13.06.2026 13:11
Nadide Kazmaz, 57, who left university in Izmir in 1986 due to cancer, returned to her faculty in 2022 via a student amnesty and graduated with top honors.
Nadide Kazmaz, 57, who had to pause her education at Dokuz Eylül University's Buca Faculty of Education, Department of Turkish Language and Literature, which she entered in 1986, due to cancer, returned under an amnesty and graduated as the top student of her faculty.
Due to cancer, Nadide Kazmaz had to leave her beloved school in her second year. After her treatment, she got married, had children and grandchildren, but despite the years, she never gave up her determination to study, and in 2022, she took advantage of a student amnesty and returned to university.
BECAME BOTH DEPARTMENT AND FACULTY VALEDICTORIAN
Kazmaz, who had to start from the first year due to changes in the course content, studied alongside classmates the age of her children. After four years, she proudly graduated as both the department valedictorian and the faculty valedictorian among 1,100 students.
Her husband, children, and grandchild were the first to congratulate Kazmaz as she threw her cap in the air with her classmates and received her diploma.
HER DAUGHTER IS A LECTURER AT THE SAME UNIVERSITY
Nadide Kazmaz said she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in her second year and had to leave school. She mentioned she couldn't think of freezing her enrollment at the time. "I left school, got married, and had children. My life went on like that. I have two daughters. One is a lecturer at the same university. She was very insistent. My husband supported me a lot. He said, 'It would be good for you instead of staying at home; you love literature.' My best subjects were already my field courses. With their support, I decided to start again," she said.
GREAT SUPPORT FROM HER HUSBAND
Kazmaz emphasized that her husband and daughters helped her a lot and continued: "When I told my husband, 'I'm coming home late from school,' he would say, 'No problem, I'll handle dinner.' We managed somehow. I have a daughter who is a Turkish teacher, and I benefited a lot from her. She helped me with educational sciences. At this age, I don't have much ambition for a career. I have a 4.5-year-old grandchild. I will try to teach her if I can. Maybe I can work at private schools."
Nadide Kazmaz's husband, Ali Kazmaz, said they, along with their daughters, had confidence in his wife and were ultimately happy about her graduation. He stated that he expected his wife to be the department top student, but it was a surprise that she became the faculty valedictorian, and he congratulated her.