Prof. Dr. Atasoy: “The important thing is to love everything you do”

Üsküdar Üniversitesi Institute of Addiction and Forensic Sciences Director and Vice-Rector Prof. Dr. Sevil Atasoy was a guest at the “Beşiktaş 5th Career Days” program organized by the Beşiktaş District Directorate of National Education. In her speech titled “New Professions and Career Opportunities in a Changing World”, Atasoy said; “It’s never clear what people will do, the important thing is to love everything you do. It’s possible to do this.”

“The important thing is to love everything you do”

Atasoy advised students who did not get into their desired department or were undecided, saying: “At that age, we don't really know exactly what we want. It's never clear what people will do, the important thing is to love everything you do. It's possible to do this. It is truly possible for a person to succeed in any field they go into. Because success has certain conditions. What are these conditions? To accept that there will be defeat, meaning you will fall somewhere, you will fail, but the next morning you will get up again and start working with courage. Think of yourself as an athlete and believe that you can only achieve something with effort and hard work. My advice to you is to do a job very well. You will know how to fall and you will rise again. You will meet people; a person meets an average of 8 to 10 thousand people in their lifetime. If you touch the lives of 10 of those people and change their lives, if everyone touches the lives of 10 people, we can change the whole world in 4 generations. That is, we can change the lives of billions of people. There is a need for you somewhere. There is definitely a need for you somewhere in this world. That's why try to go wherever your heart takes you, and never lose heart. A person's life goes from one point to another, but it never changes its course.”

“We brought DNA analysis to Turkey”

Atasoy, stating, “We brought DNA analysis to Turkey for the first time,” added: “I have been in police criminal, gendarmerie criminal laboratories, and forensic medicine departments all over the world, and I have taught lessons. I know everywhere, including the FBI, but what is important for us is to strive for the realization of justice in our homeland, without discrimination based on religion, language, race, or sect. For this purpose, I am conducting an Innocence Project. With this project, we try to provide free support and re-examine people in prison who say ‘I didn't do it.’ I have teams for this. We have succeeded in getting innocent people out of prison with many groups. We brought DNA analysis to Turkey. Before us, in paternity determinations, they would look at whether the child's hands and feet resembled the father's; we brought such great technology to our country. If we had stayed abroad, if we had used what we learned there, today DNA evidence at crime scenes could still not be examined for identification. Today, in paternity determinations, decisions would still be made by looking at hands and feet, asking 'Is this child this man's or not?'”

“We can turn the pandemic period into an opportunity”

Referring to the pandemic period as an opportunity, Atasoy said: “We can turn the pandemic period into an opportunity. Those who are overweight can lose weight by doing some exercise at home and paying attention to their diet, thus emerging from this epidemic. Then these days will remain in our minds as a beautiful memory. While indoors, we can read books, watch good movies, but make sure to open a window, go out to the balcony, and try to move by standing up every half hour. Pay attention to mask, distance, and hygiene. Despite the vaccine, people still get sick, so we will maintain this habit for a long time even if we are vaccinated; that is, we will definitely wear masks, and you should try to act that way.”