BrewsterConnections - Brewster Academy

HOOPLA
How did Brewster influence your
development and success
Coming to Brewster without knowing a word of
English was very frustrating for me. My friends,
coaches, and the teachers at Brewster helped me
out to pick up the language in six months. The
environment at Brewster was extremely friendly,
from international students to staff members, from
equipment managers to dining hall members; they
were all friendly and made my journey at Brewster
much easier and smoother.
How is teamwork a factor in your
life, and how has it strengthened
your character
Being thousands of miles away from my family
and friends I knew that I had to organize my life by
myself and take some responsibility. That’s when the
“teamwork” factor actually came into my life. Having
a good relationship with my teammates, classmates,
teachers, and the coaches has strengthened my
character and leadership skills, because I earned their
trust by doing my job. Not just on the court, off the
court and in the classroom as well.
Your Texas coach says you truly
define the term student-athlete and
that you are a “great team leader
and the ultimate teammate.” Can
you think of a time at Brewster
where you felt that you succeeded
as a teammate with your classmates
and in your classes
Well, that’s one of the reasons I came to the
States. It’s been always my dream to play basketball
and continue to get my education at the same time.
When I came to the BA, I wanted to be perfect at
both. Since I have taken four different ESL classes, my
classes were all diverse. There were many students
from different countries. Just having conversations
with them and interacting with a group of people
who came from different cultures changed my
perspective and actually opened my mind to the
world.
In the classroom we always had group assignments
where we had to help each other to basically
complete the puzzle. We all needed each other
to finish the assignments, and I felt like I was
succeeding when I helped my classmates doing work.
One of the most important things in learning a
language is being talkative and outgoing. I felt like I
led my classmates to be more talkative and outgoing
rather than being shy and being afraid of talking in
front of class.
Your character was a significant
factor in your being selected Most
Valuable Student for the Class
of 2011. Where do you feel your
strength of character comes from
It definitely comes from my parents. All my family
members are well educated. They always wanted me
to have very strong personality. Knowing that they
will have my back whatever decision I make in life
also made me a better person and leader.
How did you learn about Brewster
Being a basketball player opened lots of new doors in
my life. At the age of 14 I received a scholarship from
Fenerbahce Egitim Kurumlari (high school). I was a
decent student in high school, but I had missed a lot
of classes since I was traveling at least once a week
with the professional club team. That’s when I realized
that school and basketball were not going well
together especially in Turkey. After I made my decision
to come to the States, the University of Texas offered
me a scholarship, but I did not know enough English
to pass the required tests to attend the college. One
of the assistant coaches at UT suggested I go to
Brewster. He is also a good friend of Coach [Jason]
Smith. After doing a little research about Brewster’s
athletic program and education system, without any
question I decided to come to BA.
I read that you felt it important
to educate friends about Turkish
culture and history. Why As an
international student, how did
Brewster’s diverse student body
impact you
I think Turkey is one of the most significant countries
in the world, because of its culture, history, and,
most importantly, its location. It is a bridge between
Europe and the Middle East. It has a mixture of both
cultures. I have tried to educate my friends and
teammates about my country. I wanted to change
the perspective of people on Middle East. Not all the
Middle East people are bad or terrorist. Most people
in the states are predetermined about what they see
on TV. They think that’s what happens in the Middle
East on a daily basis. That’s why I wanted to change
this point of view and try to educate people about
Turkish history and culture. Brewster had a lot of
international students from different countries. It
was a little easier for me to have a conversation with
my classmates about international relationships
among countries.
Teamwork and Early Planning: The Key
to a Great Reunion By Noël Wright Cantwell ‘61
The “self-appointed” committee of four: Posey Leavitt
Funkhouser, Linda Stevens Roeder, Dotti Johnson Kay,
and me started work about two and half years before
the big event in June 2011. The first official meeting
was held on campus on the senior patio, followed by
luncheon meetings whenever we could get together.
Ideas were bandied about as to just how we would
accomplish all we wanted to do. Communication was
key as was allowing each committee person to work
on what she was most interested in.
Getting valid phone numbers and e-mail addresses
was a priority in order to contact as many
classmates as possible and encourage them to come
to our 49th reunion as a “rehearsal” for the BIG one.
The Brewster Alumni Office supplied us with much
28 BrewsterConnections – Fall 2011