New Freshman bring diversity to West

For most people in Iowa, life is pretty standard. You’re born in Iowa, you grow up in Iowa, and you live in Iowa for the rest of your life. But for a handful of people, their lives are drastically different. One of these people is Melissa Uc ’23, whose family is quite different from most people in Iowa. 

Both of Melissa’s parents are from Turkey. From first glance at Uc, you see a girl with dirty blonde pigtails and a face full of freckles. But if you speak to her you will find so much more than what’s on the surface. 

Since Uc’s parents are Turkish, she finds that that part of identity creeps into her everyday life. “I think she’s proud of it, like, she’ll talk about family traditions and her traveling,” said Kathrine Shoppa ‘23, friend of Melissa. 

Melissa also explains brightly how her family likes to eat a traditional Turkish food called “Patlajan,” which is a delicious almost stew-like dish made with tomatoes and eggplant. But along with the good food, Melissa also explains the political turmoil Turkey is facing at the moment. 

“I know that there’s a president that gets reelected like every single year for a long time named Erdoğan. And then like a lot of people like him and a lot don’t. He’s very corrupt and many years ago there was a coup,” Uc said. “It only lasted a couple of hours, but it was pretty violent and he still got reelected. It’s just not amazing.”

Both of Uc’s parents immigrated to the United States, her father to complete his residency, and her mother to perform her fellowship.They are both now doctors at the University of Iowa Hospital and hold dual citizenship in Turkey and the U.S.. Because they hold dual citizenship they are able to vote both in Turkey’s and the United State’s elections, but Uc also explains the difficulties that still transfer from Turkey to the United States.

“Here in Chicago, they have a Turkish embassy,” Uc said “My parents go there to vote because they’re Turkish citizens. And the Turkish people there who run it, they ask you who your partner is. And sometimes they’ll be like people loitering outside like going for Erdoğan, and they just kind of make you feel small for liking someone else.” 

Although Turkey’s political conflict is strong, that doesn’t stop Melissa or her parents from visiting their family in Turkey almost bi-anually. “It’s really different from Iowa because we go to Istanbul where most of my family lives, which is a big city and it’s really nice,” Uc said. Along with visiting their family often, Uc and her parents also facetime their relatives almost every weekend. 

Along with having very close familial bonds, Uc also strongly influences her friends as well. “I think [Melissa’s] definitely made me more comfortable being myself… she won’t let me like, put other people before me, she’ll make sure that I’m looking out for myself,” Shoppa said. 

“She’s really caring because if you need someone, she’s there for sure.” Says Rachel Speck ‘23, another close friend of Melissa. Melissa continues to show how although conflict is strong, the bonds of family and friends are stronger.