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On the evening of Feb. 5, Zeynep Erman learned that an earthquake was expected to hit in Turkey. But earthquakes are relatively common in the tennis player’s home country — her first thought was “oh, there’s another one.”

But the next morning, when Erman was with a Turkish friend, she saw the news that thousands of people were dead.

“I tried to reach out to my family. The first thing I did was call my mom, my brother, my friends and everyone,” Erman said. “I was lucky that I had a friend with me.”

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit southeast Turkey near the Syrian border on Feb. 6, and became the largest natural disaster to strike the country in over 80 years. The first wave killed approximately 44,300 people alone. But despite the disaster, Erman has focused on activism through her work with the Turkish Student Association while playing Division-I tennis.

Erman likes simply spending time at home. She’s “family-oriented” and has lots of friends back in Turkey, some of which she practiced tennis with, so moving to Syracuse was a stark change. So when Erman heard about the earthquake, she said she was “in a shock.”

While Erman’s non-Turkish friends would support her and help her however they could, they didn’t understand her situation like her Turkish friends could. She’s found community in other Turkish students, though, leaning on them during the tumultuous time. Their dinners and get-togethers provided connection and community, Erman said.

Erman has been on the executive board of the Turkey Student Association since her sophomore year. When members heard the news of the earthquake, Erman said they wanted to help Turkey and get the school involved in those efforts.

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Alongside the Turkish Student Association, Erman has contributed to fundraising efforts across campus, sharing QR codes and links to donation sites and information on the situation in Turkey. In addition to raising money, the organization also collected clothes, blankets, canned food and other essentials. The Turkish Student Association packed the supplies and sent them to the Turkish embassy in New York City, where they were then transported to Turkey on cargo planes.

In addition to contributing to helping those in need in Turkey, Erman has also found solace with the people in the organization, including Didar Ozcan. Over the past few months, Erman has developed a strong connection with Ozcan, a Syracuse volleyball player from Fethiye, Turkey, who is also involved in the Turkish Student Association.

“We were the biggest support for each other. Having a person who stands with you but also going through the same thing, I think, is really important,” Ozcan said. “It’s a different level of bonding.”

While the contributions have helped aid the population back in Turkey, Erman and Ozcan’s work has also served as a way for them both to heal.

“Making sure to reach out to people to send help at home helped us a lot,” Ozcan said. “Zeynep and I participated a lot in helping people there. That was one of the biggest things that helped us cope.”

Erman’s teammates and coaches have also supported her through this time, she said, and uses tennis as a distraction. If she didn’t have tennis, Erman said, she’d have so much free time and she’d just think about the earthquake’s aftermath in Turkey all day. But when she steps onto the court, her mind is on tennis.

“It takes a lot of character and a lot of discipline … I want to do the best I can this year,” Erman said.

As the team captain and the No. 1 singles player at SU, Erman said she felt an obligation to her teammates and does her best to put her emotions aside when she’s on the court. Competing at such a high level against some of the best players in the country, even amid everything happening in her home country, drives her to perform her best.

“It motivates me every time,” Erman said.

Published on April 19, 2023 at 10:48 pm

Contact Brooks: baherb@syr.edu