Ayla Karakaş '20
MA Computational Linguistics
Ayla is one of the first students to graduate from the Department of Linguistics new
MA program in Computational Linguistics; she previously earned her BA in Linguistics
here in 2018. During her time at SBU, Ayla not only worked on several research collaborations
with faculty, but also completed an internship at a fintech startup in New York City
and published her own research on nati, a linguistically puzzling aspect of Sanskrit. Here, Ayla reflects on her experiences
at Stony Brook.
Why Stony Brook?
I initially came here for the typical pragmatic reasons: SUNY tuition, reasonable
location, and diverse possibilities for exploration since I came into college having
no idea what I wanted to do. My entrance essay was about The Muppet Show, for the record. I came to find that SBU is, in many ways, a coal mine full of hidden
gems. Maybe you come here at first with the explicit purpose of finding coal. As you
mine, you find out that amidst the soot and ore there are innumerable inspiring people
here, doing all sorts of mind-blowing things in random pockets of the campus and you
might just otherwise never know unless you stumble upon it.
On her program of study:
I'm completing the MA in Computational Linguistics, and I blame (smile) Professors
Thomas Graf (the program director) and Jeffrey Heinz for that. The program happened
to be starting the year I finished my BA in linguistics here, and, well, I've always
loved experiments, even when I'm a subject. The research that Professors Graf and
Heinz are spearheading here at SBU focuses on better understanding how the patterns
found in natural language are computationally restricted. In principle, getting a
clearer picture of that landscape should help get computers more up to speed with
human language, too. I quickly became enamored of this approach to studying language,
and at the time found it to be particularly salient here in the CAS Department of
Linguistics and not so much anywhere else. This presented a unique opportunity to
study the subject in this particular way, so I went for it.
On her favorite class:
Computational Morphology may have been the most influential class I've taken during
my master’s. It’s a special topics class about how we can use theoretical concepts
from computer science to model the linguistic processes that govern how words and
parts of words can combine to form other words, or even phrases in many languages.
It was in this class that I was somewhat formally introduced to the "big picture"
that I'm interested in, and that was the first time I got my hands wet with the machinery
that has come to guide my current research interests. Let me tell you, it was love
at first sight.
Greatest achievement:
Getting to complete my master’s degree with teaching experience, a publication, a
couple of posters, sharing research results in a talk at an international conference,
and admission to my dream school for continuing these studies has been an absolute,
mind-boggling gift. I think my greatest achievement was not any one of these things,
but rather, developing the strength to go from someone who was so afraid of failure
and imperfection to ever try, to now pursuing opportunities to continue to grow, learn and share. It’s a perpetual
work in progress. Even if you have a rough start, there is always a chance to get
better. If you can't believe in yourself, believe in those who believe in you.
Plans for post-graduation:
I'll be pursuing a PhD in linguistics starting Fall 2020, because a bachelor and master’s
was clearly not nearly enough for me!
On her favorite SBU memory:
There is no single favorite memory; there are far too many. One relatively recent
thing I recall fondly was last fall, when a PhD student from another university came
and gave a talk in our Department. It rapidly devolved from organized slides to presenting
from the LaTeX code of his publication, drawing on the whiteboard to explain a sidetracked
concept, and throwing a dry dry-erase marker on the floor when it wrote in invisible
ink. At some point halfway through the talk, our resident Distinguished Professor
Mark Aronoff got up, walked to the front of the room, and said, "I came to this talk
because I was waiting to complain about [a certain theory that was expected to be
brought up], but you still haven't done it, and now I have to go, so I'm doing it
now." Then as he was leaving, he picked up the marker on the floor, waved it at the
speaker, and said, "I can't believe you would do this in front of her [Lori Repetti,
our angelic department chair]!" before ceremoniously throwing it out and exiting stage
left.
This was just a moment of beautiful chaos, the marriage of research and playful camaraderie
-- and it was so characteristically Stony Brook Linguistics that it will always have
a special place in my heart alongside several other fantastic shenanigans. Department
events are always a joy.
On graduating during COVID-19:
I'll be honest, it's a bit sad. There were so many things I had planned for this semester
to say goodbye to my time here, to the wonderful people I have encountered, and to
officially have that moment of closure as the next chapter opens up. Now I, and everyone
else who is graduating during these times, have to improvise something else and come
to terms with the fact that we're just not getting what we hoped for. But life is
full of uncertainty, which envelopes the world indefinitely right now. Things will
not be as they were, and there are much, much bigger things to be concerned about
at this time. Still, everyone is doing their best. I am grateful for this opportunity
to at least say goodbye publicly through this text. So thanks to the College for giving
us this space, thank you to the people who have been supporting me through these past
few years, and thank you to those who gave me the nomination to be able to do this.
We're going to be okay, one way or another.
Parting thoughts:
Whoever is reading this, please stay safe and take care of yourself. So long, SBU, and thanks for all the fish. :)