Interview with Yigit, Bronze holder of the Award

1. Who is the most interesting person you met working on your Award?

The most interesting person I met has to be a group of people. The expedition team that retrieved us at the mountain. They were all very experienced with everything that has to do with nature and could tell us everything about anything we saw.

2. 3 things you learned about yourself in the process?

I learned that I am much tougher than I thought I was. Up there during the expedition we had to carry bags weighing up to 30kg and it wasn’t easy going up a mountain, crossing rivers and getting lost walking up to 8km. I also found that I could push myself a lot with fitness and change my life style. Doing sports really changed who I am. It gave me confidence, motivation and most importantly freedom. I felt like anything could be done. I also found that I am a fast learner. When we were taught how go use a compass and map I had no idea how to use and find my way around. I now know how to read a map and find the route I would want to take and most importantly plan. Planning is as important as execution. If done right you will succeed.

3. The most interesting thing that happened in the process?

We saw a deer. I actually spotted it when we were sitting on top of a cliff. It had its child with it which was even more heart warming to watch.

4.What the main gain in each of the sections – skills, service, sweating?

I got to study Spanish which I now find myself better at expressing and I will study it further and more extensively. We also cleaned a beach in Istanbul where the trash from the Bosphorus ended up in and we made it a cleaner and better place which was a nice experience for me. Fitness I still continue till this day and I feel really fit. I can run longer distances for longer time periods and I feel my body growing and improving.

5.One moment/event you will remember?

We went through a lot to get to our camp site. In the end our team was in the stage of breaking down and I was not doing well either. When we got to the top and settled in started cooking food and that lot. Me and my friends decided we wanted to discover the environment we were in. We finally found a tree we could easily climb and after we climbed it we had a beautiful view of mountains and scenery it was truly breathtaking as the sun was setting.