GRADUATES
IN T H E NEWS
Intrepid War
Reporter Damon,
RC 94, Carves
Out Career
as CNN
Correspondent
A
rwa D a m o n , RC 9 4 , has recently been making
headlines as a C N N c o r r e s p o n d e n t , reporting from
all over the t u m u l t u o u s Middle East. Based in B a g h d a d ,
she was recently in L e b a n o n covering the conflict there.
Before joining C N N in February 2 0 0 6 , D a m o n spent
three years covering Iraq and the Middle East as a
freelance producer for various news organizations
including C N N , P B S and FOX News.
Most recently, D a m o n has been e m b e d d e d with U.S.
troops in B a q u b a near the Iran/Iraq border and Kirkuk,
the center of the oil-producing region in Iraq.
Highlights of D a m o n ' s coverage in Iraq include the U.S.
A r m y ' s battle in Najaf against the Mehdi A r m y and of
the battle to retake S a m a r r a . In N o v e m b e r 2 0 0 4 ,
D a m o n was in Fallujah during the offensive against
insurgents. Her extensive Iraq coverage also includes
being the only TV reporter for " O p e r a t i o n Steel
C u r t a i n " in Husayba near the Syrian border, as well as
covering operations into Haditha, Hit, Karabila and
Ubeydi. In addition to covering military operations in
Iraq, D a m o n covered the Iraq elections in J a n u a r y 2 0 0 5
and D e c e m b e r 2 0 0 5 , Iraq's constitutional referendum
vote in O c t o b e r 2 0 0 5 and the ongoing trial of S a d d a m
Hussein.
After RC, D a m o n graduated with honors from
S k i d m o r e College in New York with a double major in
French and biology and a minor in international affairs.
She is fluent in A r a b i c , French and Turkish.
Damon's father G e o r g e D a m o n was middle school
director at RC f r o m 1988 to 1998. He went from there
to Isjkkent s c h o o l in izmir and is presently head of the
A m e r i c a n C o m m u n i t y S c h o o l in Beirut.
To read A r w a Damon's first-hand reporting, visit
c n n . c o m .
Google Picks
Karabey to
Lead New
Turkey Office
T
he world's biggest s e a r c h engine Google has appointed E r e m Karabey RC 88 to head its operations in Turkey. "There are
16.5 million people who use the internet in Turkey, and 9 3 % of those people use Google. The f o r m e r n u m b e r c o m e s as a
nice surprise to many who think this n u m b e r is less - but the latter is usually no surprise to anybody. This clearly shows how
strong our brand and c o n s u m e r reach is in Turkey at the moment," Karabey told the R C Q .
He is hopeful that internet penetration in Turkey will increase exponentially with the introduction of more A D S L lines by
the leading ISP, Turkish Telekom, and the other ISPs, as access prices d e c r e a s e over time. C h e a p e r access prices on a par
with western n o r m s will be key to further growth, he says.
One of Karabey's priorities at Google is to develop Turkey's growing e-business market. " G o o g l e Turkey was f o r m e d in
order to drive the localization and penetration of current and future Google products, building the partnerships for the
distribution of our products like A d S e n s e ; a n d selling our A d W o r d s product to our business partners. So far the interest in and
the usage of our products is t r e m e n d o u s . "
After graduating from Boğaziçi University in 1993, Karabey began working in the finance sector. From 1995 to 1998 he
worked at the Doğan M e d y a Group. He c o m p l e t e d his M B A at Harvard University in 2 0 0 0 and then joined B e r t e l s m a n n , the
fourth biggest media c o m p a n y in the world, where he worked first as B u s i n e s s Development Director and then Sales and
Business Develpment Director. He returned to Turkey in 2 0 0 4 to take up position as Marketing M a n a g e r for S i e m e n s Mobile
Turkey, after which he joined Google.
World Bank Turkey Head
Vorkink, RA 65, Retires
W
orld Bank Turkey Director A n d r e w Vorkink, RA 6 5 , left Turkey in S e p t e m b e r at the end of his three y e a r
a p p o i n t m e n t . Vorkink also retired from the World Bank, and returns to Washington where he will be a law professor
at A m e r i c a n University in W a s h i n g t o n , DC teaching international law and d e v e l o p m e n t . Vorkink hopes perhaps to return
to Turkey next fall to teach in the Istanbul area.
Vorkink was appointed Turkey director in August 2 0 0 3 and took up his job in S e p t e m b e r of that year. His tenure was
marked by strong and positive relations with the Turkish g o v e r n m e n t . Always s u p p o r t i v e of the country's e c o n o m i c
reform progress, he was a popular figure in A n k a r a . He enjoyed a close relationship with Ali B a b a c a n , state minister for
the e c o n o m y .
Under Vorkink's leadership, the World Bank allowed Turkey access to $ 6.5 billion in loans, which is c o n s i d e r e d to be a
Bank record in terms of the s h o r t time period over which the loans were a p p r o v e d .
Vorkink continued his ties with R C , many years after his g r a d u a t i o n . While in Turkey, he addressed m e m b e r s of the
RC c o m m u n i t y in the A n n u a l Giving Kick-off dinner on O c t o b e r 22, 2 0 0 4 . As the guest speaker of the evening, almost
40 years after he studied and lived at Robert College, Vorkink spoke of the challenges ahead for Turkey in its long and
arduous process of joining the E u r o p e a n Union and e n d e d on the note, I ask you to give Robert College students the
c h a n c e I was given by this outstanding institution to make a contribution to Turkey's bright future.
Arwa Damon, RC 94
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