Immigration is an extremely controversial issue in America today and is also a topic that hits Kaneland close to home.

Junior Tarkan Cetinel immigrated from Turkey.

When I walked in to interview Tarkan, he held the door open for me and asked how my day was, something your average high school student, who has spoken English their entire lives rarely would do. Tarkan’s politeness and good attitude make it apparent to anyone who talks to him how grateful he is to be here.

Tarkan moved from Turkey to Kansas two years ago, which is also where he started playing football.

The Kaneland football team is known for it’s winning ways, and Tarkan was drawn to that when he moved to District 302 at the beginning of the summer of 2013. Tarkan plays right guard on the offensive line.

“I played soccer my entire life, but football is the biggest sport here, so I wanted to play that,” Cetinel said.

Being born in Turkey,Tarkan’s native tongue is Turkish.

“We spoke English too. I went to a private school there,” Cetinel said.
This is not common in the US; only 18 percent of people speak an Indo-European language at home, according to the US Census. Tarkin said that because of his ability to speak English, the adjustment to America was a lot easier.

The immigration process may have changed a lot from the early years, at Ellis Island to getting temporary Visa’s, but the reason has not.

“They’re chasing the American Dream,” Sue Kirchoff of USA Today said about immigrants. Tarkan moved here for an American education.

“The education in Turkey is real bad,” Cetinel said through his thick Turkish accent.

Although American’s talk about how they are falling behind in schooling, they are ranked 21 in the world, impressive compared to Turkey’s at 110.

Tarkin has begun taking more challenging classes here at Kaneland, including AP Chemistry, a class they do not offer in Turkey.

In Turkey, the government get to choose the profession for citizens, and they go to that specific prep school. Tarkan said he enjoys the freedom to do what he wants to do.

“It is much better,” Tarkan said.

The difficult process of moving is something that a lot of people from Kaneland are aware of, but moving to a new country is a concept very few can comprehend. Tarkan is one of the many that make Kaneland a special place, and plans to graduate from KHS in 2015.

“I love it here,” Tarkan said with a smile, shaking my hand goodbye.