The aim of this study was to determine whom the young take as a role model for themselves and the reasons for it. A total of 31 students consisting of 11 male and 20 female students studying at the faculty of education of a foundation university in Istanbul constituted the study group of the research. Data of the qualitative study were collected by performing face-to-face interviews using a semistructured interview form created by the researcher, and the content analysis and descriptive analysis methods were used in the data analysis. Interviews were conducted between January and March 2018. As a result of the study, it was determined that the families of the young mostly showed their family relatives, successful people in their profession, and the children of their neighbors or friends as role models while the young took their parents, teachers and family relatives, successful people in their profession and political leaders as role models. It was found out that the young were influenced by the personality traits, professional achievements, commitment to spiritual values, efforts, determination, achievement of goals, and struggle with difficulties of the people whom they took as role models, and that they took them as guides, imitated them, and tried to improve themselves to be like them. It was determined that the young avoided taking unsuccessful and aimless people, whose behaviors were not appreciated and approved by them, and some of their family relatives and teachers as role models, and that they criticized those people, tried not to look like them, and tried to improve themselves and to determine objectives for themselves not to be like them.