Zeynep Karatas’s grandmother likes to joke that Zeynep was “born 70 years old,” and it’s easy to see why. As a fifth grader, Karatas would sneak away to read global political news instead of playing outside. Her grandmother even scolded her parents, thinking they were putting too much pressure on her.

“They didn’t,” Karatas says. “I was just like that on my own.” (Another family joke is that she’s her own tiger parent.)

Now a graduating senior at UC Irvine, Karatas is completing her undergraduate degree in just three years—a remarkable achievement made more impressive by her 4.0 GPA, robust research portfolio, and deep involvement in campus and community advocacy. She is earning bachelor’s degrees in both international studies and political science, a combination that reflects her desire to examine systems through critical and institutional lenses.

“International studies gave me the space to think about how systems of oppression and globalization connect us across borders,” she says. “Political science at UCI helped me understand how those dynamics play out in the U.S.—and what my responsibilities are within them.”

A disrupted perspective

Karatas arrived at UC Irvine with confidence in her academic preparation. But her first quarter challenged her assumptions in ways she hadn’t quite anticipated.

“I thought I already knew what I needed to know,” she says with a laugh. “But my classes totally disrupted that—in the best way.”

Courses like Introduction to Race and Ethnicity and Social Movements and the Politics of Change prompted Karatas to reexamine her role as a first-generation immigrant from Turkey navigating American institutions. Her thinking deepened further through conversations with faculty, including her Writing 60 instructor, Julian Smith-Newman, who urged her to question not just how to expand access to education, but whether the educational system itself was just.

“These classes changed the way I see the world,” she says. “And I’m grateful it happened when it did, instead of later in life when it’s harder to let go of assumptions.”

Political science professor Cecelia Lynch saw that shift firsthand.

“Zeynep is a beautiful soul as well as an excellent student,” Lynch says. “This is seen in her care for others—her friends at UCI, other students in her class, and her extended family.”

Filling the gaps

Karatas’s résumé is filled with titles—Associate Justice in ASUCI, Lead Teaching Assistant at the Saturday Academy of Law, research assistant, fellowship recipient—but it’s her motivation behind the roles that stands out. Whether serving all three branches of government in ASUCI, planning workshops through the Social Sciences Academic Resource Center, or mentoring underserved high school students through Saturday Academy of Law, her work is guided by empathy and purpose.

“I would have loved to have something like the Saturday Academy of Law when I was younger,” she says about the UC Irvine School of Law outreach program. “It’s one thing to gain skills, but it’s another to help fill the gaps you once experienced.”

Karatas has also facilitated educational events for first-generation students and developed resource-focused programming through her ambassador role with the SSARC, under the guidance of her mentors Angel Salazar, Kristen Ahn, and Jasmine Esquivias.

“In college, I wanted to keep serving the community while exploring my interests to figure out what truly resonated with me,” she says.

Karatas has also spent her undergraduate years actively engaged in research. She supported a doctoral project in UC Irvine’s Citizenship Lab examining the role of status quo bias in healthcare policy framing. At UC Riverside, she collaborated on a study of political messaging in the Middle Eastern religious discourse. Her own honors thesis—which she presented at the 2025 Midwest Political Science Association Conference—analyzes how rule of law, democratic conditions, and Court case framing shape the implementation of decisions from the European Court of Human Rights.

“I think my early interest in politics and systems never went away,” she says. “Even when I thought I was pre-med in high school, I was continuing to read about political developments every day. That awareness always stayed with me.”

A path that’s still unfolding

Despite her achievements, Karatas is honest about the challenges that have shaped her. She describes struggling with imposter syndrome, even after receiving competitive scholarships like the Dr. John R. Miltner Annual Scholarship and the Michael and Brenda Drake Endowed Scholarship.

She recalls nearly giving up on a scholarship application due to a technical glitch—and her own doubts.

“I told myself, ‘What’s the point? I probably won’t get it anyway,’” she says. “But I applied anyway, especially after remembering a mentor’s advice, and ended up receiving three awards from that pool.”

That experience taught her a lesson she hopes others will remember:

“You shouldn’t be the one to say no to yourself,” she says. “Yes, you might get rejected. But don’t count yourself out before others get the chance to.”

As Karatas prepares to leave UC Irvine, it’s not the accolades that stand out most to her—but the people.

“I’ve been lucky to have so many mentors who really saw me,” she says. “And my friends here—many of whom are also immigrants or first-gen students—have pushed me to keep going. They make me want to be better.”

Karatas encourages new students to stay curious and resilient.

“Be open. Be reflective. And keep moving forward, even when it’s hard,” she says. “You don’t need to know everything. Just don’t stop showing up.”

With wisdom beyond her years and a purpose rooted in service, Karatas may have always felt a bit older than her peers. But if her story so far is any indication, she’s only just getting started.

—Jill Kato for UC Irvine School of Social Sciences