“Education is freedom”, Çakmak, educator at the VU Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL), states. Born in Turkey, she grew up in an education system with harsh exams, fierce competition, high tuition fees and the importance of connections. Çakmak comes from a middle-class background and knew from a young age that a good education abroad could be her ticket to a better life.
Her parents stimulated her in every possible way to get good grades. “When I was seven, my parents took me to Paris to reward me for my school results”, she remembers. “It must have cost them a fortune.” Çakmak comes from an intellectual family and is an only child. Her parents have gone through a lot to give her the opportunities they haven’t had themselves. “They have sold their souls, to give me a soul.”
Love for Amsterdam
She was delighted when she got a chance to study in the Netherlands. “Studying here meant freedom to me”, she explains. Çakmak came to Amsterdam in 2018 to study Psychology at VU. She immediately loved the city, its cultural life, its atmosphere, its safety. She lived at Uilenstede and made a lot of friends amongst international students.
Selin Çakmak
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Moved from Turkey to study Psychology at VU
Joined the university student council
Established the Student Wellbeing Point
Teaches and gives workshops at Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL)
Çakmak thinks she fits well into Dutch society. “I like the openness, that people share what they think. I also had to get used to certain differences: when somebody offers you food or a drink, in Turkey it’s polite to refuse the first and second time. Here, people ask you only once. A few times I stayed hungry or thirsty, but now I know.”
During the last year of her bachelor’s degree in 2020, Çakmak participated in the university student council (USR). She wanted to give something back to international students coming after her. “It was the first year international students were represented in the council with more than one member”, she remembers. “One of the things we focused on was the improvement of information supply for internationals and other students. When I arrived here, I had no idea there were all kinds of student associations, even after following the introduction days. It took me time to find my way. I still think VU can do better in listing information and organisations that can be relevant for all students, not only for internationals.”
The one thing Çakmak is most proud of, however, is the establishment of the Student Wellbeing Point during her year in the student council. During and after Covid, the mental health of students was at a low point. Çakmak thought it would be helpful if students had one point to go to for information, with a low threshold, where they could talk about their worries with other students. The Student Wellbeing Point is still up and running and has helped a few hundred students so far.
During her year at the student council, Çakmak worked in the steering committee on Mixed Classroom. There she met Janneke Waelen, head of the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) who saw Çakmak’s drive to make education more inclusive for people from all backgrounds. Waelen offered her a job as student assistant.
Babies and dogs
After finishing her bachelor’s degree, Çakmak dreamed of taking a master’s degree in Psychology, but there was no way she or her family could ever afford the high tuition fees. Getting a job was not easy either: “For me, as a non-EU citizen, an employer has to go through much hassle to hire me, restaurants or supermarkets are not willing to do that, so I was trying to make money by babysitting and dog sitting, but I needed more money to cover my cost of living”, she says.
CTL could not offer her a job, but Waelen decided to continue Çakmak’s job as student assistant and pay the fees for her master’s. “She saved my life”, Çakmak states. “Now I could work and do my master’s at the same time.”
After Çakmak finished her master’s, a job opened up at CTL and so three years ago, Çakmak got appointed to her dream job. She teaches the Teacher Qualification Course for academics and gives Mixed Model workshops. Inclusion in education still is an important theme for her.
Çakmak’s personal life is going well. She met her Dutch boyfriend at her volleyball club, and she has picked up her old hobby of photography again. One thing she would like to bring to the Netherlands from Turkey: “As far as I know, Turkey is the only country that has a special day for teachers. At CTL we established the Education Day for teachers, but I think a national day to honour teachers would be a very good idea.”