PULSE x Diversity: Zeynep Alraqeb (MBA Candidate at Columbia Business School; former Diversity Chair of German Fulbright Alumni association)

With this episode, we launch our PULSE x Diversity series, spotlighting personal stories and perspectives on belonging within the Fulbright community. Our aim is to celebrate the diversity of experiences and amplify underrepresented voices.

Our first guest is Zeynep Alraqeb, a multilingual economist with a rich background in economics, social entrepreneurship, and politics. Currently based in New York and pursuing an MBA at Columbia University, Zeynep has previously worked on macroeconomic issues at Banque de France and the Deutsche Bundesbank. She holds an MSc in Economics from the University of Warwick and the University of Cologne, where she was a Friedrich Ebert Scholar: She also studied abroad in Turkey and in the USA, where she went to the University of Kentucky with Fulbright Germanys Diversity Initiative. Besides her professional achievements, Zeynep is committed to social impact and has, among many other things, served as Diversity Chair of the German Fulbright Alumni Association.

In this conversation, we explore Zeynep’s identity journey and her reflections on belonging—from her initial draw to the United States to how her perspectives on Germany shifted through her experiences abroad. She shares the story behind her name, her ‘identity superpower,’ and the cultural misconceptions she wishes would disappear.

Interviewed by Enes Karacaoglan.