When Yagmur Onder '20 joined Lausanne in eighth grade, she immediately became one of the school's most active community members. Yagmur can be seen around Lausanne's campus, working as an Ambassador and as an NHS tutor, helping her classmates understand Physics.
In addition to being a member of the Language and Culture Club, the senior is the Make-A-Wish Club President, helping grant three wishes. A student-athlete, Yagmur has been a member of Lausanne's Cross Country team since 10th grade and has played varsity tennis throughout her time in Upper School. Yagmur holds her teammates close to her heart.
"I lean on some of my teammates the most out of everyone in my life. They've become my best high school friends."
She keeps busy off-campus, too, volunteering at Crump Elementary, helping with their Fall Carnival, and building the school an indoor mobile herb garden out of reused materials.
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| Yagmur welds together a mobile herb garden. |
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Yagmur also volunteered in the VolunTEEN program at LeBonheur and St. Jude, and for the Exceptional Foundation of West Tennessee. She's also part of the SOSS Memphis Chapter, an organization for Muslim and Jewish girls to bond and volunteer in their community.
"Lausanne has set an environment for me to challenge myself every day," Yagmur explains. "Because of my teachers, extracurriculars and academic opportunities, I know what challenges to take to push my boundaries. I'm grateful to recognize how Lausanne has prepared me for a challenging and global future."
Yagmur has risen to the occasion. In addition to being the President of the National Honor Society, she's been inducted into the Sigma, Science, Social Studies and Spanish Honor Societies. She's been awarded the Excellence in IB Spanish Ab Initio, Excellence in IB Biology HL, and a Gold Key for Sculpture and Silver Key for Design from the Scholastic Art Awards. She's been accepted to a variety of colleges, including Purdue, Penn State and Case Western to name a few. Her time at Lausanne has literally inspired her to reach for the stars.
"Because of Lausanne, I've learned I love community service, but I've also learned that a dream of mine is potentially being a NASA astronaut," shares Yagmur. "Before coming to Lausanne, I was so fixated on following my parents' paths in medicine. My own path has shaped into pursuing a mechanical engineering degree to launch into a career of global service and aeronautics."