Faces on Campus – Gulbin Yasar

Faces on Campus – Gulbin Yasar

Gulbin Yasar works closely with the administrative operations manager and her main responsibility is assuring the campus runs smoothly during the day. She provides general support to students and professors, manages room and equipment set up, and assists with campus events. She holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Ege University, Turkey, and a certificate of completion from the Eramus Student Exchange Program from Metropolitan University of Prague, Czech Republic. She recently moved to Seattle from her home country, Turkey. Gulbin recently graduated with a MS in Global Studies and International Relations from Northeastern University—Seattle.

How long have you been in Seattle? 

I was born and raised in Turkey and then I moved to the United States in 2012. I’ve been in Seattle for four years. Before I moved here, I lived in Utah for a year and before then I was mostly in Turkey. There were a number of factors that influenced my decision to move to America, I always wanted to travel outside Turkey and at the time, the U.S. just happened to be the place I kept coming back to when trying to decide where I wanted to move. I’ve been here ever since and I am very happy!  

Tell us more about your role at Northeastern University-Seattle.   

I’m an Operations Assistant, I complete various tasks throughout the campus. You can usually find me at the front desk, where I assist students with all of their requests or any questions they may have. If I’m not sure of what steps to take to resolve their issue or query, then I direct them to the person who will be able to assist them further. I also have a number of administrative duties. I deal with expense reconciliations, budget reconciliations, and reimbursements for staff members or students. I manage contracts and negotiating agreements with our vendors. I also manage student access, so students should come to me when they have a question, or if their access is not working.  I also make the Husky IDs for students.  

My responsibilities have increased as the campus has grown. I was initially employed at Northeastern University – Seattle on a part-time basis. At the time, we were operating solely at the 401 building. I used to work in the evenings. I made sure that the classes ran smoothly and the instructors and students had what they needed. The campus grew at a rapid rate, so we opened the campus at the 225 building in April 2014. I then became a full-time employee and now you can find me at the front desk of the 225 building during the day!  

What do you enjoy most about your role?   

It probably sounds like a bit of a cliché, but I really do enjoy interacting with the students most. It’s a good feeling when you can just help someone right there and then.  I also really like my coworkers and the atmosphere on campus, it’s a high-energy place. I also enjoy doing the expense reconciliations and budget reconciliations. People find it a bit weird that I enjoy that so much, but it’s a fun part of the job for me!  

You recently graduated from Northeastern University – Seattle. What influenced your decision to study at the Seattle campus?   

Well, it helped that I was somewhat familiar with how the campus operated. It made it easier to pinpoint exactly what type of support the students would need. It was also helpful that I had an acute awareness of the resources available to students, both on campus and online. Northeastern just happened to have a program that I wanted to study, to build upon my current education, Global Studies and International Relations. They also had the concentration that I was interested in, Conflict Resolution. Also, the online program is very flexible and worked perfectly with my schedule. It was a bonus for me not to be rushing to classes at night. I could remain autonomous and move at my own pace, which really appealed to me. Of course, if I had any questions or needed support, I would know who to reach out to. All of these factors definitely influenced my decision to study at the Seattle campus. It was a lot of work, but it definitely paid off!  

What’s something crazy that has happened on the Seattle campus?   

I have a good story! When we first moved into the 225 building, the bathroom door was a bit odd. The lock was installed the wrong way and so it didn’t function the way it should—there were a few awkward encounters! We were still in the process of trying to get everything set up at the new premises. One of the students informed us of the issue and the door was fixed the very next day. It was just that one little thing! Thankfully, everybody found it funny! I have heard about other crazy stories, but I wasn’t present, so I can’t comment on those!  

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