About Tolga

Tolga was born in Izmir in 1972 and grew up in a variety of cities in Turkey including Eskişehir, Konya, and Adana due to his father’s career as a pilot. After earning his Master’s in Ankara and meeting his wife there, he and his wife immigrated to the U.S. in 1998, where he began working as a computer engineer at Microsoft. Tolga began to connect with other Turkish coworkers and eventually created a Turkish soccer team with them that has grown ever since. He also plays the bass for a Turkish band and performs at numerous events in the community, including TurkFest. He has two children whom he speaks Turkish with at home, and he finds it important to familiarize his children with Turkish food and culture, especially when they go back and visit Turkey as a family. Tolga emphasizes finding a balance between Turkish and American life and is able to preserve his Turkish language through reading books and speaking with his close friends in the Turkish-American community.