My name is Yelaman Baidol. I was born and raised in the far western part of Mongolia where both Kazakh nomads and native Mongolians live together peacefully. Since my grandparents and parents were very traditional, I had to speak Kazakh at home, learn all the cultural traditions, and read Kazakh books from a very young age. On the other hand, as a Mongolian citizen, I had to study all the subjects in Mongolian and speak the language fluently at school.

As a proud Kazakh Mongolian, I think that my unique bi-lingual background made it easier for me to learn English and Turkish. When I was in high school, I became very interested in Turkish culture and wanted to complete my undergraduate education in Turkey. Getting the admission letter from METU, which offers world-class education, was just the beginning of the most memorable moments in my life. I have learned so much from my classmates, professors, and almost every person I have met in Turkey. However, I still believe there are so many things I have yet to explore and discover in Turkey.

I have been studying in Civil Engineering Department at METU for 3 years. Our department has 9 divisions. While I was taking CE363 (Soil Mechanics) & CE366 (Foundation Engineering) courses, I was very interested in Geotechnical Engineering. Hence, I am currently doing the research, which is related with the monopile foundations used in offshore wind turbines, with Dr. Nejan Huvaj.