Yigitcan is a Ph.D. student studying mechanical engineering at Northwestern University. With two grandfathers who were engineers, Yigitcan was heavily inspired by the work that they did. One of his grandfathers was a civil engineer who worked for the government of Turkey and built roads in Turkey in areas that were desolate and did not have access to roads. His other grandfather was a mechanical engineer who worked in a steel manufacturing factory.

Yigitcan saw the machinery and technology that his grandfather used to achieve greater things in his work and was motivated to do the same.

Yigitcan chose to pursue a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering because he wanted to contribute himself more to the greater good of society. His consideration of going into a Ph.D. was more on the sentimental level where he thought, okay, he can contribute himself more. He can learn about new things, he can explore and get exposure to more areas as well.

Some of the advice that Yigitcan offered me during my interview with him was:

1. Explore as many different areas of research as you can while you are young. Get exposure to a lot of areas so that you know what you like and do not like to do

2. Use online resources like YouTube to expose yourself to those different areas of research. The internet is a place that you can turn to when you have questions that other people on the internet will have an answer for.

3. Join clubs. Clubs are a place where you can socially interact with others while also doing an activity that you love. This helps build connections and relationships while also allowing yourself to be put out there.