Leyla Yuksel Hagan graduated with honors from the Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service in 2024 with a B.S. in Culture and Politics and a minor in mathematics. Her self-designed concentration, “The Middle East & the Environment,” explored Southwest Asia and North Africa through critical lenses of global racial capitalism and environmental justice. Her studies culminated in a thesis entitled “The Greater Tomorrow: Hydrocracy and Development Capitalism in Türkiye’s Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP),” which the university awarded with honors. Her studies now focus on understanding how Türkiye’s constructed identity influences and is influenced by the surrounding Arab and Western worlds.

Leyla also works in the Georgetown University Office of Undergraduate Admissions as the admissions officer responsible for New Jersey and Philadelphia. As a Georgetown Scholars Program alumna, she continues to support the organization’s efforts to support fellow first generation, low-income students applying to Georgetown. In the MAAS program, Leyla is excited to continue pursuing her passion for studying the region at her alma mater as a student and employee.