I started the Department of Translation and Interpretation at Izmir University of Economics in 2011. My biggest motivation was that I entered with a 50% merit scholarship and that my brother Alperen Özen also took lessons from the same teachers in the same department of the same university. I graduated in 2015 by taking lessons from doyens of the department. As soon as I graduated, I started to work at one of Europe's largest digital agency, Emakina, as an assistant in Izmir office, the only office of the company in Turkey at that time. I have been promoted three times so far, using the knowledge and experience I have gained during my education, and I worked in different positions as Assistant, Operations and Public Relations Specialist, Corporate Communications and Events Specialist. After my 6-year adventure at Emakina TR, I left my current job and started working as Head of HR & Corporate Communications in the software company Cloudcrazy (part of Emakina, now EPAM Company) in order to develop myself further and take on tasks in new areas. At the same time, I carry out corporate identity studies in the Corporate Communication position of an investment company. I also provide social media content consultancy to people and institutions around me. I am very happy and peaceful to work in an area where I can constantly improve myself and take an active role, thanks to the fact that I have worked in the software industry, that different ways of working have emerged as an inevitable part of the pandemic, and that my experience so far has blended. In my current position, the value of my experience so far as well as the education I received at the University is of course enormous. I did not only learn translation strategies, types and fields; at the same time, I learned to work in a coordinated and visionary manner, to think critically, to write creative texts, to use the language correctly and to appeal to the target audience in the Department of Translation and Interpretation. Today, I am proud to put both myself and my company forward by using the valuable knowledge and experience I learned during my education in all my work. I am happy to be in contact with my esteemed teachers still. I would confidently and proudly recommend Izmir University of Economics and especially the Department of Translation and Interpretation to anyone who plans to study in an applied department.
