Private Aegean High School 26th Term Graduates Wore Caps

Private Aegean High School sent off its 26th semester graduates with great enthusiasm. The 52 students who will graduate in the 2016-2017 academic year wore their caps and received their representative diplomas in a magnificent ceremony.

A Cap Wearing and Diploma Ceremony was held at Yüksel Eraslan Cultural Center for the students who will graduate from Private Ege High School in the 2016-2017 academic year.  Cemil Eraslan, Honorary President of Private Aegean High School, presented the diploma to Karya Islamoğlu, who was the valedictorian of the school with an average of 97.10.  The successful student nailed a plaque to the age log with High School Principal Aylin Musluoğlu.  With an average score of 96.47 points, Aleyna Naz Karaoğlan ranked second and Ece Geren ranked third with an average score of 96.15 points.  Eraslan Foundation did not forget successful students this year.  On behalf of the Eraslan Foundation, Board Member Ebru Eraslan presented awards to the top students.    For the relatives of the students who could not attend the ceremony, which was attended by approximately 600 people, a live broadcast was made on the Facebook page of Private Ege High School.

 

Addressing the students at the ceremony, Founding Representative Yansı Eraslan said that the 2017 graduation ceremony opened a new chapter for Özel Ege High School, and that the number of graduates of the school has exceeded 1,000, and that she is excited and proud of this.  Eraslan said:

“Dear Graduates,

When some of you started high school here, some of you coming from Özel Ege Middle School and some of you coming from outside, some of you probably had academic-oriented goals and the desire to go to high-scoring universities.  The fact that 'being a successful school' is a small part of Özel Ege's holistic view and institutional vision may have caused you to think this way.  However, over the years, we have seen that many young people who want to graduate from this institution have multiple perspectives, not a simple one.  In addition to the aim of settling in a higher education institution where your value will be revealed, to grow up with a solid life stance, to have a mental model that is not fragile, to be aware of the values of their country and the people of their own land, to embark on life as transformative leader candidates, to work to move their society to the next threshold economically, politically and socially, to step into university and life as young people who serve, not just demand, produce, not just consume, and are ready to carry the burden of their country.

Since the industrial revolution, people have been defined with an identity that produces 'added value and innovation', as the economy has been taking more and more place in our lives every day.  You are a generation expected to produce 'civilization' and raised with this vision.  Whether you can do justice to this depends on your own personal dreams and efforts.

I do not intend to argue that material production is necessary for development and enrichment.  However, when I think about what has been given up, sacrificed, and in short, the opportunity costs that have been incurred for this production, it becomes clear that you should pave the way for other productions.  Such as producing compassion, producing conscience, producing morality, producing new administrative systems based on justice and merit, producing new norms, in short, producing civilization.  If you ask me whether these are producible goals, I would say “yes” decisively and without hesitation.  As many academic studies have shown, material acquisitions and wealth do not bring happiness.  Such normative standards, which are difficult to measure but directly affect the quality of our daily lives, not only bring happiness but also increase self-esteem and self-confidence.

The truth is that we need these normative standards for a life without noise, a life of calm, a culture of rules, a life in which you believe that others are as valuable as yourself, a life that is less loud, less combative, less competitive, less watching and less curious but less anxious, less challenging but very peaceful.

An important part of these standards is in your past.  You know, the past that we have given up, or maybe we think we have given up, in order to face the future.  No matter how future-oriented you may be, this past and its culture, kneaded with the dough of centuries, is actually the very heritage you are sitting on.

I would like to draw your attention to two of our distinguished poets whose rivalry is famous.  Ziya Gökalp satirized the fact that Yahya Kemal still wrote poetry in aruz and made too many references to the past.

'You are a ruin, not a ruin.

Your eyes are on the past, you are not the future.

Yahya Kemal replies:

'I am neither a ruin nor a ruin.

I am the future whose roots are in the past.'

Do not infer from what I have said an understanding that glorifies the past and is blind to the future.  Moreover, while studying at this school, you traveled to various parts of the world. You visited universities, museums and science centers. You attended theater festivals and diplomatic meetings.  In short, you accumulated knowledge, culture and manners.  You did almost all of this to equip yourself for your future.  What I want to say is that societies that cannot establish a balance between the past and the future can quickly fade away after bright days, let alone produce civilization.  As the great scholar Ibn Khaldun put it, “The past and the future are more similar to each other than water is to water.”

Dear Young People,

No matter how much experience you have, no matter how high your ideals, life will demand courage from you.  If you aspire to transformative leadership for your society, it will require effort.  You will be dealt with when you take on outdated and rotten structures, when you fight the ruthlessness of the established order, when you stand in the way of those who effortlessly attain luxury and comfort.  You will encounter those who want to discredit you, to underestimate your knowledge, who knows, perhaps your age or experience.  You will go through days when your patience, perseverance and endurance will be tested.  When those days come, listen to Cemil Meriç:

'There is no rightist-leftist in this country.  There are no progressives and reactionaries in this country.  In this country there are only the honorable and the dishonorable.  You be among the honest ones.  You will see, there will be many of you.'

2017 Graduates,

I kiss your eyes, may your path be clear and your life countless.”

High School Principal Aylin Musluoğlu stated that every graduation ceremony means a new excitement, a new sadness, a new joy, a new pride and a new farewell.   Stating that they accompanied the success and development of the 2016-2017 graduates in many endeavors, Musluoğlu said:

“At Private Aegean High School, where you were raised as young individuals who are sensitive to the protection of the basic principles of the Republic and have developed a sense of responsibility towards society, who are researchers, entrepreneurs, successful in analytical thinking and teamwork, you have gained skills that meet the needs of your time as well as your academic development.

Let's break open your memory piggy bank together and take a look at what you did at Özel Ege.

You have achieved various successes in international exams and have been included in honor rolls.  You were accepted to prestigious universities in the USA, Canada and Italy.  The scientific projects you prepared were exhibited in various national and international competitions and received awards.  You traveled to the United States of America for Model United Nations activities and to Europe for Model Congress activities.

You successfully represented our school and our country at the Global Young Leaders Conference.   As champion debaters, successful players of the basketball, volleyball, swimming, futsal and table tennis teams, talented musicians, indispensable members of the school orchestra and unforgettable actors of the French Theater group, you have signed the story of the 26th graduating class.

We would like to thank our teachers who have contributed to the realization of all these efforts and achievements, and our esteemed parents for their devoted support and encouraging cooperation with our graduates throughout their education.

Dear Young People,
 

The futurist Michio Kaku describes the year 2100 in the following words '... the future is like a big freight train, speeding along on rails, paving our way.  Behind this train is the sweat and labor of thousands of scientists who are inventing the future in their laboratories. You can hear the train whistle. It says: biotechnology, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology and telecommunications.

We are seeing you off towards the middle of the century, where real and virtual realities will blend, where dizzying developments in computers, telecommunications, biotechnology, artificial intelligence and nanotechnology will take place.

You are preparing to take your place in the wagons of this fast train. The world you will be traveling in has always been chaotic and complex, and has always harbored injustices and inequalities while trying to cope with political, economic and ecological problems. It is not possible to stay away from these problems in a flattening world.

So, if you ask how to survive in this fast-paced, contradictory and violence-producing train, based on Ghandi's quote, I would say to you to make effort, work hard, acquire conscious tastes, have qualified knowledge, engage in ethical trade, produce science, and if you are going to do it, do principled politics.

The way to deal with contradictions is to think calmly and more simply. By calm, I mean not getting caught up in the wall-to-wall rush to modernization and popularism, and by thinking more simply, I mean not missing the impact of a small part while trying to see the big picture. Based on the words of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the hero of the Turkish nation, 'an idea that conflicts with the universe and man cannot be useful', produce ideas that are friendly with nature and man.

As the young people of the Republic of Turkey, which set out in 1923 with a population of 12 million and 39 engineers, be stubbornly hopeful and stubbornly hopeful with your history, your ancient Anatolian tradition, your national values and the achievements of the Republic.

I wish you much more than luck on this journey. May your path be clear and bright.”

The ceremony ended with a cocktail reception for the graduates and their families.  We send off our 52 students who graduated in 2017 with hope for the future and wish them all health, success and well-being.
 

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