Berkin Kutluk

My name is Berkin Kutluk, and I was born in Ankara, Turkey, June 21st 1996. I have one big sister; she studies at Dallas UT Southwestern in a genetics lab. My dad is an oncologist, and my mom an ophthalmologist. Despite being in a family of doctors, I have many interest ranging from astronomy to singing pop/rock music and karaoke. I am also interested in swimming, gaming, and movies. I also like questioning and doing philosophy, specifically epistemology.

My life took a drastic turn after applying to UT. Although not expecting to be accepted into CNS (college of natural sciences), I started making plans to make a journey from Turkey to US. I arrived an international student, not knowing of what awaited me. A rough start to freshman year due to culture shock prevented me from being my usual social self. In the second semester, I started opening up more, by taking philosophy classes, and playing the clarinet. I love to play the clarinet and piano as much as I love listening to music. Following these, I started working at a genetics lab, rigorously investigating the role of splicing factor genes.

Meanwhile, I've also had an interest in photography and capturing moments such as when going to the beach, or during memorable trips with friends during middle school and high school. I would do mild photo-shopping, or edit simple videos I recorded. I noticed I was into action/romance/sci-fi/thriller movies quite a lot, so I decided to watch more and more about the making of those movies, yet I still kept pursuing my lofty goal of being a pre-med student and being a bio major.

I have a complex personality with many virtues, yet vices as well. I value modesty quite a lot, and absolutely hate being haughty and overbearing. I'm generous towards everyone I talk to, endeavoring to be selfless. Most importantly, I value honesty. I am terrible at lying, and when someone else lies to me I tend to lose my faith in them very quickly. I'm also quite self-analytical and love the act of self-reflection, which is why I like philosophy. My vices are that I am a very verbose person, and I cannot be terse and to the point in what I express. I also tend to overthink, and am paranoid about everything I do since I want to do it right. With a meticulous and perfectionist nature, that already gives me the diligence to study and work hard to achieve my aspirations. Yet this can be quite destructive for me at times, especially when I have a lot of work to do and need to multitask.