Closing Ceremony via Zoom for TCA's 2020 Summer Interns
On June 15, TCA launched its 2020 summer internship program. Due to Covid-19, this year’s interns worked remotely.
Ten Turkish American college students across the country worked with the TCA Washington Team on TCA's outreach programs to Congress, the Turkish American community, and other ethnic/heritage groups. The summer interns also assisted with the maintenance of TCA's website and social media development, and the TCA-sponsored Turkish Studies Project at the University of Utah. Additionally, TCA was able to place an 11th Turkish American intern at the Middle East Institute.
On August 31, TCA concluded its 2020 summer internship program. Special events were hosted exclusively for this class, including interacting with former TCA Congressional interns, and workshops on grassroots activism by newly-elected Milwaukee City Comptroller Aycha Sawa, Ceylan Rowe, running for the Massachusetts House of Representatives, and Lydia Borland of the Ten Thousand Turks Campaign.*
*Please note: as a 501(c)3 charitable organization, TCA is prohibited by law from engaging in activities that could be construed as political campaigning. TCA cannot and does not donate funds to a political action committee or support any political candidate or group of candidates. With this initiative, TCA is not endorsing or supporting any candidate for any office.
2020 Washington Summer Interns
Timur Ayaz
Timur Ayaz is from Parsippany, NJ. He is a rising junior at County College of Morris majoring in Business.
Kaan Cubukcu
Kaan Cubukcu is from Sugar Hill, GA. He is a rising junior at Kennesaw University majoring in Political Science.
Pelin Ensari
Pelin Ensari is from Mission Viejo, CA. She is a rising junior at UC Berkeley majoring in Political Science with a minor in Global Studies.
Mert Kanberoglu
Mert Kamberoglu is from Ankara, Turkey but now resides in New Jersey. He is a recent graduate from the TOBB University of Economics and Technology majoring in International Relations.
Melisa Ozdemir
Melissa Ozdemir is from Jacksonville, FL. She is currently pursuing her Masters in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution from Columbia University.
Mert Selcuk
Mert Selcuk is from Bellevue, WA. He is a rising junior at Santa Clara University majoring in Business.
Stephanie Sezen
Stephanie Sezen is from East Stroudsburg, PA. She is a rising senior at Washington & Lee University majoring in Economics.
Meryem Uzumcu
Meryem Uzumcu is from North Brunswick, NJ. She is currently pursuing her Masters in Planning & Public Policy, Middle Eastern Affairs, & Women's and Gender Studies from New York University.
Furkan Yalcin
Furkan Yalcin is from Los Angeles, CA. He is a recent graduate from UCLA where he majored in Political Science.
Andrew Yildizlar
Andrew Yildizlar is Greenwich, CT. He is a recent graduate from University of Buffalo where he majored in Political Science with a minor in Spanish.
