Michael Sipper graduated from Pitt with his BA in 2025, having majored in political science, with minors in economics and Turkish. After completing a summer fellowship from the American Research Institute in Turkey (ARIT), Michael is now embarking on a year of English teaching in Azerbaijan with a Fulbright scholarship.
This past summer, I had the honor of being awarded a summer fellowship by the American Research Institute in Turkey (ARIT) for advanced intensive language study in Turkish, thanks to the support of the Office of National Scholarships (ONS) in the grant-writing process. The fellowship occurred at Boğaziçi University, the flagship public university in Istanbul, Türkiye. The Turkish Language and Culture Program has been instrumental in my learning Turkish for both everyday use and academic research at the highest levels, and although I was already well-immersed in the culture prior to the start of the program, it was a blessing to learn of cultural nuances from dialects to certain mannerism. Our incredible TAs—Fatma Nur and Begüm—took us to historical sites like Küçük Su and Yıldız Sarayı, inviting us to cafes and dinners, in addition to always making our classes so immersive and entertaining. Our course instructors were phenomenal, helping us advance our Turkish skills, and spending time with us outside of the classroom. For my fellow classmates, a special message: Emir'in dediği gibi çok slay bir ders geçirdik, haydı gidelim Osman. The friends that I made both in the program and with locals also made the program an extraordinary experience! However, this opportunity would not have been possible without the support of the ONS and Dr. İlknur LİDER, Pitt’s Turkish instructor. I cannot thank her enough for everything, and without her exceptional teachings, encouragement, and graciousness I would not have progressed to this level in just one-year.
When I first began applying for external fellowships, it initially felt like a daunting experience, yet the ONS advising team always served as a beacon of encouragement and generous support. Beginning the process early played a significant role in my success, as it allowed me to consistently receive valuable feedback on my grant essays from advisors in the ONS. I enjoyed the relationships that I was able to build with Peter Levins, Lesha Greene, and Josh Cannon, as they were instrumental in my applications to the ARIT summer fellowship, the Foreign Language Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship, the Critical Language Scholarship (CLS), the Boren Scholarship, and for the Fulbright scholarship. Their guidance provided me with grant-writing skills that will benefit me for the remainder of my academic career. As I continue onto my Fulbright Scholarship experience at Khazar University in Azerbaijan, I will continue to use the ONS for my future grants and scholarships, and I thank them for all their support thus far!