Zeynep Karatas, third-year double major in international studies and political science at UC Irvine, has been awarded the Social Sciences Alumni Academic Excellence Scholarship. The honor recognizes students for outstanding academic performance and service to the School of Social Sciences, UCI campus and community and carries a $1,000 prize. Below, the outstanding Anteater who calls both Istanbul and Irvine home shares what’s driven her dual major interests, and how her UCI experience factors into her plans to become a lawyer specializing in international human rights law and politics.

What drew you to pursue majors in both international studies and political science at UCI? What interests you most about your work?

I was first accepted into UCI under international studies, and my initial interest in such a degree came from a general fascination with how various factors, ranging from social to political to economic, have shaped international power structures throughout history. I think it’s really important to approach the current political dynamics through a critical lens rather than simply accepting the status quo as natural, especially for my geographic concentration of Africa and the Middle East, and the program’s diverse class selection and the faculty themselves drove me to choose UCI. Regarding political science, UCI’s program has a really strong racial justice component, and I also wanted to dive deeper into American politics and government, so it seemed like a natural fit for me as a second degree.

When do you plan to finish your degree, and what are your plans thereafter?

I plan to finish my degree in spring 2025. Following graduation, I hope to take a gap year before applying to law school to both recharge and explore various opportunities within the field of international human rights law and politics. Currently, I am unsure what exactly that will look like, but I am excited to pursue whichever path comes my way.

What would you consider your biggest accomplishment at UCI? And, in addition to the Alumni Excellence award, what other honors have you earned while here?

In terms of accomplishments, I don’t think I can boil it down to one single thing, but being involved in various advocacy opportunities on campus has been incredibly rewarding on a personal level. Whether it be acting as a mentor for 9th-grade students through UCI Law’s Saturday Academy of Law, working in the different branches of our student government, or designing advocacy events for first-generation students with the Social Sciences Academic Resource Center, I feel really blessed to have been involved in opportunities that have allowed me to develop diverse advocacy skills while getting to serve the community in any capacity.

Regarding other scholarships and awards, I came to UCI as a Regents’ Scholar and have also been honored to have received the Center for Citizen Peacebuilding Undergraduate Research Scholarship, the Dr. John R. Miltner Annual Scholarship, the Michael and Brenda Drake Endowed Scholarship, and the Phi Beta Kappa Book Award, in addition to the Social Sciences Alumni Academic Excellence Scholarship during my undergraduate years. So far, I have used my scholarships to fund my degrees and to complete mediation training, so I truly feel lucky for the financial support they provided for my education.

What activities have you been involved with on campus and in the community?

As I previously mentioned, the Saturday Academy of Law, ASUCI, and the Social Sciences Academic Resource Center have been my main on-campus involvements. In addition to those, I have also acted as a Learning Assistant for Professor John M. Whiteley’s Nuclear Environments class and completed internships with various social justice, political science, and international relations nonprofits during my time at UCI. Another current involvement I have is teaching reading to third graders.

Tell us about some of the research you’re pursuing.

I have done various forms of undergraduate research at UCI. Initially, I worked as a human coder for a research project at UC Riverside that analyzed the impact of political messaging on community voting behaviors in the Middle East. Currently, I am a research assistant for a doctoral thesis project through UCI’s Citizenship Lab, aimed at reviewing the impact of status quo bias on universal healthcare policy framing in the United States. Additionally, thanks to the Political Science Undergraduate Thesis Program, I am currently conducting my undergraduate thesis, aimed at exploring the link between the European Court of Human Rights decisions’ implementation and factors such as democracy and ROLI indexes.

Who has played an important mentorship role in your life thus far and why?

There have been countless mentors who have been instrumental in helping me get to where I am today, so I feel truly blessed to have had the opportunity to grow alongside them. In my personal life, my parents and my cousin are my biggest role models due to their work ethic, endless strive to contribute positively to various communities, and resilience to continue when things don’t appear the best.

At UCI, the Department of Political Science’s department manager, Connie Dahl, has truly been a guiding force to me—as her countless academic and personal advice has allowed me to navigate my undergraduate degree in an efficient and also in-depth manner. Additionally, I will forever be grateful to Social Sciences Academic Resource Center’s program coordinator, Angel Salazar, for showing me what a good leader and a true advocate looks like, as well as for teaching me how to balance personal and professional endeavors.

Are there any unique circumstances that have played a major role in where and who you are today?

Being a first-generation immigrant most significantly defined my educational experience. The various cultural and linguistic hardships that arise from such an identity can be hard to navigate early on, but I feel really lucky to have had family, friends, and mentors who helped ease my journey along the way.

Where can you most often be found on campus?

I often spend time in the Social Sciences area, the individual study places near the Meditation Space at the UCI Student Center, or the study pods at Langson Library.

What’s your best memory thus far from your undergraduate experience at UCI?

I don’t think there’s a single moment I can choose as my “best memory” from my undergraduate experience, but the closing ceremonies at Saturday Academy of Law where the teaching assistants would get to celebrate all of the hard work our mentees undertook, witnessing the discussions sparked by the first-generation faculty panel I got to organize through the Social Sciences Academic Resource Center, and the hours of conversations I had with my best friends at UTC after a long day of work are definitely special for me.