Miracles made possible through education

By Sel Buyuksarac
As told to Sheridan block

Sel Buyuksarac is an educator, engineer, and community leader from Turkiye. He spent time serving communities in the Philippines before moving with his family to Jacksonville, Florida in 2002. The son of two teachers, Sel has always been passionate about education and co-founded the River City Science Academy in Jacksonville in 2007, the first charter school in Duval County to earn an A-grade from the Department of Education. Sel is active in many community organizations, including being a graduate of the Leadership Jacksonville Class of 2019. He is known as a community leader, and he and his wife Angie began hosting Friendship & Gratitude Dinners every night at their home during the month of Ramadan as a way to being people from all backgrounds together to encourage conversation and community. Since 2007, they have hosted more than 3,000 people in their home.

Photo courtesy Sel Buyuksarac, graphic by Gabriela Cano Uchofen

People say science and miracles cannot co-exist, but I believe they are more connected than we think. We learn about science in schools. It’s a matter of the mind, while miracles are a matter of the heart. But when we believe in the possibilities that exist around us with both our minds and hearts, we can make the impossible happen. We can see miracles happen.

My story is proof.

Education and service

I’m from Turkiye. Both my parents were teachers, so I grew up in schools. My respect for education came not only from my parents, but also from a well-known imam and Turkish scholar, who taught that education and serving others are keys to overcoming the many issues of society.

Inspired by that idea, I decided that after earning my bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, I would travel and find ways to learn about and serve other people and cultures. This led me to an opportunity in the Philippines.

I helped open a school on one of the southern islands. It was an area with a lot of violence and tension, people separated themselves and were afraid of each other. The team I worked with knew part of the problem was a lack of education. Children didn’t have a place where they could meet other children and learn. After we started the school, we saw problems in the community decrease. Kids were able to meet and make friends, and their families too were able to meet and understand more about their neighbors. It was like magic.

The Philippines changed my life in so many ways. Not only because of the school, but I also met my wife. I stayed longer than I planned, but that only gave me more opportunities to learn and serve.

Immigration to the US

Unfortunately, our relationship was not accepted because I was different. I did not have the same culture, language, or religion as my wife and her family. Because we were not supported there, we decided we would start a new life somewhere else. My wife had other relatives in Jacksonville, Florida, and that’s how we began our immigration journey to the US.

We wanted a piece of the “American dream” we heard about, but we found it would be much harder than we thought. The memories of the Sept. 11 attacks were still fresh when we arrived in 2002. People were afraid of immigrants and those who seemed “foreign”. This closed many doors for us, especially for work. Every job I applied for, I was rejected because of my name, the way I wrote and spoke, what I looked like, and where I came from. I was different and people are afraid of differences.

We struggled. My wife worked two jobs at a dental office and a dry cleaner. Eventually I got a job as a mover. We both worked 7 days a week. We were kicked out of our housing arrangements and experienced homelessness. We didn’t know where to go or how we could even get a house or an apartment. I felt hopeless, but in my heart and in my mind, I knew I had to make this work for my family.

We decided that even if we didn’t have everything a US citizen would normally need to secure an apartment, we would try anyway. We went to an apartment complex we knew about and applied. To our surprise, we were able to get an apartment! We moved in without any furniture, but we were happy because we were together.

All it took was one miracle that day for me to see more possibilities. That’s when things seemed to turn around for us.

The turning point

My wife found another job in a nearby gym and was able to get me a job as a janitor. We both worked 16 hours a day. I would work as a mover during the day, and at night I would clean up after people in the bathroom. Neither of these jobs are what I expected I would be doing with engineering and business degrees, but I was happy to do them because they were going to help me and my family survive.

After some time, I was promoted to manager at the gym, which gave me opportunities to meet and interact with more people. Through my new connections, I was able to bring a new dream to life.

Inspired by my time in the Philippines, I wanted to open a school in Jacksonville. Specifically, I wanted to open a charter school focused on STEM studies (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). People thought I was crazy. I didn’t have much myself, how could I dream of starting a school?

I may not have had much, but at least I had a dream. I had something that moved me toward possibilities — toward miracles. Because of that dream, and my desire to give back to the community that welcomed me, I found a way to make it happen.

In 2007, with the help of others who believed in my vision, we opened the River City Science Academy. Our campus was not located in a great space, but we welcomed 160 students that first year. Since then, RCSA has expanded to six campuses across Jacksonville with over 4,000 students representing cultures from more than 35 nations. RCSA became the first charter school in Duval County to earn an A-grade from the US Department of Education.

One of our students from that first-year class often returns and volunteers at the school. I asked her why she chose our school, especially since it was not well-known and unattractive by most standards.

“The school was the hope we were looking for,” she told me. “And when we saw that hope, we had to jump for it.”

Power of education

Many of the problems in the world are due to ignorance. We don’t know each other, we’re afraid of each other, and we hate each other. But if we would take the time to learn about other people and their stories, we would find that we have more in common than not.

My wife and I host dinners almost every night during the month of Ramadan. We invite anyone from the community to our home to breakfast and learn about each other. I’ve heard so many stories from people about how much these dinners have changed their perspectives and lives.

We cannot underestimate the power of education. Not just in the context of schools, but in the way of learning about others. Education helps us learn about the world and other people. When we better understand those around us, we can create more possibilities to solve our shared problems.

The possibility to change the world is something that can happen when we are together. If we can come together, learn from each other, and believe and work together, then we can make miracles happen.

Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of WeaveTales and its employees.

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