More than twenty years after boarding a plane out of Türkiye as a teenager, Gizem Öztürk still carries the lesson that came out of that year abroad: that people everywhere are far more alike than they are different. “We may speak different languages, grow up in different cultures, and have different traditions,” she says, “but at the end of the day, we all share the same hopes, fears, and dreams.” It’s a realization that first surprised her as a young AFSer and one that has never stopped shaping how she sees the world.
That mindset didn’t stop after her AFS experience in the United States. It became the operating system for the life Gizem built afterwards. Today she lives in New York City, and she traces the confidence to get there — to leave home and put down roots somewhere entirely new — directly back to her AFS experience. “I don’t think I would have had the courage to build a life in another country without it,” she says. “Today, if life or work took me somewhere else in the world, I would embrace it rather than fear it.”
She calls it a phrase that has quietly guided her ever since: it’s not right, it’s not wrong, it’s just different. It’s how she approaches new cultures, new colleagues, and new situations — with curiosity instead of judgment. She describes this mantra as the thing that made her “a better traveler, a better colleague, and, most importantly, a more open-minded person.”
These days, Gizem lives out that philosophy through solo travel, making a point of learning from locals and experiencing daily life through their eyes rather than passing through as a tourist. It’s also the ethos behind the intercultural content she shares with her community on Instagram at @whereisgizem, where she promotes exactly the kind of curious, open-hearted global citizenship her AFS experience sparked in her. “Even when we do not speak the same language,” she says, “kindness, curiosity, and respect create meaningful connections.”
The bonds from her exchange year haven’t faded, either. Gizem is still in regular contact with her host sister, who visits her in New York and has another trip planned soon. And this year, that circle widened: Gizem recently reunited with fellow AFS alumni in New York, including a stop by AFS’s own New York offices, a reminder, she says, of what makes the network different. “AFS does not just create exchange students,” she reflects. “It creates lifelong connections.”
Asked what she’d tell a young person weighing whether to become an AFSer, her answer is immediate: “Go for it.” She continues:
“You will discover strengths you never knew you had. Living in a different culture will open your eyes in ways that no classroom or book ever can. You will realize that the world is so much bigger than the city or country you grew up in. Give yourself the gift of stepping away from what is familiar and fully embracing the experience. It will not always be easy, but it will challenge you, help you grow, and give you a new perspective on yourself and the world.”
More than two decades on, Gizem sees her AFS year not as a single chapter, but as the foundation everything else was built on. “It gave me the confidence to leave my comfort zone, build a life in another country, and develop a lifelong curiosity about people and cultures,” she says. “That curiosity continues to shape both my career and my personal life.”
Have your own AFS story to tell, or a host family or fellow alumni you’d love to reconnect with? Join the AFS Global Alumni Community and be part of the network that made moments like Gizem’s possible.