittsburgh.
“I think that the movies I always see about American college made me want to experience the American college,” she says. And she did just that. Selin threw herself into so many stereotypically American hobbies: cheerleading, Greek life… “I think I even joined the rugby team–but I’m not sure if I did or not,” Selin said.
Selin was a gymnast since she was five, but she had to quit before she was ready because she kept getting injured. “I miss it,” Selin reminisced. “Cheerleading is close to it and super American so I wanted to try it.” Selin had an awesome experience with cheer. Her favorite memory at CMU so far is of the first football game she cheered for. “It was so awesome to be on the field for the first time and also so exciting. I felt so awkward when the American march or whatever it is called was playing! I didn’t know what to do. But then one of the cheerleaders told me to put my hand on my heart. I felt like I was in an American movie during those three hours.”
Nightlife in the states, especially at CMU, was somewhat of a culture shock. The legal drinking age in Turkey is 18 so Selin and her friends usually frequent clubs and bars. “When I got here first it was really fun to go to house parties and see a lot of people there.” However, the stars have faded somewhat as the stereotypical CMU nightlife set in. “The architecture program here is amazing,” she said. “So, it’s worth it.”
Selin has really made the most of her time here and is an inspiration. Everything she does, she does with excitement. She has accomplished in one semester what most of us strive to accomplish in four years: friends, happiness, and academic accomplishment.