Our Founder: Elif Sena Aydın

I'm Elif Sena Aydın. I grew up in the hustle and bustle of Istanbul, in the classrooms of public school. I've loved technology since I was a little kid, but I'll be honest—it always felt a little distant. Those kids writing code and developing projects always seemed to be in other cities, in different circumstances. But one day, I said to myself:
“Sena, why can’t you be one of those kids?”

That day, this journey began.
The training I attended at Deneyap Türkiye fostered a deeper connection with technology. I learned to code, built systems, and transformed my ideas into projects. But over time, I realized that even this was a privilege in itself. There were hundreds of young people around me who were still estranged from technology, falling behind because they couldn't access English-language resources.

And there was this question that kept circling around in my head:
“Why are so many young people left behind simply because they don’t have access to opportunities?”

In search of an answer to this question, NexifyLab was born.
NexifyLab, named after the words "Next," "Amplify," and "Lab," is a social enterprise I founded to amplify the voices of the future. My goal is to make technology education simple, friendly, and accessible to everyone, without complicated jargon. Especially for children and young people in underresourced communities. Because I truly believe that education is not a luxury, it's a right.

To date, we've reached over 3,000 students with NexifyLab. We've held in-person seminars, written blog posts, and engaged with young people in various cities through volunteer training. And then I thought:
"It's good to tell, but let's also talk together a little bit, let's hear each other."

Thus, NexifyCast was born.
Our podcast, where we discuss technology, entrepreneurship, and social change, quickly reached over 100 listeners. Now, Nexify isn't just a startup; it's a voice, a community. This process has opened many new doors. The UN-backed organization Theirworld chose me as their Youth Ambassador because NexifyLab focuses on "Quality Education" (SDG 4), one of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.

But this wasn't my first step.
When English instruction at my school proved inadequate, I sat down and thought, “Okay, what can I do?” Then I founded the Scrabble Club. But it wasn't just a place to memorize vocabulary—it became a place where my friends had fun learning English, finding the courage to express themselves, and sometimes just sharing our troubles. Over time, the club expanded beyond the school. I organized tournaments, bringing together hundreds of students. We created it ourselves, even though we didn't have the resources. Planning was necessary, so we sat up until dawn, writing and drawing together.

And finally, I was accepted to the University of Michigan, on a path I embarked on entirely on my own, driven by my own passions, without any special advisors, overseas experience, or privilege.
This wasn't just an acceptance letter. It was proof that a girl from outside the system had walked into the heart of the system with her own light.

I felt the inequality in education not from a report or a news item, but in every exam, every lesson, every impossibility I experienced.
And that's why I say:
We are the ones who will initiate the change.
If we make accessible what we cannot access together, we can open new paths for others.

That's why NexifyLab exists.