GTF: How's it going? How's your first year at Oxford?
CAY: It's been going well. Thanks. Currently, final exams are coming, so I'm mostly studying, but it's been fun.
GTF: Looking back, what first sparked your interest in math and computer science. Did they come together? Did one come first?
CAY: From around age six, I used to play games with my parents, with my father, especially – number games and such – and that got me into math. I was introduced to computers a bit later, between 10 and 11 years old, and I was just fascinated by the technology of computers. I wanted to build stuff, but I wasn't able to at that point.
GTF: When did you first learn about competitions?
CAY: At the beginning of high school. I looked at math Olympiad questions and tried to solve them. They were a bit difficult but I was able to solve some of them, and I wanted to join the team.
But then COVID hit, and I entered the competition. I couldn’t qualify for the math team, so I looked at CS problems–and those interested me even more! They still had the math element, but also algorithms and writing code – not just solving a problem in abstract. In ninth grade, I didn’t realize there was an informatics competition – my mistake – but in 10th grade, I tried out for the Informatics Olympiad team, and it worked out great.
GTF: So you were off to competitions. What are your favorite competition memories?
CAY: The exam to get on the Informatics Olympiad team in 11th grade was the greatest memory for me. I had been studying for it for months, and I was able to solve one last problem at the very last minute, and I just barely passed it. It was an exhilarating experience!
GTF: What are your favorite types of math, and topics within computer science?
CAY: I was drawn into informatics because I was very interested in combinatorics – the discrete side of algorithms and computer science stuff. But here at Oxford, we’ve had analysis lectures, honors courses. I’ve started liking analysis and numerical methods, and scientific computing – we had a very good course about that. It excited me and I plan to work on that more.
GTF: Speaking of what’s next, any big summer plans?
CAY: Yeah, I will spend some time with friends in Turkey, and I’ve also applied to internships. Right now I want to work as a Research Assistant more than industrial stuff. But I’ve applied for both kinds of roles so I experience both and learn which path I want to take.
GTF: So if you wanted to be an RA and then teach, would it be both math and CS? And for industry, what sectors are you interested in?
CAY: For teaching, probably CS. For industry, AI development has so much potential. Robotics, too, but I don't have any experience in it. Visual recognition technologies interest me as well.
GTF: And what about outside of school and work? What do you do to unwind?
CAY: Since I got here, I’ve been traveling around the UK and Europe. If you asked me last year, I would’ve probably said music. I used to make my own music and I kind of want to start again.
GTF: How did you make the music – with instruments or electronically? Did you record?
CAY: I played guitar and piano, recorded a little, performed in school and stuff, but nothing professional. Mostly for fun!
GTF: Does music relate to your academic interests, or are they separate interests?
CAY: Yeah, I don't really like music theory or the math behind it that much. I think it’s a separate thing for me.
GTF: Last question – what is your advice to younger students looking at math or computer science or competitions?
CAY: There's no harm in trying stuff! When I entered the competitions, I didn't have any expectations of getting into the international Olympiad. Everybody should give it a shot. Don’t underestimate yourself.
