TL;DR: I’m an undergrad student from Turkey, highly motivated to help create a world with less animal suffering. I see alternative proteins as a promising way to create scalable, systemic change for animals, and I’m trying to navigate early career decisions in this space. This post shares the key questions I’ve been grappling with: where to focus my energy, which skills to develop first, what kinds of opportunities are realistic at this stage, and how to contribute meaningfully to my university’s Alt Protein Project (APP) chapter. I’d appreciate hearing from anyone with relevant experience or thoughts to share; any insights -big or small- would be very welcome.

Why I’m Writing This

I’m Elif, a second‑year food engineering student in Istanbul and an early‑career advocate focused on reducing animal suffering. I co‑founded Effective Animal Advocacy Türkiye, a community focused on growing the talent, tools, and knowledge base needed for high-impact animal advocacy in Turkey. I’m also involved with Yeditepe University’s chapter of the Alt Protein Project (a GFI-supported student initiative connecting campuses worldwide to advance plant-based, fermentation-based, and cultivated proteins). I haven’t taken a major role there yet, but I plan to this term. It’s currently the only active APP chapter in Turkey, and I’m excited to help it grow.

Like many others in their early stages, I’m trying to figure out how to make the most of my undergrad years, especially when nearly everything feels valuable. Rather than pretending to have it all figured out, I thought it might be more useful to share the questions I’m currently grappling with, in the hope that others might relate, offer advice, or simply reflect alongside me. These are some of the questions that have been shaping my thinking lately:

1. How Should I Prioritize My Time and Energy as an Undergrad?

The first thing I’m trying to figure out is where to focus. Many types of work; pursuing academic success, internships, community building, content creation, networking, volunteering can be important in different ways. And to some extent, I want (and plan) to engage with all of them. But realistically, I know I can’t do everything at once. So I’m trying to understand which areas might deserve the most focus at this stage.

Should I put more weight on academic signals like GPA and electives, especially if I’m considering grad school later? Or would investing more time in practical experiences, like internships, lab work, small-scale research projects, or possibly part-time jobs, lead to stronger long-term skill development? I also enjoy contributing to content creation (e.g. translations, blog posts) and this feels particularly valuable since alt protein resources are still quite limited in Turkey. At the same time, growing our Yeditepe APP chapter feels impactful and energizing, and I know community building creates value beyond the individual. There’s also networking, like joining events, Slack groups, or 1-on-1 calls, which can open up unexpected opportunities. And volunteer work can be great for testing fit and exploring new directions.

I don’t want to rule anything out, but I’d love to get a clearer sense of which paths are most crucial to prioritize early on, and how to balance them. I’m also wondering whether I should focus on long-term impact (even if it’s less visible) or invest more in short-term signals that build credibility.

2. Which Skills Should I Focus on Developing First?

With limited time and, again, many possible directions, I’m trying to think carefully about which skills to develop first—and how to tell which ones are the right fit for me. There are several areas I could focus on:

• Technical skills (e.g. cell culture, fermentation techniques, product formulation, sensory analysis)
• Research skills (e.g. literature review, data interpretation, formulating research questions)
• Strategic and applied skills (e.g. project management, stakeholder mapping, regulatory literacy, science communication)

I’m unsure how to prioritize among these areas. I’m trying to apply concepts like personal fit, comparative advantage, neglectedness, and long-term robustness as I think through these questions. But it’s still unclear which skill sets might be most valuable for me to develop.

I have questions in my mind like: Are there any skills where starting sooner makes a big difference, and others that are easier to catch up on later? How can I better assess personal fit early on? What are the most effective ways to test it? 

3. What Kinds of Internship or Project Opportunities Are Available in the Alternative Protein Space at the Undergraduate Level?

I'm hoping to get some early experience in the alternative protein space during undergrad, and I have a few questions about what might be possible at this stage, especially given the limited opportunities in Turkey.

Are there any well-regarded internship or fellowship programs in the alt protein space that are open to undergraduate students, especially ones that accept international applicants? Are there examples of undergraduates contributing meaningfully to small research projects, startup initiatives, or open-source efforts in this field? What are realistic entry points for someone with limited technical experience but strong motivation and learning capacity? Would it be worthwhile to reach out to early-stage startups or researchers directly, even without a formal program? If so, how would you recommend approaching them?

4. How Can I Help Make Our Alt Protein Project Chapter as Impactful as Possible?

Last year, I wasn’t able to take on much responsibility in our university’s Alt Protein Project (APP) chapter, mostly because I was deeply involved in launching Effective Animal Advocacy Türkiye, which required significant time and focus. Now that things have stabilized, I’m eager to take on more responsibility and help our chapter thrive. Since Yeditepe’s chapter is currently the only active one in Turkey, I feel a special responsibility to help it succeed and hopefully inspire similar efforts elsewhere.

My key question is: How can I activate our APP chapter in the most strategic and impactful way? I’d love to learn what has worked well in other chapters, whether that’s awareness-raising events, speaker series student-led research or something else. I’m looking to connect with experienced student organizers or APP chapter leads to learn about what’s worked (and what hasn’t) when it comes to structuring the team, setting priorities, distributing responsibility, and keeping people consistently motivated. 

5. Is It Too Early to Be Thinking About My Long-Term Career Direction?

(And if not, how much should that affect what I focus on during my undergraduate years?)

I’m still early in my degree, and I often wonder how useful it is to think about long-term strategy at this stage. Questions about the future, like “Should I aim to start something or join an existing organization?” or “Should I focus on growing the alt protein space in Turkey or work somewhere with a more advanced ecosystem?”, keep coming up, but I’m not sure how much they could influence the decisions I’m making right now. Could they help me make more intentional choices, or just lead to overthinking? I’m trying to figure out which kinds of reflection are genuinely helpful at this point, and which might become clearer as I gain more experience.

Additional thought: I’ve been also thinking about how AI and automation might reshape the alt protein space. If routine lab work becomes automated, which skills will remain most valuable? And how should I factor this into what kinds of career capital I try to build now?

6. How Should I Balance Multiple Interests Without Losing Focus?

As I try to focus on alternative proteins, I’m also involved in areas like animal advocacy, content creation, and community building. But I often wonder: should I aim to narrow my focus and build deep expertise in one direction? Or would a broader portfolio of complementary skills be more valuable in the long term? How can I tell whether I’m building transferable strengths that reinforce each other, or just trying to do everything at once and not getting far with any of it? Are there meaningful intersections where progress in one area boosts my effectiveness in another? And how have others balanced this kind of multidisciplinary curiosity with the need for strategic focus?

7. Who Should I Reach Out To and How?

As a final note, I’d love to connect more intentionally with people working on alternative proteins. Aside from helpful resources like GFI’s Talent Database, what are the most effective ways to reach out and build meaningful connections? I’m particularly interested in connecting with people who’ve worked on student-led alt protein initiatives, early-career professionals in R&D or strategy roles, and those who’ve navigated the field from under-resourced contexts.

Who do you think it would be especially valuable for me to speak with at this stage, and through which channels might I best reach them?

If you’ve navigated similar questions, at any stage of your journey, I’d be truly grateful to hear your thoughts. What helped you decide what to focus on early? What do you wish you had done differently? Are there questions I haven’t asked that you think I should be asking?

I’d really appreciate any ideas, reflections, resources, or connections you’re willing to share. Even a small note could make a big difference. Thank you for reading 💛