Michael Turk doesn’t remember anything from his first time in Indiana.
That’s because he was less than a year old before his parents left the states and soon returned to their home of Cairo, Egypt, to be closer to family.
Fifteen years later, though, when Turk was deciding on where he would attend college, one place seemed familiar enough.
It just happened to be more than 6,000 miles away.
“Out of all the states, Indiana seemed the most relevant to me,” Turk said.
Four years later, he’s preparing to receive his diploma from the school he called the best decision he’s ever made.
Despite spending most of his pre-college life in Cairo, Turk was born in Merrillville, Indiana. His mother Lemai was dealing with infertility issues, and her doctor — who lived with them in Cairo while he attended medical school — was working in Merrillville.
It was an unusual place to them far, far from home, but it was the best option for her, Lemai said.
Both Lemai and her husband were teachers, her as a private French tutor. Because of his travels as a kid, Turk quickly became familiar with three different languages — English, French and Arabic.
That helped determine what Turk would study at IU.
Because he placed well on his French placement exam, he chose a French minor to accompany his major in biology.
“Initially I wanted to be an engineer because my dad was an engineer, but when I started taking biology I became more interested in the life sciences as opposed to the physical sciences,” Turk said. “So I decided to go the pre-med route.”
He soon added a degree in sociology as well.
“I was very interested in how important society is,” Turk said. “Socialization is around us all the time so I think sociology as a science is very important to study.”
Not only did he have to adjust to crossing continents, Turk had to do it at 16 years old, when most American students were high school sophomores.
Though his family sometimes took trips to the U.S. during the summer, Turk said his experience here was limited.
Lemai, who only comes to IU once a year, said she expected her son to study in the states, but it didn’t make him leaving any easier.
“It was very hard for me and his dad at first because he is our only child after 17 years,” she said. “But one day he was going to leave us, so we had to accept it.”
Turk said the hardest part of moving was adjusting to American social life.
Back home, his social life was much more controlled and traditional. The transition was even more difficult coming to a liberal place like Bloomington, he said.
Turk joined Delta Chi Fraternity, which helped him make friends from across the country and world.
In the fall, Turk plans to attend medical school at the Lake Eerie College of Osteopathic Medicine with hopes of becoming an orthopedic surgeon.
He’ll also stay in America to start his career because in Egypt it’s hard to make a name for yourself without a family member already in the field, while the medical profession here is much more merit based, he said.
Turk said he’s thankful for attending such a diverse campus like IU.
“You can easily find your spot,” he said. “I think this is the best first actual experience of America I could’ve had in that it showed me really how people can be nice and welcoming to those who might not know anyone.”
