The next person to bestow wisdom upon us is Izzet Kebudi, advocate for Econ majors and Operations Research extraordinaire. 

Name, School, Major, Hometown: Izzet Kebudi! SEAS, Operations Research. I am from Istanbul, Turkey!

Claim to fame: Creator of Fitness Journeys, SEAS U-Senator who helped Econ majors, leader of the Turks, met James McShane in person once, and some say I’m Senior Underground, but I’m pretty sure that’s Mina.

Where are you going? I am not very concerned about where I am going. It is really more about the people whom I will be with on the journey.

What are 3 things you learned at Columbia and would like to share with the Class of 2023?

Build friendships, never start fights: What got me through these 4 years were my friends. Whether it be collaboration or just crying out all my problems to them and them being there to listen. Try to not start fights. I didn’t see the benefit of cutting my connection to someone I dislike/in disagreement with, and as I grew more mature over college, I did my best to not burn bridges or at least not be the person to instigate it.

Breathe in your environment: Feel connected to your community like you are a tree in a forest. The more you try to connect with your community and organizations, the more good you will be able to add to them. There will always be people in that society to help you in return. The stronger your roots are, the better you will know other trees you are connected with within the forest.

Don’t pursue 15 minutes of fame: I have seen many people try to grab attention on campus, whether it be through posts with false information, public outrage, theatrical gestures, attacks on someone they are in disagreement with… I have never seen an unsubstantiated action elevate the individual in the long run. Sure, it can make you famous for a week, but quickly earned fame, quickly fades. Don’t focus on building a name for yourself, just focus on building yourself. Try to be a better person. Treat yourself nicer, treat your friends better, and try to elevate your community. Be positive! People will see the light in you and they will be the ones to recognize it. You don’t want the light shining on you to be brighter than the light inside you.

Extra – Don’t lose your focus too much: Life is overwhelming. At least Columbia is. There is so many clubs, internships, opportunities… Try to pursue the ones that you care about the most. Of course, there will be trial and error. No freshmen knows their future interests, but you will have a better opportunity to shine at a role you really care about. If you are in an organization that you don’t think adds much to you or at least makes you happier, humbly and respectfully leave it. Never burn bridges, but always focus on things that make you happy and help you develop. That’s what I did through our Turkish club, student government, CFIG, and AEPi. Each added me so much in unique ways.

“Back in my day…” Cannon’s was lit…

Favorite Columbia controversy? There’s 2 controversies I can’t get to the bottom of. First, I have been trying to figure out who rolled down a pumpkin down our stairs and made a hole in our wall during Halloween… If you know, please let me know. I am not mad about it anymore; just, please let me know if it was you – I want to know…

Second, PREZBO’s weather machine. This is literally driving me crazy. Every bacchanal weekend/days on campus, the weather is perfect. I’m serious. It would be rainy and cold in the morning and by the time festival starts it would be all sunny. PrezBo, I would really like to know the truth behind this!

Justify your existence in 30 words or fewer: Someone who finished The Office thrice to teach the new generation about Dunder Mifflin

What was your favorite class at Columbia? Salsa Soca Reggae, Professor Washburne. Obviously

Would you rather give up oral sex or cheese? Cheesy question – cheese

Whom would you like to thank?

Friends. I’m thankful to my family, CU staff, professors, and advisors, but this portion is for friends.

I am thankful to my McBain 5 floor-mates for launching my campaign for U-Senate, which has been the position that developed me the most. I vividly remember entering our floor lobby to announce my idea (I was so afraid inside lol) with Gizem, Nikita, Emanuel, Juan, Paulina, Onur in the room (+Ashley, Carolina). You guys gave me the confidence to run. You helped me flyer, make videos and ask for votes. I didn’t forget a single moment of that week. We won together and I hope my work was worthy of your support.

Same goes to all my AEPi brothers. Not only did they support me with full force that week, my brothers helped me make the most out of Columbia, gave me recruiting assistance, constant mentorship, and of course, life advice. (s/o to Marc, Harry, Zach K., Ezra, Max, Kento, Ethan, Dave, Shimbo, Steven, Luke, Parks, Noah, Mike, Sam and many more)

People I learned so much from during my time at CFIG and Senate, such as Kabir, Elif, Sean, Jay, Dante…

I am thankful to my Turkish community that welcomed me to this beautiful campus, and never let me feel alone. People whom I will always look up to such as Omer, Emre, Saygin, Defne, Yasemin, Avital and of course, many more…

I am especially thankful to my IEOR comrades. We really, really fought together throughout the years. I can’t imagine being able to survive these 4 years without Shivani, Karim, Tarik, Camila, and Ana’s! (there are 2!)

And no, I didn’t forget about you 2. Chloe and Josh. You both made my life so much more special over these years. Chloe, I am the luckiest guy to have met you randomly on a Carman elevator and then seeing you again when I was ditching my NSOP group only to realize we have the same class schedule… We pretty much became college soulmates thereafter dost. Josh, I am grateful that you let me be your partner in helping make this campus a better place. It is so lucky for me that you also became my best friend through this process.

One thing to do before graduating:

Bring together my 2nd & 3rd year housing group for a brunch. There is literally 2 friends in the group that dated and had a bad breakup, so let’s see how this effort goes. BUT, I will try! Oh, and Alexis! I have to make sure Alexis joins it.

Any regrets?

Not catching up enough with some friends. I made some great friendships at Columbia. I know many of them will be life-long friendships, but for some, I will need to put in more effort after I graduate to make sure they don’t fade away. Friend groups change and you start seeing some of your best friends from freshmen/sophomore year less.

From my experience, there are 2 ways to hold onto friendships. First is through regular mutual activities, such as greek orgs, clubs, councils…or honestly just a shared interest such as going to Marvel movies together. Through a mutual hobby or a joint organization, you necessarily stay in touch with your friend. Otherwise, the best thing you can do is to check in, text, call, grab lunch, somewhat regularly. You have to do it, because the longer you are separate, the harder the inclination will be to be the one to text to schedule something.

If you are thinking about how large your friend group should be, that really depends on your personality. From my experience, the more the merrier. I can tell a unique way each of my friends are special to me and add to my college & life experience.