A Special Place

A mother memorializes her daughter with a new student meeting room

 

Nazli Sinem loved Boston and Boston University. She had come to BU from Turkey to study international relations and soon became interested in economics as well. Her rigorous education in both subjects enabled her return to Turkey prepared to begin climbing the ranks in international finance. Sinem (CAS’09) had just become an assistant in external affairs for Anadolubank A.S., which provides banking services in Turkey and the United States, when she passed away.

Shortly after she passed, her mother, Ferah, and her sister, Evin, began to consider ways to honor her memory. Ferah had fond memories of BU herself, and knew she wanted to do something special at the University. “I will never forget her amazing Commencement,” Ferah recalls. “Evin and I were so proud, and the city was beautiful.”

Ferah and her daughters stayed connected to BU after Nazli’s graduation, always attending BU events in Istanbul. She and Nazli even traveled to Dubai for an event in 2009.

When the family learned of the new Center for Student Services, under construction on East Campus, they knew it would be the kind of place Nazli would have enjoyed. They decided to name a student meeting room in the new building in her memory.

When the construction is finished, the six-story, 106,000-square-foot Center for Student Services will house Career Services and the Educational Resource Center, as well as new dining facilities. It will provide a much-needed hub of academic and social activity on East Campus. (The building is scheduled to open in fall 2012.) Under one roof, students will be able to get help choosing a major and searching for a job, and they will have a place for quiet study or spirited academic discourse: Nazli Sinem’s meeting room.

“I have always admired Nazli’s mesmerizing mind and combative spirit,” Ferah says, “and I know this room would make her happy.” With this gift, Ferah and Evin will provide a space on the BU campus where students can gather to debate, study, and explore—and where Nazli’s legacy can live on.

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