Ferdi Ferhat Ozsoy '09
Ferdi Ferhat Ozsoy '09
Program Manager, International Fact-Checking Network at The Poynter Institute
In what ways do you feel your major in history helped to prepare you for your current career? Are there any skills that you developed as an undergraduate history major that is essential to your work?
Ms.Weinstein was my first-grade teacher, who taught me how to look up a word in an index of a book. The first time I looked at the index of a book was the history textbook she had given us. The word I looked up was Turkey.
Born and raised to a Turkish Family in New York, like many immigrant parents they would talk about this place they called home. In my case this was Turkey. Where was this place? Who were these people in their stories? Why was this place so important to who they were? I guess somehow I was trying to discover who I was when I looked at the index of that textbook.
Studying History not only prepared me for my current career but made me the individual I became. Studying History at Brooklyn College refined the skills I already had but had not realized they were there. Skills like critical and analytical thinking, communication, problem-solving, research, and writing.
Throughout my career, these skills have been a focal point, in building relationships, opening new channels of engagement, developing and managing projects with a wide range of private and governmental organizations. These skills allowed me to complete my master’s in International Relations, co-found Turkey’s first and only Political Fact-Checking site, interviewed 120 Syrians living in Turkey to share their life stories with the public to fight the growing misinformation and xenophobia against Syrians living in Turkey. Today I am the Program Manager of the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) at The Poynter Institute, the premier global coalition of fact-checking organizations.
Are there any other reflections on your history major or time in the BC History Department that you’d like us to include in your spotlight?
I feel like the courses that were offered at the Brooklyn College History department, allowed me to understand different historical perspectives. The diverse student body brought ideas and perspectives I was not aware of. This truly broadened my view on life and the world.
Which history course or courses were particularly meaningful to you during your time as a BC history major and/or have had a lasting influence? Why?
Late Ottoman History, Professor Louis Fishman’s class was one the most influential courses I had taken while at Brooklyn College. Technically I was not supposed to be in that class because it was only open to master’s students. Professor Fishman acquired a special wavier to admit me into his class. The discussions, the reading material all opened a new view of Turkey’s history to me. Professor Fishman’s approach to history in a critical view allowed me to discover different sides of history, which I really appreciated.
After graduating the plan was to become a history teacher in the New York City Public School system. I wanted to be able to help guide other individuals to find themselves and discover who they are, but my journey to find who I was, was just starting. Professor Fishman played a critical role in my decision to move to Turkey. Long story short, for ten years I lived in one of the most beautiful cities in the world Istanbul, with experiences and friendships that would last forever.
