By Divya Kumar
News Editor

Video by Haley Powers

It is rare for students to be able to see the ways the things they are doing in school, whether it be through their afterschool clubs or in their classes, apply to situations in the real world. On Friday, Oct. 16, the members of the Junior World Affairs Council, select AP and IB economics classes and sixth period World Geography classes received this opportunity when Akil Öktem, consul general to the Turkish Consulate, came to talk to them.

Öktem works for the Republic of Turkey in Houston, helping to maintain relations between the United States and Turkey and any aiding any interaction that may occur between the two countries. Along with his current location, Öktem has also served his role in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Japan, Yemen, Cyprus, Romania, Holland and many other locations.

Öktem’s latest visit to Coppell High School allowed the students the opportunity to learn more about the relations between the two countries of Turkey and the United States.

“Out of all of the schools in the Dallas area, he chose only two,” AP and IB economics teacher Donnette Alexander said. “We’re so lucky that we were one of them and that we got the rare chance to get to speak to someone with such authority in a different country’s government.”

The arrival of the consul to Coppell High School is due mainly in part to the Junior World Affairs Council (JWAC) club, and its sponsor, Rita Bauer. Bauer worked diligently over the summer to secure the consul to come talk to students, and her hard work was represented in Coppell High School being one of the only two schools he visited to talk to.

Upon his arrival at the high school, the consul was attended to at a luncheon with the board members. During fifth period, Red Jacket students were designated to give him a tour of the high school. Shortly after, in the lecture hall, the consul began his speech to the students, aided by select Red Jackets who also happened to be in JWAC.

During his presentation to the students, Öktem explained the current state of relations between the United States and Turkey, as well as other statistical details about the two countries that related to the topic.

“I love my job,” Öktem said during the presentation. “It’s hard sometimes to communicate with my family because I have to travel so much, but the traveling I get to do to places that I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to see is a great benefit.”

Following the presentation was a question and answer session. Students asked a variety of questions not only relating to the current state of affairs between the United States and Turkey, but also questions regarding only Turkey and its unique government. Turkey is one of the few Muslim countries able to maintain a secular government, separating the positions of church and state. It has also requested entrance into the European Union (EU), a group that maintains trade between the different countries of Europe, though it is not actually part of the continent. Despite this fact, Turkey has become one of the three candidates to become a part of the EU. Issues such as these, along with ones regarding Cyprus and Turkey’s current issues with Greece, a current member of the EU, were asked by students during the question and answer session.

“I went in a little skeptical, because I thought the presentation would be something along the lines of just the history of Turkey,” junior IB economics student Priyanka Krishnamurthy said. “But I actually did learn a lot about the relations between the two countries and I was able to relate certain aspects to what I learned in class.”

Following the presentation, Öktem was received with a reception in the library by the same select Red Jacket and JWAC members. Further interaction with the consul was allowed for these students before Öktem left.

“I have a fascination for the country of Turkey, because it’s basically the epitome of where eastern culture meets western culture, especially seen through the grand Hagia Sophia building,” senior Sarah Omar said. “The presentation really interested me because I could compare his statistics to the things that I learned on my earlier vacation to Turkey, and at the reception afterwards, I could really see his love for the country.”